Twenty years ago this month local singer/songwriter Paul Kelly scored his highest charted album, now his 23rd studio set “Life is Fine” becomes his first No.1 album in Australia, debuting at the top of the ARIA Albums Chart this week.
“Life is Fine” becomes the 805th No.1 for Australia (Jan 1965 to 2017) and the 656th for ARIA (1983 to 2017), plus the 449th to debut in the No.1 spot and the very first on Paul’s own record label ‘Gawd Aggie’. As I mentioned in the first paragraph, back in June, July and August of 1997 his collection “Songs from the South: Greatest Hits” debuted at No.2 for four broken weeks, which at the time and up until now had been his highest charted album, with the expanded set “GH Vol.1&2” back into the Top 100 at No.59 this week.
This is the ninth album to hit No.1 with a ‘Life’ in its title, with the eighth one being only four weeks ago for Lana Del Rey and “Lust for Life”, but it’s the first album with a ‘Fine’ attached to its title to hit the top here. Paul Kelly becomes the sixth Australian act to hit the top this year (Kasey Chambers, Dune Rats, Busby Marou, The Waifs and Bliss N’ Eso were the last back in early May), whilst overall this is the 216th Australian performed No.1 album (solo, duo or group). Paul Kelly becomes the 109th Australian act to hit the top and the 28th Solo Aussie Male performer to do so, plus the album is the 223rd No.1 performed by a Solo Male Artist (local or overseas).
Ed Sheeran’s “÷ (Divide)” is back down one spot to No.2 after 19 weeks at No.1 here, and then the second of three Top 5 debuts this week in the third album for US singer Kesha entitled “Rainbow”, which comes in at No.3, becoming her second Top 5/10 album and also now her highest charted, beating the No.4 peak of her debut set “Animal” (Jan 2010), with the albums lead single “Praying” sitting at No.6 this week. Whilst the final Top 5/10 debut this week is the self-titled second album for Melbourne singer/songwriter Jen Cloher (also the partner of Courtney Barnett), which comes straight in at No.5 becoming her first chart entry and Top 10 album in the same week.
Two soundtracks sit within the Top 10 this week, with the “Moana” set on hold at No.4, and the just issued DVD and BR for “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2” sees its compilation of 70’s & 80’s songs rebound twelve places to land at No.8 for an eighth week within the Top 10. Dropping back three places to No.6 is the Kendrick Lamar album “DAMN.”, which just went back to No.1 in the USA, whilst the second Lorde album “Melodrama” which leapt back up to No.2 last week is down this week five spots to No.7, with the Imagine Dragons “Evolve” album dropping down three to No.9, there is a second returning album to the Top 10 in Ed Sheeran with his second set “x” up one to No.10 for its 104th week inside the Top 10.
UP:
* The classic 1971 No.1 US album (at this time of year too) “Tapestry” by Carole King leaps up eighty places to No.11, its highest Top 50 placing since it made it to No.45 in February of 2013.
* Ed Sheeran’s first album “+” is also back up, seven places to No.18, so his three albums are all within the Top 20 again this week.
* A couple of more soundtracks which climb are for “Trolls” (26 to 20) and “Sing” (73 to 66).
* With four songs again within the Top 100 singles chart, the Khalid album “American Teen” is up one spot this week to a new peak of No.21.
* The Weeknd and his “Starboy” set jump back up eight spots to No.30.
* Bruno Mars’ “24k Magic” might have only climbed a single place, but it is now ▲Platinum in sales.
* Keith Urban’s “Ripcord” jumps back up fifteen places to No.52 this week.
* There’s a twenty-three places rise for “The Very Very Best of” for Crowded House to No.54, whilst the Guns N’ Roses “GH” set is back up twenty-six spots to No.61, the Fleetwood Mac “GH” album jumps twenty-one to No.75 and their “Very Best of” returns at No.86 (thanks to the Stevie Nicks tour announcement with Chrissie Hynde, and their interview on 60 Minutes last weekend), and “The Essential” for Michael Jackson is back up fourteen spots to No.81
* After Paul Kelly’s re-entry at No.59 and the Mac’s Very Best of, the only other returning album is at No.67 for Adam Harvey & Beccy Cole with “The Great Country Songbook Vol.II”.
DOWN:
* The first of five albums leaving the Top 10 this week is the soundtrack for “Baby Driver” (HP-5×2, WI10-4), down seven to No.12, followed by the Linkin Park latest album “One More Light” (HP-3, WI10-4a) dropping fourteen places to No.23, whilst Lana Del Rey’s “Lust for Life” (HP-1×1, WI10-3) subsides seventeen spots to No.25. Arcade Fire see their album “Everything Now” (HP-2, WI10-2) tumble twenty-six places to No.36 and finally the big tumble of the week is for local act Boo Seeka and their debut last week of “Never Too Soon” (HP-8, WI10-1), which plummets sixty-five places to land at No.73 this week.
* After a rebound last week after the physical release, this week the Tyler, The Creator album “Flower Boy” is back down ten places to No.22.
* Now that his tour here is over, the Rag’N’Bone Man debut album “Human” is down nine spots to No.24.
* Calvin Harris falls eight places to No.27 with his “Funk Wav Bounces Vol.1” album.
* The remaining three Linkin Park albums charting at the moment all drop too this week, with “Hybrid Theory” down seventeen places to No.33, “Meteora” is down twenty-five to No.57 and finally “Minutes to Midnight” plummets thirty-four spots to land at No.99.
* Dan Sultan falls twenty-two places this week to No.35 with his “Killer” set.
* With the Carole King album surging, the covers album “Beautiful-A Tribute to Carole King” is down nine spots to No.40.
* The Chainsmokers moved up the charts last week with “Memories… Do Not Open”, which this week is back down thirteen places No.41.
* Alice Cooper falls fifteen places to No.42 with his “Paranormal” album.
* The Voice 2017 winner Judah Kelly is down twenty-six spots to No.44 with his “Count on Me” set.
* It’s a ten place fall for the Meg Mac album “Low Blows” to No.46 this week.
* After her promo tour, the Zara Larsson album “So Good” falls back down thirteen to No.50.
* London Grammar are down twelve places to No.58 with “Truth is a Beautiful Thing”.
* A new HAIM single enters the chart this week, but their album “Something to Tell You” drops twenty places to land at No.62.
* Passenger plummets thirty-nine places to No.68 with “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”.
* Two of last weeks three Glen Campbell albums survived for the second week, but both drop down, with his “20 Golden Greats” down nineteen to No.71 and the “Greatest Hits” set down thirty-nine places to No.80.
* Halsey has a twenty place drop for “hopeless kingdom fountain” to No.74 this week.
* Whilst there is a twenty-one place fall for Pete Murray and his “Camacho” album to No.84.
* Jay-Z tumbles thirty-two places to No.91 with his latest album “4:44”.
* Two kids albums that fall in the lower fifty are for “50 Best Songs” for Play School (76 to 96) and the soundtrack for “Beauty and the Beast” (56 to 100).
* Two albums leave the Top 100 from last weeks Top 50 in Travis Collins & Amber Lawrence with “Our Backyard” (#40) and “Deaweight” for Wage War (#45).
Gavin Ryan reports with thanks to Australian-Charts.com
