Matchbook is the debut solo studio album by Australian singer-guitarist, Ian Moss, a member of pub rockers, Cold Chisel. Six of its ten tracks were written by fellow Cold Chisel bandmate, Don Walker, and three were co-written by Moss and Walker. The album was released in August 1989 and peaked at number 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart; it remained in the Top 10 for 14 weeks and shipped more than 200,000 copies.[2][3][4] It also reached the Top 20 on the Official New Zealand Music Chart.[5]
| Matchbook | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1 August 1989 | |||
| Recorded | September 1988 – January 1989 | |||
| Studio | Rhinoceros Studios, Sydney and Oceanways Studios, Los Angeles | |||
| Genre | Rock, pop rock, blues rock | |||
| Length | 44:53 | |||
| Label | Mushroom | |||
| Producer | Chris Lord-Alge, Ian Moss | |||
| Ian Moss chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Matchbook | ||||
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Moss described the album's sound to Beryl Cook of The Canberra Times, "it's definitely fairly R&B with a white soul edge to it, with a hint of rock and roll and plenty of big guitar over the top."[6]
Matchbook provided four singles, "Tucker's Daughter" (November 1988, which reached No. 2 on the ARIA Singles Chart), "Telephone Booth" (June 1989, No. 7), "Out of the Fire" (September, No. 29) and "Mr. Rain" (December).[2][3] "Tucker's Daughter" also peaked at No. 6 in New Zealand, where "Telephone Booth" got to No. 29.[5]
At the ARIA Music Awards of 1990 the album was nominated for and won three categories: Album of the Year, Best Male Artist and Breakthrough Artist – Album for Moss.[7] At the same ceremony, for "Tucker's Daughter", Moss won Breakthrough Artist – Single and Song of the Year (shared with Walker), as well as nominated for Single of the Year.[7]
A limited edition white vinyl version of Matchbook was released on 1 June 2018.[8]
A 30th Anniversary edition was released in August 2019.[9]
Reception
Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, found the album displayed Moss' "exemplary, controlled guitar technique, but also highlighted his soulful voice ... [he] handled all lead vocals with considerable style and authority".[2] The Canberra Times' Penelope Layland opined, "It is faultless at what it does... The music on the album is mainly blues-influenced rock, although some tracks, such as the funky 'Mr Rain', break away from the mould."[10]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Tucker's Daughter" | Don Walker, Ian Moss | 4:35 |
| 2. | "Telephone Booth" | Walker | 3:04 |
| 3. | "Out of the Fire" | Walker, Moss | 4:58 |
| 4. | "Mr. Rain" | Moss, Sally Tiven, Jon Tiven | 4:20 |
| 5. | "Matchbook" | Walker | 4:33 |
| 6. | "Such a Beautiful Thing" | Walker | 3:59 |
| 7. | "I've Got You" | Walker, Moss, Steve Prestwich | 5:15 |
| 8. | "Pretty Face" | Walker | 5:25 |
| 9. | "Tangletown" | Walker | 4:17 |
| 10. | "I'll Remember You" | Walker | 4:27 |
Charts
Weekly charts
| Chart (1989/90) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] | 1 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[12] | 19 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1989) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[13] | 22 |
| Australian Artist Albums (ARIA) | 6 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[14] | 2× Platinum | 140,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||