Breakfast At Sweethearts
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''Breakfast at Sweethearts'' is the second studio album by Australian
pub rock Pub rock is a subgenre of rock music that emerged in the early to mid-1970s in the United Kingdom. A back-to-basics movement, which incorporated roots rock, pub rock was a reaction against the expensively-recorded and produced progressive rock ...
band
Cold Chisel Cold Chisel are an Australian Pub rock (Australia), pub rock band, which formed in Adelaide in 1973 by mainstay members Ian Moss on guitar and vocals, Steve Prestwich on drums, Les Kaczmarek on bass and Don Walker (musician), Don Walker on pia ...
, released in February 1979. It spent 32 weeks in the national charts, reaching a peak of number 4.


Album details

"Sweethearts" was a cafè in Kings Cross, Sydney, Australia in the 1970s and 1980s, but has since been demolished. It was located where the present-day
McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...
is now, in the middle of Kings Cross. The song "Plaza" refers to Sydney's Plaza Hotel, where Don Walker was living in Kings Cross at the time. Walker later said, "As a whole set of songs, it painted a picture of a certain time and a certain place which is very close to my heart. And in many ways that set of songs is quite personal to me rather than any of the other guys because they all moved out of the Cross within three weeks. It was a good time of my life." Author
Louis Nowra Mark Doyle, better known by his stage name Louis Nowra, (born 12 December 1950) is an Australian writer, playwright, screenwriter and librettist. He is best known as one of Australia's leading playwrights. His works have been performed by all o ...
described the song " Breakfast at Sweethearts" as, "the most immediately identifiable song about the Cross." The first single, " Goodbye (Astrid Goodbye)" preceded the album by some months, and was recorded when demos were being done for the album. Reaching number 65 on the national charts, the single is markedly different from the later album version. The recording took place over a period of more than 6 months. Don Walker said, "It was a very bad low point for the band. We were constantly touring and when we got a weekend off we were thrown into the studio and expected to be creative." Barnes said, "There are really great songs on that record, but it wasn't the most enjoyable recording process. We wanted to go into Studio One at Alberts, where
AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...
and The Angels were doing great records. We booked, but couldn't get in, so we ended up in Studio Three, which was a new studio and didn't have the same atmosphere." Elsewhere, he said, "''Breakfast at Sweethearts'' stunk, and you can spell that f-u-c-k-e-d." Although reviews were generally positive and some of the songs were later live staples, the members of Cold Chisel were unhappy with the sound of ''Breakfast at Sweethearts'' and the production methods of Richard Batchens. Batchens would later admit that this was an unhappy period of his life, and the band felt he was overly critical and the recording suffered from lack of spontaneity. Batchens was used at the behest of the record company that wanted a known producer, and Batchens had recently produced
Richard Clapton Richard Clapton (born 18 May 1948) is an Australian singer-songwriter-guitarist and producer. His solo top 20 hits on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart are " Girls on the Avenue" (1975) and " I Am an Island" (1982). He reached the top& ...
's fourth studio album, '' Goodbye Tiger'', which the band admired. Walker said, "he made it quite clear to me that they weren't as good as Richard Clapton's songs." Barnes added, "We went into the studio with him and it was absolutely disastrous - we were in a shit room with this bad tempered cunt. But don't quote me. Don't say he was bad tempered."


