A Chart View

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I have often said that I don’t follow the charts much these days, getting most of my music from Apple Music and YouTube, and I have on occasion remarked that most of today’s music is not to my taste (I think the word ‘crap’ may have been used). I do occasionally take a look at what is happening, via the UK’s Official Charts Company, who I often rely on for details of songs and albums from yesteryear: their archives are incredibly detailed! Although the Singles Chart tends to be the one that gets most media attention I, unsurprisingly, find more that I like in the Albums Chart. The new lists are published on a Friday evening, and when I looked at the latest one it struck me that I had been listening to some of the newer stuff. A plan formed: another occasional (maybe even later forgotten) series loomed, and so this is the first of what I’m calling A Chart View. Others may follow, depending on whether you like this one!

What really took my attention was that the top two albums were both new entries, and I had been playing songs from both as their videos had been released to YouTube. So let’s get started with the title track of this week’s UK Albums Chart #1:

Mumford and Sons released Rushmere, the album, on 28 March and it went straight into the chart in its first week. They aren’t the most prolific of bands in album terms: this is only their fifth since they set out in 2009, and their first since November 2018. It gives them a score of three #1s and two #2s – impressive! It also made #19 in its first week in the US but as their previous four albums there have been three #1s and a #2 I’m expecting it to go higher. They have been through some changes in the hiatus, which include Marcus Mumford making a solo album and the departure of banjo player Winston Marshall. He made the ill-advised move of showing support on social media for an American extreme right-winger, the kind that makes MAGA look normal, and had to leave the band to avoid causing further damage to the brand. They have continued as a three piece, though the cast list of best musicians on the album is lengthy. To my ears, the album is a return to form: they have gone back to the ‘faux folk’ style with which they began, and which I think suits them best. The video for the song was released back in January, and the track has made a belated entry into the Singles Chart: new in last week at #83. In case you were wondering, the album is named after a pond on Wimbledon Common in London, where the band was first formed.

Following hot on the Mumfords’ heels was another of my favourite bands, who have also been away from the charts for a while: their most recent album before this was in November 2021. The band in question is The Darkness, and their new album is Dreams On Toast. This also came out on 28 March, though six of its tracks had already been drip-fed to us in the lead up. This was the third, released in January, although the video only came out on Monday:

Rock and Roll Party Cowboy is typical Darkness – amps cranked up to 11, catchy tune and lyrics, and a video that has a lot going on. They have an odd chart history here, with very little success in the Singles Chart but all of their albums doing well, though they tend to have a short shelf life. But what do I care – I just enjoy what they do. By the way, did you spot the name of the venue they were playing at in that video? I wonder what they could possibly have been referring to 🤣

Another of my favourites has returned after a long gap. This is Lady Gaga, who issued her sixth album, Mayhem, on 7 March, nearly five years after her previous one, though there have been plenty of singles in the meantime. There have been two singles taken from it as pre-release promotions, and this is the second of those:

As the video shows, that is Abracadabra. To my eyes and ears that is Gaga on top form: a song that gets you the first time you hear it, with a totally OTT bonkers video that you can’t take your eyes away from. The album is currently at #8 in the UK, having been #1, as it has in the US too. The single is also on its way down now: this week at #12, having peaked at #3. I’m glad to see her back again – I think our charts need her to shake them up occasionally.

Looking at the Albums Chart for the first time in a while, one thing that struck me was how many of the top 100 were compilations, those best of albums that seem to get churned out – on more than one occasion for some artists. I didn’t count them, but there must have been around 35 of them, I think. Some of these have had incredibly long chart lives: for example, ABBA’s Gold is currently at #16, having chalked up a total of 1,195 weeks in the chart. And Queen’s Greatest Hits isn’t far behind, at 1,145 weeks. I thought it would be a fair reflection of the chart to play you something from one of these compilations, and have gone for another of my favourites:

Little By Little was included on the Oasis compilation Time Flies – 1994-2009, which is currently at #22, having achieved an impressive 604 weeks in the chart. The song was originally released on the band’s fifth album, Heathen Chemistry, in July 2002, going to #1 here in the UK, with sales of 1.2m, but only making #23 in the US. It sold more than 6m worldwide, though. The track was released as a single in September 2002, and reached #2 in the UK. You may have noticed in the video the street sign next to Noel Gallagher, which identifies the location as being ‘Heathen Street, London EC2.’ No such street exists: this was created especially for the video, to reflect the album’s title. Two were believed to have been made, one of which was kept by a member of the agency working on the shoot, who later put it up for auction at Christie’s. I hope potential buyers knew that it wasn’t made of real street sign material!

Having said that I don’t have much time for current music I thought it only right that I sample a few of them to prove myself correct. I went through several of them – yes, dear reader, I have done my research so that you don’t have to – and on the whole this was a pretty depressing experience. But there was one song that really leapt out at me, and the accompanying video is great, so at the risk of destroying any credibility I may have built up as a lover of rock and folk music, here is the song currently at #2 in the UK Singles Chart:

That was Chappell Roan with Pink Pony Club. The record has had two UK chart runs, the first of seven weeks last autumn and the current one of thirteen weeks, during which it has spent two weeks at #1. It isn’t my usual thing, but there’s nothing wrong with stepping outside our musical comfort zone occasionally, is there? The album on which it is included, The Diary Of A Midwest Princess, is currently at #13, in an unbroken 51 week run which has also included two weeks at #1. The confusing thing for me, though, is that the video I have just played was published in April 2020, and has over 56m views. Apparently this is a classic case of a sleeper hit, as the song was released as a single back then but didn’t make the US chart until June 2024, more than four years later. It has since gone on to sell more than 2m copies in the US and 600k in the UK – proving that good things can be worth the wait! The album was released in September 2023, and also had a slow start, but not quite as much as the single, taking just six months to make it here and a little over three months in the US. I am intrigued by Kayleigh Rose Amstutz – her real name – and will continue to watch out for her.

