He’s likely remembered in America, if he’s remembered at all, for a wailing guest turn with INXS on 1987’s “Good Times,” part of the soundtrack to the film The Lost Boys. But Barnes’ resume back home in Australia is a different story: Over the course of 14 Top 40 studio projects with Cold Chisel and more than a dozen solo efforts, he charted a total of nine No. 1 albums — the most ever Down Under.
In that context, it’s no surprise to find Joe Bonamassa and two members of Journey appearing on Barnes’ roaring new side, “Going Down Alone.” The guy is, off these shores anyway, a stone-cold legend, and this all-star amalgam certainly gives Barnes his due — some 30 years after he went solo from Cold Chisel.
Bonamassa begins things with a grease-popping slide, then Journey’s Jonathan Cain adds a keyboard counterpoint filled with signature romanticism. But before Cain’s bandmate Neal Schon can enter with a tough riff, Barnes has already taken over the mic for a gritty, blues-soaked vocal that shows he’s lost nothing since The Lost Boys days. Schon adds a typically flame-kissed solo turn, but Barnes matches him bark for bark, squeal for squeal.
All of it makes “Going Down Alone” a tasty preview for the aptly named 30:30 Hindsight, due on October 27, 2014 via Provogue Records. Steven Van Zandt also guests on the project, which will be available on 180-gram double vinyl (though they are only pressing 1,000 copies), as well as compact disc and digital download.
30:30 Hindsight was produced by Kevin Shirley, who has previously worked with Journey as well as Bonamassa. Cain collaborated extensively on Barnes’ 1987 album Freight Train Heart.
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