The ninth studio album for The Foo Fighters becomes their seventh No.1 album in Australia as “Concrete and Gold” comes straight in at the top of the ARIA Albums Chart, on sales of Gold (●) too.
“Concrete and Gold” becomes the 809th No.1 album in Australia (1965 to 2017) and the 660th for ARIA (1983 to 2017), plus the 453rd to debut at the top of the Album charts, and also the seventh No.1 for the Roswell record label all of which were previous Foo Fighters albums from “One by One” (1 wk) in late October of 2002, with their longest run being for their second No.1 “In Your Honour” which spent five weeks at the top from mid-June in 2005. The band has seen six of their studio albums hit the top now, with their “Greatest Hits” set being the bands’ seventh No.1, that album returning to the chart this week at No.18 for its 194th week within the Top 100.
The Foo’s have now accumulated twelve weeks at No.1 in Australia from their seven summit sets, making them now equal 51st on the list of ‘Accumulated Weeks at No.1: Albums’ alongside other acts who’ve notched up twelve weeks at the top like Billy Joel, Pink Floyd, Robbie Williams (all from four No.1’s) and Meat Loaf (from two #1’s), whilst scoring them their seventh No.1 album puts them equal eighth on the list of ‘Most No.1 Albums’ with Rod Stewart, Elton John, The Twelfth Man, Eminem and The Rolling Stones, with the bands tally for this decade now up to four weeks placing them equal twelfth on the list for ‘Most Weeks at No.1: Albums; 2010’s’ alongside Justin Bieber and Keith Urban.
This is the first time that the word ‘Concrete’ has been in a No.1 album title, and the fourth time that ‘Gold’ has been struck at the summit of the album charts, two of which were best of sets for ABBA and Cliff Richard, whilst the other was the live Dire Straits album from 1982 “Love Over Gold” (15 weeks at No.1 from 11th Oct, 1982). This new No.1 album also becomes the 283rd No.1 by an American act (solo, duo or group) and the third No.1 by an American artist this year after Lana Del Rey (31st July) and earlier this month Queens of the Stone Age (4th Sept.), and “Concrete and Gold” is also the 365th No.1 by a Group (local or overseas) and the seventh by a group this year after The xx, Dune Rats, The Waifs, Bliss N’ Eso, Gang of Youths and the aforementioned QOTSA.
The fourth studio album for local brother and sister duo Angus & Julia Stone entitled “Snow” comes in at No.2 this week, becoming the pairs’ fourth consecutive Top 10 album, and the first of their last three albums not to debut in the top spot, as they previously hit No.1 with their second album “Down the Way” (22nd March, 2010 for two weeks) and then their self-titled third set came in at No.1 in the 11th of August in 2014.
The second and final new certification on the albums chart this week is a 5x▲Platinum for the Ed Sheeran album “÷ (Divide)”, which is back up one spot to No.3, and jumping up six places to No.4 thanks to their national tour is the Gang of Youths set “Go Farther in Lightness” for a fifth week within the Top 10 (their previous two Top 10 entries only stayed for a single week each), and then the third Australian act within the Top 5 this week is last weeks No.1 debut for Anthony Callea and “ARIA No.1 Hits in Symphony” dropping only four spots this week to No.5, not as much of a drop as last years “Backbone” No.1 for him, which fell to No.6 in its second week.
This years ‘Frozen’ soundtrack in “Moana” (in that its been selling long after the movies initial run, and has hung around a long time, plus they’re both Disney soundtracks), moves back up one spot to No.6, now in its 21st week within the Top 10. Paul Kelly’s longest running Top 10 studio album “Life is Fine” is down two places to No.7, followed by the third and final Top 10 debut for the week in the EP “Love Yourself: Her” by Korean boy band BTS which becomes their first Top 10 entry here. Neil Finn debuted three weeks ago at No.12 with the (at the time) digitally released album “Out of Silence” which fell to No.46 last week, and now this week it zooms back up thirty-five places to land at a new peak of No.9 thanks to its physical CD release last week, and this now becomes Neil’s fifth Top 10 album here in Australia. The only other surviving debut from last week is the Jack Johnson set “All the Light Above it Too”, which drops seven places this week to land at No.10.
UP:
* London Grammar did shows around the country this past week, which helps their recent second album “Truth is a Beautiful Thing” to rebound this week forty-nine spots to land at No.17, whilst their debut set “If You Wait” returns to the chart at No.83.
* Last week Benny Anderson from ABBA was interviewed on Channel 7’s ‘Sunday Night’, and stated that their would be 2019 World tour of the band with holograms and a live band, which this week has sparked a couple of their back-catalogue compilations to the return to the chart this week, with “ABBA Gold & More” returning at No.27, and also the singular “ABBA Gold” is back in at No.81.
* The forthcoming new Pink album and recent local interviews has pushed her “Greatest Hits… So Far!!!” album back in at No.29 this week.
* There’s a forty-three place jump to No.34 for the Red Hot Chili Peppers “GH” set and the INXS “Very Best of” is back up seven to No.37 and could rise more with the recent biopic of Michael’s being promoted.
* The new entry for Post Malone in “Rockstar” sparks his current album “Stoney” to rise seven places this week to a new peak of No.35, even though the new single is not on the album.
* The two Linkin Park entries both rise this week, with their debut set “Hybrid Theory” up fourteen places to No.63 and their recent studio album “One More Light” up eleven spots to No.66.
* The current Top 10 placement on the singles chart for Sia helps her album “This is Acting” to climb back up nine spots to No.69.
* The rise of the current Gang of Youths album was due to their recent national tour before they head to Europe in early October, and their local tour also pulls their debut set “The Positions” back into the Top 100 at No.72.