Before you think I’ve completely lost it, I thought I’d close today with another of my favourites, from one more of those compilation albums. They don’t come much better than this:

Dire Straits and Sultans of Swing qualify for inclusion by being in both charts this week. The song was originally on their eponymous debut album, which was released in June 1978 and reached #5 in the UK and #2 in the US. It was also a single, released the month before the album and peaking at #8 in the UK and #4 in the US first time out. It has been on all three of the band’s ‘Best Of’ albums, and the last of those – Private Investigations – crept back into the UK Albums Chart at #100 last week. That compilation was released in November 2005, and peaked at #20 in its first week. It has never gone higher than that, but has made a total of 45 appearances in the chart, for a combined total of 142 weeks. Great music will always have its appeal! And just to top it off, the song is a new re-entry in this week’s Singles Chart at #41, for the first time since its original run in 1979 – another first time sleeper hit, and an even longer gap to its second appearance!

So, that was my first look into the UK charts – mostly Albums, but with an added dash of Singles. This was fun for me and I hope you enjoyed it too. Who knows, if I remember I might do it again sometime!

See you again for Song Lyric Sunday 🎶

 

48 thoughts on “A Chart View”

  1. Pingback: That Was April | Take It Easy

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    • I was pleasantly surprised to find one I really liked, and I’ve played several more of hers and enjoyed them too.

      Elton’s new album came straight in at #1 this week. It’s a collaboration with Brandi Carlile, an Americana singer-songwriter who is a friend of Joni Mitchell.

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    • That song deserves it: it’s very good, and the video is great. It shows me that I shouldn’t dismiss current chart music out of hand, though I did have to wade through some dross before I found it!

      Always good to find another Dire Straits fan. That one is a good driving song too 👍

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  6. I didn’t have you pegged as a Lady Gaga fan, Clive! I love almost everything she’s done. And you should definitely check out some more Chappell Roan. My favourite from the album is Red Wine Supernova.

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  8. It’s not like I follow current music these days, but I will push back some on the suggestion that much of it is crap. I suspect that most of us think the music we grew up with was the best. For the past five decades (I’m now 66), it seems I’ve heard the same argument about the music of the day. I certainly wouldn’t listen to some of today’s popular tunes, but there are others I think are surprisingly good.

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    • I made that same point in response to another comment. And having listened to quite a few of the current hits while preparing this piece I stand by my judgement! But like you say, there are some gems to be found, and Chappel Roan is one such.

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  11. Oh, how cool! Sultans of Wings is a classic. I did not know it was in the charts again. That’s great! Except the first two, I knew the others. So thanks for digging into the charts and sharing them with us, Clive!

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      • It is even cooler that they are in the charts again: Songs we should know. And now we do, thanks to you, at least the two. OMG, that last sentence just happened 😂

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  14. Well Clive I loved all these tracks …Dire Straits included because as you know I love music, new, old and acient …all of the tracks today were brilliant.. especially Mumford &Sons and Lady Gaga , plus the great Oasis all tracks really great… Thanks for the lift I really needed one…Oh! No Sam?? 🤣🤣😁

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    • Thank you, Willow, I’m pleased you enjoyed these. I tried to give a mixed selection of what’s in the charts, once I got past the huge number in the Singles list of whom I’d never heard! I’m glad it gave you a lift, too. Unless I missed him, I don’t think Sam is in the charts at present – though Sam Fender is 😉

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  15. Those were some pretty good ones. I don’t listen to much new music either, just once in awhile. I really liked that Mumford and Sons song a lot, and how they did the video. Also the Pink Pony Club one was good. 🙂

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    • Thank you, Barbara, I’m pleased you enjoyed these. I agree – the Mumfords video was simple but effective in showing the joy of music. And Chappell Roan surprised me by how good she was!

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  18. A really fun look at new music through the lens of classic music…there is good music today, but not much of it holds up to the best from the past…I saw Mumford & Sons in concert about 5 years ago, and while they are great live, the music all becomes a bit the same after listening for an hour straight…Oasis is so great I have everything they released – but there are album tracks that aren’t quite as strong – still, who has wall to wall great music without any filler? Not easy to do! Great post!

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    • Thank you, John, I’m pleased you enjoyed it. I agree that music used to be better, but always have to consider that may be because we prefer what we grew up with. It’s good that I found a couple of your favourites among these 😊

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      • That’s a good point about the influence music has on our when we are younger…but like you, I keep up with what is out there and am always finding new artists to listen to as well!

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      • I don’t keep up as much as I perhaps should. I listened to a lot of music that was new to me while compiling this and it was an eye opener (or ear opener?).

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