Author | John O'Donnell, Toby Creswell, Craig Mathieson |
---|---|
Country | Australia |
Language | English |
Subject | Australian music, rock, pop, discography |
Publisher | Hardie Grant Books |
Publication date | 25 October 2010 |
Media type | print (hardback) |
Pages | 256 |
ISBN | 978-1-74066-955-9 |
OCLC | 646229830 |
The 100 Best Australian Albums (a.k.a. One Hundred Best Australian Albums) is a compendium of rock and pop albums of the past 50 years as compiled by music journalists Toby Creswell, Craig Mathieson and John O'Donnell. [1] The book was published on 25 October 2010 by Hardie Grant Books (Prahran, Victoria). [2] Sony Music has released a five CD compilation to support the book. [1]
According to O'Donnell, "It wouldn't be a good list if it didn't polarise people and we hope that this list will. We also hope that it will get people sitting around comparing their favourites and discovering or re-discovering these great albums and others." [3] The compendium was updated in November 2017 with ten additional entries, The 110 Best Australian Albums. [4] [5]
Creswell wrote his first article on rock & roll for Nation Review in 1972. [6] He subsequently wrote articles about all aspects of popular culture and music for RAM (Rock Australia Magazine), Billboard, Roadrunner and other national and international magazines and newspapers. [7] He has worked for MTV and a variety of television programs as a writer and presenter. In 1985 he became editor of the Australian edition of Rolling Stone and two years later was in a partnership which took over the franchise. [7] [8] He continued to edit Rolling Stone until September 1992. [8] He was a founding editor of Juice Magazine . [9] [10]
Mathieson is also a journalist, known for his work with Rolling Stone, Juice Magazine, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald , as well as for his book Hi Fi Days (1996), a biography of three leading Australian bands, Silverchair, Spiderbait and You Am I.
O'Donnell started out as a freelance writer, worked as Music Editor at Rolling Stone, before leaving to co-found and edit Juice Magazine. In 1994 O'Donnell created the Murmur label for Sony Music Australia and went on to sign successful artists, including Silverchair, Ammonia, Jebediah, and Something for Kate. He later worked for Sony at the corporate level before leaving for EMI Australia in 2002. O'Donnell was the CEO of EMI in the Oceania region from 2002 until September 2008. [11] O'Donnell is also active in a number of industry bodies such as ARIA and PPCA.
In July 2009, O'Donnell and some of his friends discussed their selections for the best Australian albums. He decided a book on the topic was required and contacted fellow journalists, Creswell and Mathieson, to pitch the idea to publishers with Hardie Grant being chosen. Over the latter part of 2009, the trio revisited numerous albums, O'Donnell estimates he listened to 450–500. After four months of trimming their lists, the authors divided up the descriptions of each entry according to personal experiences with Mathieson focusing on post-1980s, Creswell on 1960s and 1970s and O'Donnell providing the overview. [1]
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 is the fourth studio album by Midnight Oil that was released on vinyl in 1982 under the Columbia Records label. It peaked at No. 3 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart and remained on the chart for 171 weeks. It also became the band's first album to be released in the US, where it peaked at number 178 on the Billboard 200.
Neon Ballroom is the third studio album by Australian alternative rock band Silverchair, released in 1999 by record labels Murmur and Epic. The songs "Anthem for the Year 2000", "Ana's Song " and "Miss You Love" were released as singles and a short film was released for the song "Emotion Sickness". Neon Ballroom debuted at No. 1 on the Australian albums chart and peaked at No. 50 on the US Billboard 200 chart. It was also their most successful album on the UK Albums Chart, where it peaked at No. 29. The album was nominated for 10 ARIA Awards and was certified Triple Platinum by the ARIA for selling over 210,000 copies in Australia. The album has been described as "heavy rock with orchestral flourishes and synthetic touches with powerfully emotional lyrics" that reflects the personal demons of frontman Daniel Johns, due to the band's rapid international success.
Craig Mathieson is an Australian music journalist and writer. His books include, Hi Fi Days (1996), The Sell-In in (2000) and the 100 Best Australian Albums in 2010, with Toby Creswell and John O'Donnell
Stephen Donald Cummings is an Australian rock singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of Melbourne-based rock band the Sports from 1976 to 1981, followed by a solo career which has met with critical acclaim but has had limited commercial success. He has written two novels, Wonderboy (1996) and Stay Away from Lightning Girl (1999), and a memoir, Will It Be Funny Tomorrow, Billy (2009). In 2014 a documentary film, Don't Throw Stones, based on his memoir premiered as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival.
Hourly, Daily is an album by the Australian rock band, You Am I, released in July 1996. The album is Tim Rogers' portrait of Australian life, spread across 15 tracks. Themes include childhood, suburbia and relationships. The album also seems to run the course of a day, "Good Mornin'" beginning with an alarm clock, ending with the question of "Who Takes Who Home" on a night out, and after a period of silence, the hidden track entitled "Forget It Sister" begins with 'good morning baby..'
