The Last Wave of Summer

Released 14 years after break-up album Twentieth Century, 1998’s The Last Wave of Summer shows quintessential Aussie pub-rockers Cold Chisel older, wiser, and still ready to go. Debuting atop the ARIA chart, this record proved Jimmy Barnes’ voice and Don Walker’s lyrics were sharp as ever. Deadset classics “Yakuza Girls” and “The Things I Love In You” are still seared into the national consciousness, while ballad “Water Into Wine”—penned by drummer Steve Prestwich—can’t help but bring Australia’s alternative national anthem “Khe Sanh” to mind. Already national treasures, Cold Chisel proved they were more than ’80s artifacts.