Music From The Home Front claims #1

There’s also debuts by Bob Dylan, Ocean Alley, Phoebe Bridgers and more!

The live album Music From The Home Front becomes the ninth Australian album to top the ARIA Albums Chart in 2020 as it debuts in the #1 spot this week.

The event was conceived and created by Michael Gudinski who said today:  
 
“I’m humbled and proud to receive this #1 award from ARIA on behalf of all the incredible artists who stepped up at the eleventh hour and delivered for ’Music From The Home Front’ , ‘Support Act’, ‘the RSL’ and all the front line workers  
 
I want to thank them all, and I’m also immensely proud of the Mushroom Team, Channel 9 and of course all the media that helped promote this most significant event.
 
‘Music From The Home Front’ is in the Top 5 moments of my life and I will never forget this unprecedented event that will remain etched in Australian music history”.

Dan Rosen, CEO of ARIA, said: “Congratulations to the Mushroom team and all the incredible artists involved in making Music From The Home Front on a Number 1 ARIA album. We live in challenging times, but the creativity and the generosity of our brilliant Australian artists shines through. This album is a testament to the talent we have in this country, and its success shows that Australian music is a fundamental part of our national spirit.”

Another multi-artist charity album, the former #1 Artists Unite For Fire Fight, returns to the Top 50 this week at #13.
 
The Seekers’ Hidden Treasures - Volume 1 moves back up the chart again, hitting #24, three spots below its previous peak.
 
Debuts:
 
#1: Various ‘Music From The Home Front’ – Aussie stars unite on the soundtrack to Music From The Home Front. The album brings together most of the tracks featured during the virtual concert broadcast on Channel 9 on ANZAC Day. It includes performances by ARIA Hall Of Fame inductees Jimmy Barnes, Crowded House, Mark Seymour, Colin Hay, Paul Kelly, James Reyne and Andrew Farriss (INXS), as well as ARIA winners Tones And I, Missy Higgins, Vance Joy, Bliss n Eso, Kate Ceberano, Delta Goodrem, Dean Lewis, Guy Sebastian and many more.

100% of profits from Music From The Home Front are going to Support Act - Australia’s only charity delivering crisis relief services to artists, crew and music workers as a result of ill health, injury, a mental health problem, or some other crisis that impacts on their ability to work in music.

#2: Bob Dylan ‘Rough And Rowdy Ways’ – Bob Dylan returns with Rough And Rowdy Ways, his 39th studio album. It’s the legendary singer-songwriter’s first album of original material since Tempest (#8 Sept. ’12), having since released a trio of albums that covered traditional pop standards: Shadows In The Night (#8 Feb. ’15), Fallen Angels (#11 May ’16) and Triplicate (#36 Apr. ’17). The album becomes Dylan’s first appearance in the Top Three since Modern Times (#1 Sept. ’06).

#3: Ocean Alley ‘Lonely Diamond’ – Sydney’s Ocean Alley make their first appearance in the ARIA Top Ten with Lonely Diamond. The band’s third studio album comes two years on from Chiaroscuro (#11 Feb. ‘19), which featured the ARIA Song Of The Year nominated track ‘Confidence’ (#9 Feb. ’19). Two singles from Lonely Diamond featured in the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2019: ‘Infinity’ (#24) and ‘Stained Glass’ (#54). Lonely Diamond is #1 on this week’s ARIA Vinyl Albums Chart, while Chiaroscuro is at #5.

#5: Lamb Of God ‘Lamb Of God’ – American metal band Lamb Of God take out their fourth Top Ten entry with their self-titled tenth album. The release is their first in five years, coming as the follow-up to VII - Sturm Und Drang (#2 Aug. ’15); their highest peak to date.

#12: Phoebe Bridgers ‘Punisher’ – Phoebe Bridgers scores her debut entry in the ARIA Top 50 with Punisher. The second solo album by the American singer-songwriter comes three years after her debut, 2017’s Stranger In The Alps. Between solo albums, Bridgers collaborated with Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst under the name Better Oblivion Community Center, releasing their self-titled debut album in January 2019. Punisher debuts at #3 on the Vinyl Albums Chart this week. 

#17: Neil Young ‘Homegrown’ – Neil Young hits the chart with the long-lost Homegrown album. Recorded in 1974/75, the album was originally intended to be the follow-up to mid-1974’s On The Beach but was shelved at the last minute in favour of Tonight’s The Night, which had been recorded in 1973. Homegrown includes performances by Levon Helm and Robbie Robertson of The Band, as well as Emmylou Harris. Young’s last appearance on the chart with another archival release, Hitchhiker (#22 Sept. ’17).

#48: Make Them Suffer ‘How To Survive A Funeral’ – Perth metalcore band Make Them Suffer take out their third entry on the ARIA Albums Chart with How To Survive A Funeral. The follow-up to Worlds Apart (#29 Aug. ’17) was released digitally this week, with the CD and vinyl versions set to come out on 10 July.

#50: John Williamson ‘JW Winding Back 1970-2020’ – ARIA Hall Of Fame Member John Williamson celebrates his golden anniversary in music with the box set JW Winding Back 1970-2020. The set includes 25 mini CDs with tracks from throughout Williamson’s career, as well as new tracks and custom artwork. The singer-songwriter last charted with Butcherbird (#13 Sept. ’18).