''Age of Reason'' is the thirteenth studio album by Australian pop singer

John Farnham John Peter Farnham Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (born 1 July 1949) is a British born Australian singer. Farnham was a Teen idol, teen pop idol from 1967 until 1979, billed then as Johnny Farnham, but has since forged a career as an Adu ...

. It was released through

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

in Australia on 25 July 1988 and debuted at No. 1 on the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...

(ARIA)

Albums Chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

in August and remained on top for eight weeks. It was the follow-up to his previous No. 1 album, ''

Whispering Jack ''Whispering Jack'' is the twelfth studio album by Australian adult contemporary pop singer John Farnham. It was produced by Ross Fraser, and released on 20 October 1986, peaking at No. 1 on the Australian Kent Music Report Album Charts. NOTE: ...

'', and was the highest-selling album in Australia in 1988. As of 1997, it was eight times

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

, 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 "Two Strong Hearts" is a song written by Andy Hill and Bruce Woolley. Australian singer John Farnham recorded the song and released it as the second single from his 13th studio album, '' Age of Reason'' (1988). The song peaked at number six on ...

", at No. 6. Two further singles were released: "Beyond the Call", which reached the top 50, and "We're No Angels". 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 The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...

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 The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

, It was written by

Johanna Pigott Johanna Paton Pigott (born ca. 1955) is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and screenwriter. Her best known hit songs are Dragon's "Rain" which peaked at No. 2 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart in 1983, Note: Used f ...

and

Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

member

Todd Hunter Todd Stuart Hunter NOTE: Requires user to input song title, e.g. POLITICS (born 22 June 1951) is a New Zealand musician and composer known for his involvement in the band Dragon. Their best known songs are "April Sun in Cuba", "Are You Old Enou ...

. 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 ×

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. As of December 2008, "Age of Reason" remains Farnham's last No. 1 Australian single. Other charting singles from this album were "Two Strong Hearts", which peaked at No. 6, and "Beyond the Call", while a fourth single, "We're No Angels", did not reach the top 50. ''Age of Reason'' had international success, peaking at No. 4 in Sweden and No. 9 in Norway. The album features, apart from Farnham's regular band, many special guest artists including singer

Jon Stevens Jon Stevens (born 8 October 1961) is a New Zealand singer, best known for his work with Noiseworks and ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. Biography 1980–1986: career beginnings and ''Jezebel'' Stevens was born in Upper Hutt, New Zealand, and is o ...

on the track "Listen to the Wind" and trumpeter James Morrison on "Some Do, Some Don't".

ARIA awards

At the 1988 ARIA Awards, Farnham won 'Best Male Artist', 'Best Adult Contemporary Album' for "Touch of Paradise", and the 'Outstanding Achievement Award'. In March 1989, Farnham was in Moscow, USSR to promote

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...

album ''Rainbow Warriors'', as part of an international ensemble including

David Byrne David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...

(

Talking Heads Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.Talkin ...

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

Chrissie Hynde Christine Ellen Hynde (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician. She is a founding member and the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band the Pretenders, and one of the band's two remaining original members alon ...

(

The Pretenders Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Fa ...

Annie Lennox Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the New wave music, new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician D ...

(

Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British pop duo consisting of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart. They were both previously in The Tourists, a band which broke up in 1980. The duo released their first studio album, '' In the Garden'', in 1981 to little succ ...

) and

The Edge David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is an English-born Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing voca ...

(U2). Farnham found time to record "Communication", a duet with

Dannielle Gaha Dannielle Gaha DeAndrea, sometimes styled as Danni'elle, is an Australian singer and songwriter. She has toured and recorded with fellow Australian John Farnham; their 1989 duet, "Communication", peaked at number 13 on the Australian Record ...

, as part of the National Drug Offensive's anti-drug campaign. The song peaked at No. 13 in August 1989.

Bonus tracks

The CD version of ''Age of Reason'' has two bonus tracks including Farnham's covers of

AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...

's "

It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll) "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" is a song by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It is the first track of the group's second album ''T.N.T.'', released only in Australia and New Zealand on 8 December 1975, and was written ...

" and

Cold Chisel Cold Chisel are an Australian pub rock band, which formed in Adelaide in 1973 by mainstay members Ian Moss on guitar and vocals, Steve Prestwich on drums and Don Walker on piano and keyboards. They were soon joined by Jimmy Barnes (at the ...

's "When the War Is Over".

Popular culture

The lead single off the album, "Age of Reason", was used in a promo for Australia's Channel

Seven News ''7NEWS'' is the television news service of the Seven Network and, as of 2021, the highest-rating in Australia. National bulletins are presented from Seven's high-definition television, high definition studios in Martin Place, Sydney, while f ...

in 2000.

Track listing

# " Age of Reason" (

) – 5:08 # "Blow by Blow" ( Dave Stewart, Olle Ormo, Brian Harrison) – 4:37 # "Listen to the Wind" (Brent Thomas,

) – 4:26 # "

" (

Bruce Woolley Bruce Martin Woolley (born 11 November 1953) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He wrote songs with artists such as The Buggles and Grace Jones, including "Video Killed the Radio Star" and " Slave to the Rhythm", an ...