Tex, Don and Charlie are an Australian supergroup formed by Tex Perkins, Don Walker and Charlie Owen. Their first studio album Sad but True was released in 1993, two others were released in 2005 and 2017.
1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time and the Artists, Stories and Secrets Behind Them is a compendium of notable popular recordings collected by Australian rock journalist and critic Toby Creswell. The book was initially published in 2005 by Hardie Grant Books and subsequently published in the United States by Thunder's Mouth Press in 2006. It is not a collection of songs, but of the stories behind what Creswell considers are the great songs of all time – from George Gershwin to Missy Elliott, from Bob Dylan to Alicia Keys, from Frank Sinatra to The Offspring, from Leonard Cohen to Pulp. The book also features over 400 photographs and album covers.
16 Lovers Lane is the sixth album by Australian indie rock group The Go-Betweens, released in 1988 by Beggars Banquet Records. Prior to the recording of the album, longtime bassist Robert Vickers left the band when the other group members decided to return to Australia after having spent several years in London, England; he was replaced by John Willsteed. The album was recorded at Studios 301 in Sydney, between Christmas 1987 and Autumn 1988.
Mars Needs Guitars! is Australian rock group Hoodoo Gurus' second album, released in August 1985. The title is a reference to the 1967 science fiction film, Mars Needs Women. Singles from the album were "Bittersweet", "Like Wow – Wipeout", "Death Defying" and "Poison Pen". Mars Needs Guitars! reached No. 140 on the American Billboard 200 albums chart in 1986.
John O'Donnell is a long-standing member of the Australian music industry. Starting as a freelance writer, he eventually became the music editor of Rolling Stone Australia before leaving to co-found and edit Juice Magazine.
Toby Creswell is an Australian music journalist and pop-culture writer. He was editor of Rolling Stone (Australia) and a founding editor of Juice.
"Ana's Song (Open Fire)" is a song by the Australian alternative rock band Silverchair. It was released in May 1999 as the second single from their third album, Neon Ballroom. The song is about lead vocalist Daniel Johns' struggle with anorexia nervosa. "Ana's Song" peaked at No. 14 on Australia's ARIA Singles Chart, at No. 12 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, and at No. 28 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1999, it was nominated for two awards. The track also earned Silverchair a Comet Award in Germany.
Circus Animals is the fourth studio album by Australian band Cold Chisel, released on 8 March 1982. It was recorded and mixed at Paradise Studios and EMI Studios 301, Sydney, between September and December 1981. It reached number one on the Australian charts, remaining in the charts for 40 weeks, and also topped the New Zealand charts. The working title for the album was "Tunnel Cunts".
The Seekers' Greatest Hits is a compilation album released in Australia by EMI's Columbia label in July 1968 on the break-up of the Seekers. This album did not include "I'll Never Find Another You" or "A World of Our Own" which were previously released on The Seekers Sing Their Big Hits (1965) W&G 25/2512. The album peaked at number 1 for 17 weeks and was the highest selling album in Australia in 1968. It was also the first time an Australian artist had peaked at number 1 on the Australian album chart.
The discography of Australian rock group The Saints consists of thirteen studio albums, seventeen singles, six EPs, two live albums and ten compilation albums. The Saints began in 1974 as punk rockers and released their first single, "(I'm) Stranded", in September 1976 on their own Fatal Records label. They were signed to EMI and released their debut album in February 1977, (I'm) Stranded. Mainstay founder Chris Bailey is the principal songwriter and record producer. Their sound became more R&B and pop rock. Their highest-charting album, All Fools Day peaked in the Top 30 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart in April 1986. Their cover version of The Easybeats' hit "The Music Goes Round My Head", issued in November 1988, peaked in the Top 40 on the ARIA Singles Chart.
Leaves Me Blind is the second album by Australian indie rock/electronic band Underground Lovers, released in the UK in August 1992 and Australia in December. It was the first album released as part of a recording contract with the Polydor label. Three singles, "Ladies Choice" "I Was Right" and a remix of "Your Eyes" were taken from the album.
High is the second and final studio album by Australian punk rock band Royal Headache, released on 21 August 2015 by What's Your Rupture?.
"Wings of an Eagle and Other Great Hits" is the first greatest hits compilation by Australian singer songwriter Russell Morris. The album peaked at number 12 on the Go-Set chart in March 1973.
Goodbye Tiger is the fourth studio album by Australian rock music singer-songwriter, Richard Clapton. It was released in August 1977 via Infinity Records/Festival Records and was produced by Richard Batchens. It peaked at No. 11 on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart. In October 2010 it was listed at No. 15 in the book, 100 Best Australian Albums.
Juice was an Australian music magazine which was published between 1993 and 2003.