* Three further returning albums this week are “RearViewMirror” by Pearl Jam at No.89 and The Killers’ “Direct Hits” at No.94 ahead of their new album charting next week, whilst “Lemonade” for Beyonce is back in at No.97 too.
* Elton John kicked off a national tour in Mackay on Friday night, so expect this weeks on hold at #100 set “Rocket Man: Definitive Hits” to jump up next week.
DOWN:
* Four albums entered the Top 10 this week, so the four dropouts are “Villains” (HP-1×1, WI10-3) for Queens of the Stone Age, down four to No.12 and also down four to No.13 is the “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2” (HP-2, WI10-12a) soundtrack. Whilst two of last weeks debuts leave after a single week in “Sleep Well Beast” (HP-2, WI10-1) for National, down thirteen to No.15 and plummeting fifty eight spots to No.64 is “Slowheart” (HP-6, WI10-1) for Kip Moore.
* Khalid peaked at No.15 last week with his “American Teen” album, which this week slips back down seven places to No.22.
* Vance Joy are back down eight places to No.25 with “Dream Your Life Away”.
* Carole King’s “Tapestry” drops nine chart-stitches to land at No.41.
* With the Ariana Grande tour here finished, her “Dangerous Woman” album is back down nineteen places to No.42.
* Shawn Mendes drops eleven places to No.46 with his “Illuminate” set.
* Odesza’s debut from last week “A Moment Apart” zooms down thirtty-eight spots to No.51.
* The War on Drugs loses fifteen chart places to drop to No.52 with “A Deeper Understaning”.
* Drake’s “Views” dip back down below the Top 50 horizon, as the set is down fifteen places to No.61.
* Adele’s second album “21” is down fifteen places to No.65.
* Lana Del Rey drops almost sixty places this week as “Lust for Life” falls from No.19 to No.68.
* Dua Lipa might have climbed to No.2 with her single “New Rules”, but her self-titled album drops eleven spots this week to No.71.
* Zara Larsson sees her album “So Good” fall nineteen places to No.73.
* The Meg Mac album “Low Blows” is down fifteen spots to No.74.
* There’s a twenty-one place slide for The Chainsmokers set “Memories… Do Not Open” to No.77.
* Nothing But Thieves plummets sixty-seven spots to No.79 with their now “Broken Machine”, with another machine in Nickelback’s “Feed the Machine” famished by twenty-seven chart spots to No.80.
* Collections drop for Michael Jackson (67 to 82), Cold Chisel (69 to 84), Play School (63 to 90), Maroon 5 (85 to 96) and Fleetwood Mac (GH, 81 to 99).
* Halsey has a single rising and one falling, but her album falls too as “hopeless kingdom fountain” is down thirty places to No.87.
* Neil Youngs debut of “Hitchhiker” last week at No.22 is down a massive sixty-six spots this week toNo.88.
* LCD Soundsystem debuted at No.10 three weeks ago, now their “American Dream” crumbles sixty-one places to land at No.92.
* Vera Blue’s “Perennial” album wilts thirty-eights spots to No.93.
* The Lil’ Uzi vert set “Luv is Rage 2” drops twenty-three places to land at No.95.
* Three albums leaving the Top 100 from last weeks Top 50 are by Catsplay (#16), Arch Enemy (#26) and Thomas Rhett (#30, the new US No.1 album this week).
FURTHER NEW ENTRIES:
* #11 (LP#1) – self-titled by Prophets of Rage is the debut of the supergroup made up of members of Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, Public Enemy and Cypress Hill.
* #14 (GH) – The 50 Greatest Hits by Elvis Presley is the 57th compilation of Elvis songs to chart in Australia, and charts after the recent 40th Anniversary of Elvis’ passing in 1977.
* #20 (Liv#5) – Rebel Heart Tour by Madonna is the first of Madonna’s five live albums to chart here, this one has more signifigance as it was recorded at Sydney’s Allphones Arena during her tenth world tour to promote her No.1 album here “Rebel Heart”.
* #21 (LP#1) – Dumb Days by Tired Lion is the debut studio album for the Perth four piece indie-rock band, who released two previous EP’s in 2013 and 2015.
* #40 (LP#2) – The Aviary by Galantis is the second album for the Swedish duo, the new set landing two places lower than their debut entry “Pharmacy” (HP-38) achieved in mid-August of 2015.
* #48 (LP#1) – Vision by Touch Sensitive is the debut album for local producer, DJ and live performer, who has previously worked with Flume, Flight Facilites. Hayden James and Rufus.
* #50 (LP#4) – In Contact by Caligula’s Horse is the Brisbane indie-rock bands fourth studio album and now second Top 100 entry, as their third set “Bloom” made it to No.75 in late October 2015.
* #55 (EP#2) – Future Friends – Part Two by Superfruit is the follow-up to the duo’s “Part One” (HP-31) from mid-July of this year, with their entire album also just issued too.
* #59 (LP#15) – The Laughing Apple by Yusuf/Cat Stevens is the first new album in three years from the 60’s & 70’s folk/pop-singer, and follows on from “Tell ’em I’m Gone” (HP-24) in November of 2014.
* #76 (LP#22) – Savage (Songs from a Broken World) by Gary Numan is the UK singers first entry for ARIA and his first albums chart appearance since his fourth live set “White Noise” made it to No.64 in July of 1985, and this becomes his sixth albums chart entry in Australia (five studio and one live album), whilst this crowd funded album managed a No.2 debut in England this week.
Gavin Ryan reports with thanks to Australian-Charts.com
