Twentieth Century

For more than a decade, 1984’s <i>Twentieth Century</i> stood as the final studio statement from Cold Chisel, capping off the Aussie pub rockers’ thunderous five-album run. Tensions may have been fraught within the band, but this record hammers home their twin strengths of intimacy and intensity, thanks to predominant songwriter Don Walker’s deeply observational lyrics and frontman Jimmy Barnes’ outsized rasp. “Flame Trees” remains one of the quintessential Australian ballads, soaked through in poignant small-town memories and enduring romantic regret. By contrast, “Saturday Night” flips a sudden switch from evocative simmer to Barnes-led boil. Until Cold Chisel reconvened properly for 1998’s <i>The Last Wave of Summer</i>, this was the lingering farewell that still felt raw in all the right ways.