Midnight Oil Albums (13)
What The Critics Say
With Capricornia, the Australian political rockers return with their first album of new material in four years. More than 25 years into their career, there's nothing surprising about Midnight Oil's approach at the turn of the millennium, but Capricornia finds them delivering their expected blend of melodic, muscular, and thoughtful guitar rock. They're still as righteously indignant as ever over the plight of the common man, although perhaps not quite as direct or focused. There's plenty of fire in the belly, though, on driving cuts like "Golden Age" and the tempered optimism of "World That I See," while they exhibit their trademark resilience on "Tone Poe." From its lovely, stripped-down intro, "Under the Overpass" (about the homeless) builds to a powerful climax, providing one of the album's highlights, and they work up a good head of steam on the forceful "Say Your Prayers" (which, musically, is reminiscent of U2's "Zoo Station"). Capricornia isn't likely to garner them a new audience, but it's equally unlikely to disappoint Oil's devoted fan base. ~ Tom Demalon, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
With Midnight Oil's live album (Scream in Blue) and their first "greatest-hits" collection (20,000 Watt R.S.L.), it might seem strange to learn of the band releasing yet another concert album of past favorites. However, there are a few important distinctions. First, The Real Thing has four new songs straight from the studio. Second, all these live songs are from the band's more subtle acoustic performances. And third, it is one of the most definitive collections the band has ever recorded. "The Dead Heart" sounds utterly magnificent, injecting restrained aboriginal majesty into one of the band's most over-played songs. However, "In the Valley" (taken from the band's MTV Unplugged show) is the most telling: Completely subverted into a piano-led solo instead of the original's searing peaks, Peter Garrett vocalizes the loss of the recent death of a loved one with such vulnerability it is nothing less than astonishing. So with this in mind, are the new studio tracks even worthwhile or just distractions? Well, both "Say Your Prayers" and "The Last of the Diggers" retain the renewed vitriol of albums like Redneck Wonderland, yet more with the natural tones of Earth and Sun and Moon this time around. One may feel that The Real Thing as a whole might lack the sheer onslaught of a more varied, "plugged" Midnight Oil, but even an embittered listener would have to admit that the band is first and foremost a live group. Because to showcase such strengths in this enormously rewarding collection of acoustic live selections is a welcome open door for a casual listener as well as a blowing kiss to longtime, loyal fans. ~ Dean Carlson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
For this, its 12th full-length album, Midnight Oil re-hired producer Warne Livesey, who had worked with them on their biggest international successes, Diesel and Dust and Blue Sky Mining. He helped them to achieve a sound that was a virtual compendium of familiar late-'60s rock styles -- Led Zeppelin on the title track, the Beatles on "Safety Chain Blues," the Who on "Blot," the Beach Boys on "Drop in the Ocean." At least, that was true musically; the vocals were sometimes so compressed they sounded like they were coming out of a bullhorn. Given the lyrics, that was appropriate, since the album was, as the band's press bio put it, "written and recorded in response to the rise of anti-Asia MP Pauline Hanson and her far-right One Nation Party." Outside of Australia, that could make the songs difficult to understand completely, although, for example, the environmentalist sense of "Concrete" and "Seeing Is Believing" were unmistakable, and the group's anger fueled its performances. Still, lines like "triumphalism gotta be a curse or even worse" probably sent more fans to the dictionary than the barricades. In Australia, the album went Top Ten, though it failed to chart in the U.S., which is less an indication of its local focus than of the group and/or its record company's diminished interest in the international market. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Breathe strips away some of the big, detailed production of Earth and Sun and Moon, replacing it with a more direct sound while keeping the anthemic melodicism of the group's more recent records intact. The result is an album that is less ambitious than its predecessor, yet also more forceful, and Midnight Oil sounds enlivened in this less constricted setting. Breathe may not have the overall impact of Diesel and Dust and Earth and Sun and Moon, but it remains one of the group's best latter-day records. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'Earth and Sun and Moon'
Release Date 1/1/1993
Tracks 11
Label Columbia
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
If Earth and Sun and Moon isn't Midnight Oil's best effort, it's certainly close. The band still sticks to themes that are close to its heart -- the environment, native peoples, and other social causes -- but rarely has it managed to fashion an album full of songs that are as musically intoxicating as on this 1993 release. "My Country" is full of jangling guitars and keyboards; the punchy title track has an infectious singalong harmony; and "Bushfire" adds some mean wah-wah guitar. The Oils managed to score some radio play on AOR and modern rock stations with the bracing "Truganini," the dramatic, piano-tinged rocker "Drums of Heaven," and the grinding shuffle of "Outbreak of Love." A satisfying release for longtime fans and new converts alike. ~ Tom Demalon, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Scream In Blue Live is, thankfully, a very worthy addition to the group's catalogue. The Oils' music has always had more edge and power in a live setting, and this captures it perfectly. All that's missing is the visual dimension of frantic and imposing front-man Peter Garrett stalking the stage. Great songs that were delivered too tamely in their studio incarnations -- "Dreamworld" from Diesel and Dust and "Stars of Warburton" from Blue Sky Mining, for example -- erupt in full bloom live from the Brisbane Boondall Centre. Other highlights include "Progress," recorded in 1990 at a protest rally in front of Exxon head offices on 6th Avenue in New York, and a passionate plea for aboriginal rights that serves as an introduction to "Beds Are Burning." ~ Roch Parisien, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett has long been active in elective politics in Australia, and like any good politician, he knows that sometimes the most important thing is to get your message out to the masses, even it means speaking with a bit less force than might be your custom. While the hard edges and challenging angles of 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and Red Sails in the Sunset made Midnight Oil bona fide superstars in Australia, they were little more than a rumor in most of the rest of the world, and for their sixth album, Diesel and Dust, Midnight Oil made some changes in their approach. On Diesel and Dust, there's less in the way of bruising hard rock like "Best of Both Worlds," nothing as eccentric as "Outside World," and very little as esoterically regional as "Jimmy Sharman's Boxers," while the production favors the tuneful side of the band's songwriting (which, truth to tell, was always there) and buffs away some of the group's harsher edges. As a result, Diesel and Dust isn't an album for hardcore Oils fans, but as a bid for a larger audience, it was both shrewd and well executed -- it was the group's first real worldwide success, going platinum in America and spawning a massive hit single, "Beds Are Burning." While the album lacks the kick-in-the-head impact of their earlier work, Diesel and Dust also makes clear that the bandmembers could apply their intelligence and passion to less aggressive material and still come up with forceful, compelling music, as on the haunting "The Dead Heart" and the poppy but emphatic "Dreamworld." And as always, there was no compromise in the band's forceful political stance -- most of the album's songs deal openly with the issues of Aboriginal rights (hardly an issue pertinent only to Australians), and one of Midnight Oil's greatest victories may well be writing a song explicitly demanding reparations for indigenous peoples, and seeing it top the charts around the world. And the closer, "Sometimes," may be the finest and most moving anthem the band ever wrote ("Sometimes you're beaten to the core/Sometimes you're taken to the wall/But you don't give in"). Diesel and Dust is that rarity, a bid for the larger audience that's also an artistic success and a triumph for leftist politics -- even the Clash never managed that hat trick this well. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Success didn't change Midnight Oil with their 1990 album Blue Sky Mining. The Australian band had finally broken through with their previous record, Diesel and Dust, but chart accomplishments didn't temper the group. Blue Sky Mining found lead singer Peter Garrett and the boys singing about familiar themes with their usual passion. The songs aren't quite on par with those from Diesel and Dust, but there's still enough here to make it a worthy follow-up. The lead track "Blue Sky Mine" deals with the oppression of the lower working class within the context of a mining company. The immediately catchy cut managed to find mid-chart success. Other notable tracks are the driving "Forgotten Years," which also managed a bit of airplay, and the menacing "Mountains of Burma." The band stumble only once, on the clumsy love song "Shakers and Movers." ~ Tom Demalon, All Music Guide
'10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1'
Release Date 1/1/1983
Tracks 10
Label Columbia
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Midnight Oil were already one of Australia's most popular bands when they made their American debut with 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and while some knowledge of the intelligent but physical hard rock of the group's first three albums might have made it a bit easier for U.S. audiences to swallow, 10, 9, 8... was a daunting first listen even for loyal fans. Blending an art rocker's sense of adventure and fondness for odd textures, a hard rocker's muscular force and love of power chords, and a peace punk's passion for an intelligent rant, Midnight Oil bore small resemblance to anyone on 10, 9, 8..., running from the dreamy but ominous "Outside World" and "Maralinga" to the bone-crushing fury of "Only the Strong" and "Somebody's Trying to Tell Me Something" while making a number of stops in between. Nick Launay's deliberately eccentric production made the most of the band's dramatically oddball approach (dig that panning! check out that drum sound!), and for an album that so often goes for the purposeful left turn, it's remarkably listenable and catchy, offering up one passionate anthem after another. The band's politics are both well considered and unapologetically upfront throughout, which probably didn't help much with sales in the United States, where dance singles traditionally don't feature the chant "Better to die on your feet than to live on your knees," and questioning American foreign policy is uncommon on Top Ten albums (the album stayed on the Aussie charts for over two years, and "Power and the Passion" was a major success on the singles chart). As catchy as the Easybeats, as sweaty and hard-hitting as Rose Tattoo, and lots smarter than either, Midnight Oil were among the finest bands to emerge from Australia during the 1980s, and 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 was their first undeniably great album and still ranks with their very best. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
'Place Without a Postcard'
Release Date 1/1/1981
Tracks 11
Label Columbia
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Midnight Oil went to England to record and turned to a major label (CBS Records) and a name producer (Glyn Johns) for its third full-length album. You might have expected this to make for a sonic breakthrough, but you'd be wrong. The band was experiencing growing pains, trying to stretch musically, and, at least at first, this made for a dilution of their hard rock focus moving toward a pop style they hadn't fully developed. Place Without a Postcard had its share of powerfully performed songs, but its sound was light compared to the band's first two albums, the stylistic experiments were not yet bearing fruit, and, with an emphasis placed on the vocals, Peter Garrett sounded overly strident. (Originally released in 1981 in Australia on CBS Records, Place Without a Postcard was re-released in 1990 in the U.S. on Columbia Records as Columbia 46145.) ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
