Age of Reason (album) explained

Age of Reason
Type:	Studio
Artist:	John Farnham
Cover:	Age Of Reason.jpg
Border:	yes
Released:	25 July 1988
Recorded:	December 1987–April 1988
Length:	52:50
Producer:	Ross Fraser
Prev Title:	Whispering Jack
Prev Year:	1986
Next Title:	Chain Reaction
Next Year:	1990

Age of Reason is the thirteenth studio album by Australian pop singer John Farnham. It was released through BMG in Australia on 25 July 1988 and debuted at No. 1 on the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Albums Chart in August and remained on top for eight weeks. It was the follow-up to his previous No. 1 album, Whispering Jack, and was the highest-selling album in Australia in 1988. As of 1997, it was eight times platinum, indicating sales of over 560,000 units. It is also critically considered one of Farnham's best albums, with the title track "Age of Reason" and "Beyond the Call" being about the urgency for the world to wake up and solve its problems.

The first two singles from the album were "Age of Reason", which peaked at No. 1, and "Two Strong Hearts", at No. 6. Two further singles were released: "Beyond the Call", which reached the top 50, and "We're No Angels".

At the 1988 ARIA Awards, Farnham won the Best Male Artist, Best Adult Contemporary Album and the Outstanding Achievement Award.

The album was re-released on vinyl on 18 August 2017 by Sony Music.

Background

Farnham released Whispering Jack in October 1986, becoming the highest-selling album by an Australian act in Australia and peaked at No. 1 on the Australian Kent Music Report Album Charts for a, then record, total of 25 weeks. Ahead of his follow-up album, in July 1988, he released the title single, "Age of Reason", which peaked at No. 1 on the ARIA Singles Chart, It was written by Johanna Pigott and Dragon member Todd Hunter. The album, Age of Reason, which was produced by Ross Fraser, debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart in August and stayed on top for eight weeks. It was the highest-selling album in Australia from 1988, and, as of 1997, it was 8 × platinum indicating sales of over 560,000 units. Renewed interest in Whispering Jack returned that album to the Top Ten in August, nearly two years after its initial release.

Track listing

1. "Age of Reason" (Todd Hunter, Johanna Pigott) – 5:08
2. "Blow by Blow" (Dave Stewart, Olle Ormo, Brian Harrison) – 4:37
3. "Listen to the Wind" (Brent Thomas, Jon Stevens) – 4:26
4. "Two Strong Hearts" (Bruce Woolley, Andy Hill) – 3:35
5. "Burn Down the Night" (Bill LaBounty) – 3:32
6. "Beyond the Call" (David Batteau, Darrell Brown, Kevin Dukes) – 4:43
7. "We're No Angels" (Ross Wilson) – 4:52
8. "Don't Tell Me It Can't Be Done" (Chris Thompson, Andy Qunta) – 3:35
9. "The Fire" (Thompson, Keith Reid, Jed Leiber) – 4:26
10. "Some Do, Some Don't" (Stephen Hague, Mark Mueller) – 4:19

CD bonus tracks:

11. "When the War Is Over" (Steve Prestwich) – 4:50
12. "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" (Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Bon Scott) – 4:11

Personnel

• John Farnham – vocals
• David Hirschfelder – keyboards
• Brett Garsed – guitars
• Angus Burchall – drums & percussion
• Wayne Nelson – bass
• Venetta Fields – vocals
• Lindsay Field – vocals
• Jon Stevens – guitar on "Listen to the Wind"
• James Morrison – trumpet on "Some Do, Some Don't"
• Bill Harrower – sax on "Blow by Blow"
• Thomas Metropouli – mandolin & piano accordion
• Lisa Edwards – additional vocals
• Ross Hannaford – additional vocals
• Joe Creighton – additional vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1988–89)	Peak position
Canada Top Albums (RPM)^[1]	46
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)^[2]	18
European Albums (Eurotipsheet)^[3]	33

Year-end charts

Chart (1988)	Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[4]	13
Chart (1989)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[5]	71

See also

• List of number-one albums of 1988 (Australia)

References

General

• Encyclopedia: McFarlane . Ian . Ian McFarlane . . Whammo Homepage . 8 February 2010 . 1999 . . . 1-86508-072-1 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20040405231007/http://www.whammo.com.au/index.asp . 5 April 2004 . Note: Archived [on-line] copy has limited functionality.

Specific

Notes and References

1. Web site: Canada. Library and Archives. 2013-04-16. RPM. www.rpmimages.3345.ca.
2. Web site: Sisältää hitin . October 4, 2024 . musiikkiarkisto.fi.
3. European Hot 100 Albums. Eurotipsheet. 5. 42. 15 October 1988. 37. 29800226. World Radio History.
4. Web site: 1988 ARIA ALBUMS CHART. Australian Recording Industry Association. 6 January 2017.
5. Web site: The ARIA Australian Top 100 Albums Chart – 1989 (61–100) (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 1). Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). 15 December 2016.