Reception

At the 1979 ''
TV Week ''TV Week'' is a weekly Australian magazine that provides television program listings information and highlights, as well as television-related news. Content ranges from previews for upcoming storylines of popular television programs, particu ...
''/ ''Countdown'' Music Awards, ''Breakfast at Sweethearts'' was nominated for Best Australian Album, and won for Best Australian Record Cover Design. The cover photo was taken in the heritage-listed
Marble Bar Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is typically not foliat ...
in the Sydney Hilton.
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
said, "the songs on this album may comprise the best set of any of the band's non-compilation studio discs," but notes, "it is a masterpiece tainted by a poor recording job." The reviewer notes, "Don Walker's songwriting -- and his storycrafting around local references -- could engage a listener underwater." The album is given a score of four stars from a possible five. Reviewed in Roadrunner at the time of release, it was said, "If you're into good, driving rock, it's as good an album as you'll get anywhere in the world," though it was noted that some of the songs were, "a bit too samey."
Juke Magazine ''Juke Magazine'' was a weekly Australian rock and pop newspaper published in Melbourne that ran from 1975 to 1992. It was founded by Ed Nimmervoll (former editor of ''Go-Set'' magazine) who was the editor and one of its writers. ''Juke'' also ...
noted the album was not, "just a collection of songs. It exudes a conceptual aura at street level, cleverly indigenous. The main vehicle for this is Don Walker's lyrics." '' Rip It Up'' was less positive, describing Barnes singing as, "white boy sings the blues and gets laryngitis" and the lyrics as "predictably sexist" but, "what saves their ass is the tunes". The third single from the album, "Shipping Steel", was described as, "Gutsy Australian hard rock and the best thing Chisel have done since the marvelous "Khe Sanh". Will pick up airplay, and why not?"


Track listing

All songs written by Don Walker, except as noted Side one # "Conversations" – 4:34 # "Merry-Go-Round" – 3:44 # "Dresden" (Walker,
Ian Moss Ian Richard Moss (born 20 March 1955) is an Australian rock musician from Alice Springs. He is the founding mainstay guitarist and occasional singer of Cold Chisel. In that group's initial eleven year phase from 1973 to 1984, Moss was recorded ...
) – 3:58 # " Goodbye (Astrid Goodbye)" (
Jim Barnes James Martin Barnes (April 8, 1886 – May 24, 1966) was an English professional golfer and a leading figure in the early years of professional golf in the United States. He is one of three native Britons (with Tommy Armour and Rory McIlroy) t ...
, Walker) – 2:51 # "Plaza" – 2:09 Side two # "Shipping Steel" – 3:24 # "I'm Gonna Roll Ya" – 3:28 # "Showtime" – 3:44 # " Breakfast at Sweethearts" – 4:11 # "The Door" – 4:20 In 1999, EastWest released a remastered version of the album with three bonus tracks: #
  • "It Ain't Wrong" – 3:13 (from the 1994 compilation album '' Teenage Love'') # "Mona and the Preacher" – 4:00 (also from the 1994 compilation album ''Teenage Love'') # "Metho Blues" – 4:35


    Personnel

    *
    Jimmy Barnes James Dixon Barnes ( Swan; born 28 April 1956) is an Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best-selling Australian music a ...
    – vocals * Don Walker
    organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...
    , piano *
    Ian Moss Ian Richard Moss (born 20 March 1955) is an Australian rock musician from Alice Springs. He is the founding mainstay guitarist and occasional singer of Cold Chisel. In that group's initial eleven year phase from 1973 to 1984, Moss was recorded ...
    – guitar, vocals, lead vocal (track 5) *
    Steve Prestwich Steven William Prestwich (5 March 195416 January 2011) was an English-born Australian drummer, guitarist, singer and songwriter. After relocating from Liverpool, Prestwich was the founding and long-term drummer for the band Cold Chisel, which for ...
    – drums *
    Phil Small Phillip James Small (born 2 August 1954) is an Australian musician and songwriter, who is the bass guitarist for the pub rock band Cold Chisel.McFarlane . Retrieved 17 February 2010.Spencer et al, (2007Small, Phil entry. Retrieved 17 February ...
    – bass guitar *David Blight – harmonica *Tony Faehse – slide guitar, track 6


    Charts


    Weekly charts


    Year-end charts


    Certifications and sales


    See also

    * List of Top 25 albums for 1979 in Australia


    References

    {{Authority control 1979 albums Cold Chisel albums Elektra Records albums Albums produced by Richard Batchens