The Barnestormers are an allstar combo featuring Jimmy Barnes, Jools Holland (Squeeze), Chris Cheney (The Living End), Slim Jim Phantom (Stray Cats), and Kevin "Caveman" Shirley.
In January 2021, Jimmy Barnes announced he had formed a rockabilly outfit with Chris Cheney of The Living End and Slim Jim Phantom of Stray Cats. Barnes said "Slim Jim and I have been talking about doing this for 20 years. We've got three quarters of a rockabilly album finished, half originals, half old covers." The musicians laid down their parts separately in isolation, across three continents, before Shirley put it together.
In February 2023, Barnes revealed more of the outfits existence. The group, called The Barnestormers, features Jimmy Barnes on vocals, Chris Cheney on guitar, Slim Jim Phantom on drums, Kevin Shirley on bass, and Jools Holland on piano.
Supergroups don’t always work, but The Barnestormers’ self-titled debut is a success from start to finish because the aim is simple: having fun.
They’ve delivered a riotous rockabilly rave-up, with songs celebrating the origins of rock ’n’ roll. Remarkably, all the band members had not even met before embarking on this record. But it sounds like they’re all in the same room, ripping through classics by Chuck Berry, Roy Orbison, Bill Haley, Johnny Burnette, and Brenda Lee.
The songs range in subject matter from wanting a new car (Chuck Berry’s Dear Dad) to the working man’s tale of woe (Roy Orbison’s Working for the Man) and the wonderfully absurd Thirteen Women (And Only One Man), where it’s the end of the world and the singer is the only man left on earth.
They also revisit Johnny O’Keefe’s Wild One (using its American title, Real Wild Child), as well as Don Walker’s solo gem Johnny’s Gone, and a recent Cold Chisel cut, Land of Hope and Glory. And Cheney contributes a new track, 25 to Life, which sits comfortably alongside the classics.
Artist: The Barnestormers
Album: The Barnestormers
Year: 2023
Label: Bloodlines / East West Records
Style: Rockabilly, 50's rock
Format: mp3/320, flac (tracks, 44.1kHz/16bit)
Tracklist
01 Sweet Love On My Mind (Wayne Walker / Webb Pierce) 3:00
02 Working For The Man (Roy Orbison) 3:07
03 Johnny's Gone (Don Walker) 3:44
04 Lonesome Train (Glenn Moore / Milton Subotsky (Sabofsky) / Owen Bradley) 2:35
05 Thirteen Women (And Only One Man) (Dickie Thompson) 3:10
06 Dear Dad (Jack Fishman / Joe Henderson) 2:14
07 Crazy Crazy Lovin' (Johnny Carroll) 2:58
08 Sweet Nothin's (Ronnie Self) 2:27
09 Land Of Hope And Glory (Don Walker / Jimmy Barnes) 3:54
10 Real Wild Child (Dave Owens / Johnny Greenan / Johnny O'Keefe) 2:38
11 25 To Life (Chris Cheney) 3:30
The Barnestormers – The Barnestormers (2023) mp3+flac
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