Jimmy Barnes – 30:30 Hindsight

Review by Dom Vigil

Jimmy Barnes’ 30:30 Hindsight, is the perfect take on many of his already classic songs. From the beginning of the first track, “Lay Down Your Guns,” Hindsight promises to deliver, and sure enough, track after track, Barnes reminds us why we fell in love with these memorable, timeless classics all over again with this album.

The guitar work in “Lay Down Your Guns” is super fast paced and has a ton of energy – it wakes you up and gets you ready for the other hard-hitting and soulful tracks on Hindsight. “Lay Down Your Guns” then transitions amazingly into “Time Will Tell.” Even the lyrics fit together perfectly, going from “Lay down your guns,” to “I will not lay down.” Both lyrically and musically, these first two tracks are the perfect openers for this album, and the other thirteen tracks on Hindsight absolutely live up to the high expectations that Barnes sets with them.

Hindsight is the perfect collection of already great songs, re-recorded with great choices of guest musicians. Barnes has definitely managed to breathe some life into many of these tracks. While they still have that obvious classic rock-n-roll vibe to them, Hindsight is definitely a more modern take on many of these songs.

One of the strongest tracks on the album is “Stone Cold,” with added vocals from Tina Arena, which are absolutely gorgeous and mesh perfectly with the song. Another memorable song is the huge anthem, “Going Down Alone,” featuring Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain of Journey. This track is as timeless as it is memorable and you’re bound to find yourself humming the chorus to yourself long after Hindsight is over.

Track after track, Jimmy Barnes continues to deliver on Hindsight. By the time that the album comes to a close with the gorgeous and inspirational ballad, “Walk On” and an amazing acoustic version of “I’m Still On Your Side,” (with amazing guest vocals from Bernard Fanning) I’m dying to put this album in my car and drive down the highway with it pumping through my speakers. The songs on Hindsight are definitely that of a total rock-n-roll classic, but with a new twist, sure to keep old fans happy and make new listeners interested. The sound on Hindsight is as timeless as it is accessible, and that’s what makes it so great.

Rating: 5/5

Listen to “Going Down Alone”