, Andy Hill) – 3:35 # "Burn Down the Night" ( Bill LaBounty) – 3:32 # " Beyond the Call" (

David Batteau David Hurst Batteau (born June 25, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter. Batteau is the son of Blanca Batteau and Dr. Dwight Wayne Batteau, of Harvard University and Tufts University. He is the brother of singer-songwriter Robin Batteau. H ...

, Darrell Brown,

Kevin Dukes Kevin Dukes is an American guitarist. A native of Natchez, Mississippi, Dukes attended The University of Southern Mississippi as a Music Theory and Composition major prior to moving to Los Angeles, California in the late 1970s. He has toured an ...

) – 4:43 # "We're No Angels" ( Ross Wilson) – 4:52 # "Don't Tell Me It Can't Be Done" ( Chris Thompson,

Andy Qunta Anderson Amos Temba "Andy" Qunta (born 9 January 1951) is an English singer, songwriter, composer and musician. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Qunta is best known as the keyboardist of the Australian rock band Icehouse from between 19 ...

) – 3:35 # "The Fire" (Thompson,

Keith Reid Keith Stuart Brian Reid (born 19 October 1946 Allmusic.com biography by Jason Ankeny/ref>) is a lyricist and songwriter who wrote the lyrics of every song released by Procol Harum that was not previously recorded by someone else, with the except ...

, Jed Leiber) – 4:26 # "Some Do, Some Don't" (

Stephen Hague Stephen Hague (born 1960) is an American record producer most active with various British acts since the 1980s. Early life Hague was born in Portland, Maine in 1960. Early career Hague started his musical career in the mid-1970s as a session k ...

Mark Mueller Mark Mueller (born July 11, 1957) is an American songwriter. A two-time winner of the ASCAP Pop Award for writing one of the Most Performed Songs of the year, he has had three ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Top Ten singles and one #1 Adult Contemporary ...

) – 4:19 CD bonus tracks: #

When the War Is Over "When the War Is Over" is a power ballad of Australian band Cold Chisel from their 1982 album ''Circus Animals''. The song was written by drummer Steve Prestwich and issued as the third single from the album, peaking at number 25 on the national ...

" (

Steve Prestwich Steven William Prestwich (5 March 195416 January 2011) was an English-born Australian drummer, guitarist, singer and songwriter. After relocating from Liverpool, Prestwich was the founding and long-term drummer for the band Cold Chisel, which for ...

) – 4:50 # "

" (

Angus Young Angus McKinnon Young (born 31 March 1955) is an Australian musician, best known as the co-founder, lead guitarist, songwriter, and only remaining original member of the hard rock band AC/DC. He is known for his energetic performances, school ...

Malcolm Young Malcolm Mitchell Young (6 January 1953 – 18 November 2017) was an Australian musician who was the co-founder, rhythm guitarist, backing vocalist and songwriter of AC/DC. Except for a brief absence in 1988, he was with the band from its beginn ...

Bon Scott Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott (9 July 1946 – 19 February 1980) was an Australian singer and songwriter. He was the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band AC/DC from 1974 until his death in 1980. Born in Forfar in Angus, Scotland, ...

) – 4:11

Personnel

– vocals *

David Hirschfelder David Hirschfelder (born 18 November 1960, Ballarat, Victoria) is an Australian musician, film score composer and performer. As a musician he has been a member of Little River Band and John Farnham Band. He has composed film scores for many films ...

– keyboards *

Brett Garsed Brett Edward Garsed (born 20 April 1963) is an Australian musician and songwriter, best known for his work as a guitarist with John Farnham and T. J. Helmerich, as well as being a former member of the American band Nelson. Garsed was feature ...

– guitars *Angus Burchall – drums & percussion *

Wayne Nelson Wayne Nelson (born June 1, 1950) is an American musician best known for being the current lead singer of the rock band Little River Band, in which he also plays bass. Shortly after his birth, Nelson's family moved to Rome, Illinois, a suburb ...

– bass *

Venetta Fields Venetta Lee Fields (born 1941) is an American-born singer, musical theater actress and vocal coach. She was a backing vocalist for American and British rock and pop acts of the 1960s and 1970s, including Ike & Tina Turner, Pink Floyd, Humble ...

– vocals *Lindsay Field – vocals *

– 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 Lisa Anne Edwards (born 25 September 1958) is an Australian solo and session singer and musician. In July 1992 she had a top 5 hit on the ARIA Singles Chart with her cover version of Godley and Creme's "Cry". Edwards is primarily a backin ...

– additional vocals *

Ross Hannaford Ross Andrew Hannaford (1 December 1950 – 8 March 2016) was an Australian musician, active in numerous local bands. He was often referred to by his nickname "Hanna". Widely regarded as one of the country's finest rock guitarists, he was best kn ...

– additional vocals *Joe Creighton – additional vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

;General * Note: Archived n-linecopy has limited functionality. ;Specific {{Authority control 1988 albums John Farnham albums