Cold Chisel had been in Sydney for almost twelve months when they signed their record deal with WEA. On the 13th August 1977, having played the previous 2 nights (Woollongong Town Hall & Swansea Workers) and with a show to play that night (Bondi Lifesaver), Cold Chisel began recording demoes at Trafalgar Studios in Sydney for their first album.
Songs recorded that day included Gonna Roll Ya, Northbound, Just How Many Times, Juliet Home and Broken Hearted, Rosaline, It Aint Wrong, On The Road.
The intention at this stage was to simply record all of the original songs the band felt should be considered for the debut release. The songs covered a broad range of styles, although the record company pressured producer Peter Walker to deliver as many fast paced, 3-minute songs as possible - a brief that he felt would not do the band justice.
Peter Walker had been the guitarist with Perth band Bakery, described as "a sort of underground Doors." In trying to improve his knowledge of sound, Peter Walker had been working at Trafalgar Studios, and although he was not the most experienced producer around, the band liked the idea that he too was a musician and would therefore be able to relate to their ideas more than a nonmusician.
David Sinclair from WEA recalls doing a deal with Trafalgar Studios whereby a flat rate was paid for the band to record an album, rather than the usual hourly rate. This suited both the band and producer.
Peter recalls that there were many problems which had to be overcome in the process of recording the album. Firstly, because the band were having to play so many live shows just to survive, it usually meant that Jim's voice was not in good shape for the sessions. The band were also virtually broke, (you could book Cold Chisel for as little as $200 then- they were playing for $70 on occasion in July!) meaning Ian and Phil could rarely afford new strings for each session and Steve had to use old drum skins. The band were also playing many of the songs at a tempo suited to the last set in a crowded hotel, and when viewed in the cold light of day, usually too fast. Peter recalls having to do a lot of work to ensure that the final, "meanwhile..." section of One Long Day did not speed up (as the band deliberately did live) as he felt that the passion should create the power, not the speed.
The record company also had strong feelings about Jim's vocals, particularly regarding his diction and Peter spent a lot of time ensuring that the takes he got were satisfactory in this area.
It was also a very experimental, primitive period in Australia's recording history, a time when most studios were switching from 16 to 24 track and most "effects' had to be produced manually. For instance the piano intro to Northbound has a chorus effect created by recording the section, altering the tape speed very slightly, then re-recording the part again and combining the two to create an effect which can be created by a $100 electronic effect these days.
Recording continued on September 13, with the band demoing Gonna Roll Ya, Khe Sanh (with different lyrics), Northbound, Juliet, Just How Many Times, Home and Broken Hearted, It Aint Wrong and On The Road. The last two songs were released in 1994.
On September 28, before playing a show at the Bondi Lifesaver and following a day's rehearsal on the 26th, the band continue recording. On this day, with the benefit of the rehearsal they record a few songs which are not always part of the live show at the time. The Door, Drinkin' In Port Lincoln, Teenager Love Affair, Hold Me Now, Mona and the Preacher, 5.30 E.TA. , Metho Blues, Daskarzine and Sorbonne Fender Chrome are all recorded.
In all, around 23 songs (with the addition of One Long Day, The Party's Over, Bunny's Blues, Georgia and most likely Four Walls, Wash Basin) were recorded to be considered for the album. The band still had a number of cover songs (apart from Georgia) in the live set (such as Led Zep's Whole Lotta Love & Jeff Beck's/Stevie Wonder 'Cause We've Ended As Lovers), but it was decided quite early that the album would be an all original affair.
The songs came from as far back as 1974 (Sorbonne Fender Chrome, Bunny's Bluev, The Party's Over & Just How many Times). 1975- One Long day, Gonna Roll Ya, Northbound Train, Rosaline, On The Road, Teenage Love Affair, Mona and the Preacher. 1976- Daskarzine, Home and Broken Hearted, Metho Blues, Drinking In Port Lincoln and 1977 itself
Further demoes were recorded on November 3, and 29/30. Another new song which may have been demoed for the album was F-111, which was being worked into the live set at this stage. An attempt was made to record this track for a single in mid-'78, but the band were not happy with the results.
Recording for the album continued on Dec 12,13 & 14 and again, Dec 19, 20 & 21. The band were still doing around 20 shows a month. Recording continued through January, amongst visits to Melbourne and Adelaide.
With recording continuing WEA announce to the band that they have slotted them onto the Foreigner tour and they want to have the album ready for release before it. Peter Walker started mixing the album on a Friday evening, sleeping on the floor in the studio through the weekend (the band assisting in between gigs) so as to have the album ready for the tapes to be collected on Monday morning.
From the beginning of the project Peter had insisted that the album would be mastered in America, as he had seen too many Australian albums virtually ruined because the dynamics of the tape had been lost in the mastering process when it had been done locally.
Unfortunately, in the rush to have the album released before the Foreigner tour, the record company felt that they didn't have time to master in the US and so put the one and only master tape through an old machine which removed half of the oxide from the tape. The deal was that a local version would be printed, to cover the tour and a US mastered version would then take its place. Unfortunately, the tape sent to the US was the one damaged in Australia, and even though the US mastered version was still an improvement, it appears that very few of this version were circulated.
To Peter Walker's ears the current CD version is also from the Australian master. He felt that the US version was louder, with more bottom end.
The album was released. on the 24th April, 1978. It was officially launched at Melboume's Bornbay Rock and debuted at No.38 on the national charts.
Some of the songs demoed for the album would appear on the Breakfast At Sweethearts album, East (Four Walls in much rearranged form) and the Teenage Love Affair CD and associated singles of 1994. Georgia from these sessions was issued as the b-side to Goodbye Astrid in 1978.
Hold Me Now, Sorbonne Fender Chrome, Bunny's Blues, and 5.30 E.TA. are all excellent songs which have not been issued in any form. The version of The Party's Over from these sessions has not been issued either, the released version being from the East sessions.
Don Walker would work with Peter Walker on the Freedom soundtrack and on his solo albums.