''Chain Reaction'' is the 14th studio album by Australian 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 in Australia on 24 September 1990, becoming the highest selling album in Australia for that year, which debuted at No. 1 on the

ARIA albums 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 ...

. By the end of the following year it was accredited 7× platinum by

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) for shipment of 490,000 units. It provided four singles: the

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title. Title track may a ...

(August 1990) reached No. 6, "

That's Freedom "That's Freedom" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter, Tom Kimmel. It was taken from his debut studio album, ''5 to 1''. John Farnham version In 1990, Australian pop rock singer John Farnham recorded a version of "That ...

" (September) peaked at No. 6, " Burn for You" (November) reached No. 5 and "In Days to Come" (March 1991) peaked at No. 49. ''Chain Reaction'' was re-released on vinyl on 18 August 2017 by Sony Music.

Background

was keen to change his sound on ''Chain Reaction'' from his previous two studio albums ''

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: ...

'' (October 1986) and '' Age of Reason'' (July 1988). Consequently he enlisted the song writing help of

Southern Sons Southern Sons was an Australian rock band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria in 1989 by members of The State (band), The State along with lead vocalist and guitarist Irwin Thomas, who was then using the stage name Jack Jones. ...

' guitarist Phil Buckle, producer Ross Fraser and former band mate and keyboardist

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 ...

: nine of the twelve songs on the album are co-written by Farnham. Doug Brady was brought in as audio engineer, whose daughter was born during recording sessions: her photo is in the centre of the front cover. Farnham chose to launch ''Chain Reaction'' at the New South Wales Rugby League Grand Final at

Sydney Football Stadium The Sydney Football Stadium, commercially known as Allianz Stadium and previously Aussie Stadium, was a football stadium in Moore Park, Sydney, Australia. Built in 1988 next to the Sydney Cricket Ground, the stadium was Sydney's premier rect ...

on 23 September as part of its pre-game entertainment. His set included the debut live performance of its second single, "

Reception

According to

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's Jonathan Lewis, ''Chain Reaction'' saw Farnham "aiming for the adult contemporary market." Lewis praised "In Days to Come" as "a great song that became a deserving Australian hit."

Chain Reaction tour and DVD

The album was promoted by his nationwide Chain Reaction Tour. Mid-tour he attended

Parliament House, Canberra Parliament House, also referred to as Capital Hill or simply Parliament, is the meeting place of the Parliament of Australia, and the seat of the legislative branch of the Australian Government. Located in Canberra, the Parliament building is ...

in November 1990 to lobby sitting members,

Ros Kelly Roslyn Joan Kelly AO (née Raw; born 25 January 1948) is a former member of the Australian House of Representatives, having represented the Division of Canberra from 18 October 1980 to 30 January 1995. She was a minister in the governments ...

and John Button, to bring in harsher penalties against bootleg and pirate recordings. ''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...

'' Megan Bird reported his talent manager,

Glenn Wheatley Glenn Dawson Wheatley (23 January 1948 – 1 February 2022) was an Australian musician, talent manager and tour promoter. Career Wheatley began his career as a musician in Brisbane in the mid-1960s. In the late 1960s he became known national ...

's claim that Farnham is "the most bootlegged artist in Australia." The tour concluded with a televised performance at

Rod Laver Arena Rod Laver Arena is a multipurpose arena located within Melbourne Park, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The arena is the main venue for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tennis tournament of the calendar year. History Replacing the ...

in Melbourne, (then known as Flinders Park National Tennis Centre), on either 14 and 15 December 1990. This performance aired on Australia's Channel Seven and was released on VHS. The video album was reissued as a DVD, ''

Chain Reaction Live in Concert ''Chain Reaction Live in Concert'' (originally titled "Chain Reaction Tour") is a DVD release by Australian singer John Farnham. The DVD was released in Australia on 13 November 2005 in conjunction with '' Classic Jack Live!''. This DVD contai ...

'' on 13 November 2005.

Track listing

Personnel

Credited to: *

– vocals, acoustic guitar *

– keyboards, bass guitar, string arrangements, programming, piano *

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 *Phil Buckle – guitars * Jack Jones – guitars *

Tommy Emmanuel William Thomas Emmanuel (born 31 May 1955) is an Australian guitarist. Regarded as one of the greatest acoustic guitarists of all time, he is known for his complex fingerstyle technique, energetic performances and use of percussive effects on ...

– guitars *Ross Fraser – guitars, producer *Steve Williams – harp, tenor sax, harmonica *

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 ...

Background

Reception

Chain Reaction tour and DVD

Track listing

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

See also

References