John Farnham followed up his huge hit
Whispering Jack with more of the same, in the form of
Age of Reason. Another hugely popular album in Australia, it reached pop as well as adult contemporary audiences. As always,
Farnham's voice was the weak link, although in many places this is disguised by the choice of some very competent backing singers in the form of Venetta Fields and Lisa Edwards. Musically,
Age of Reason was not greatly different from
Whispering Jack. In fact, the first single ("Age of Reason") was an attempt to re-create the success of "You're the Voice," right down to the bombastic lyrics. Despite this, "Age of Reason" was still the best track on the album. Both it and "Two Strong Hearts" became Australian hits. The rest of the disc is simply bland, commercial pop, culminating in a misguided cover of
AC/DC's "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)." ~ Jonathan Lewis