Teenage Love is the weakest studio album in
Cold Chisel's catalog. The 16-song set is compiled from outtakes of recording sessions that took place in the period 1976-1983. One might call this secondary material. But it would be too cynical to simply tag it "dredging," a not uncommon practice in the music industry. Since these songs do date from
Chisel's heyday, and include at least a couple that saw plenty of live action ("Mona and the Preacher," "The Party's Over"), it still has plenty of kick to it. The choice tracks are the
Zeppelin-esque "Teenage Love Affair"; the old-style rock & roller "Drinkin in Port Lincoln" (with plenty of fiery guitar work from
Ian Moss); the bluesy "Payday in the Pub"; the turbo-charged "F-111," which owes more than a little to
the Doors' "L.A. Woman"; and the two aforementioned cuts -- the clunky-funky "Mona and the Preacher" and the
Ian Moss-sung piano ballad "The Party's Over." The set includes the usual
Cold Chisel mix of ballads, rockers, and things in between, but there is nothing here to rival "Khe Sanh," "Goodbye Astrid," "Bow River," and so on. Yes, it's
Chisel's "B" material and that's why it wasn't released at the time it was recorded. But then, most bands would kill to have this kind of stuff as their "A" material. ~ Adrian Zupp