Easy album and song guide Midnight Oil - 1978 Midnight Oil - the album thread track 1 Powderworks Midnight Oil - the album thread track 2 Head over heals Midnight Oil - the album thread track 3 Dust Midnight Oil - the album thread track 4 Used and Abused Midnight Oil - the album thread track 5 Surfing with a spoon Midnight Oil - the album thread track 6 Run by night Midnight Oil - the album thread Run by night live 1981 - Midnight Oil - the album thread track 7 Nothing lost ... nothing gained Midnight Oil - the album thread Head Injuries - 1979 Midnight Oil - the album thread track 1 Cold cold change Midnight Oil - the album thread track 2 Section 5 (bus to Bondi) Midnight Oil - the album thread track 3 Naked flame Midnight Oil - the album thread track 4 Back on the borderline Midnight Oil - the album thread track 5 Koala sprint Midnight Oil - the album thread track 6 No reaction Midnight Oil - the album thread track 7 Stand in line Midnight Oil - the album thread Stand in line live 1981 - Midnight Oil - the album thread track 8 Profiteers Midnight Oil - the album thread track 9 Is it now? Midnight Oil - the album thread Bird Noises EP 1980 Midnight Oil - the album thread track 1 No time for games Midnight Oil - the album thread track 2 Knife's edge Midnight Oil - the album thread track 3 Wedding cake island Midnight Oil - the album thread track 4 I'm the cure Midnight Oil - the album thread Live at the Melbourne Show Grounds 1980 - Midnight Oil - the album thread Place Without A Postcard 1981 Midnight Oil - the album thread track 1 Don't wanna be the one Midnight Oil - the album thread don't wanna be the one live - Midnight Oil - the album thread track 2 Brave faces Midnight Oil - the album thread Brave faces live in 1982 - Midnight Oil - the album thread track 3 Armistice day Midnight Oil - the album thread Armistice day live 1982 - Midnight Oil - the album thread track 4 Someone else to blame Midnight Oil - the album thread track 5 Basement Flat Midnight Oil - the album thread track 6 Written in the heart Midnight Oil - the album thread track 7 Burnie Midnight Oil - the album thread track 8 Quinella holiday Midnight Oil - the album thread track 9 Love's on sale Midnight Oil - the album thread track 10 If Ned Kelly was King Midnight Oil - the album thread track 11 Lucky country Midnight Oil - the album thread 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 - 1982 - Midnight Oil - the album thread
Some comments about the earlier albums: Reading through the lyrics posted here has made me realise that while the quality of MO's music making may have waxed and waned over time, their lyrics have always been top notch. Importantly, they were about things that the band and their Australian audience could relate to, not aimed at UK or American listeners. Prior to this most bands would not have put a song about Burnie on an album - a country artist might have, but not a rock band. The producer(s) would have said "No one outside Australia will have heard of it or know where it is". The Oils' attitude was that they wanted a song about Burnie, and if the listener had never heard of the place they were welcome to do their research. This subtle shift, from pandering to overseas listeners to saying "This is our country, this is our music, and you can listen or not as you wish, was an important shift in the mindset of Australian musicians and songwriters. On 10 to 1: There are some interesting oddities about this album. Critics have pointed out that, by and large, the first half (side 1 if you like) is the more experimental, with the more obviously radio-friendly songs relegated to the second half. The opening song, "Outside World", is one of the more unusual tracks and certainly not an obvious choice for album opener. Casual fans will probably know "U.S. Forces" and possibly "The Power and the Passion", but it's the following two tracks, "Maralinga" and "Tin Legs and Tin Mines" that I think are where the album peaks. The final track I find somewhat anticlimactic and the prolonged "locked groove" ending note annoys me a little. I remain undecided whether this album is their best, but I'd definitely say it's their most adventurous. It's also the first in a run of albums that each had an over-arching theme about which several of the songs were written. This one is themed around war and futility thereof; Red Sails references nuclear proliferation and the reliance on nuclear power; Diesel and Dust addresses issues affecting indigenous Australians; and Blue Sky Mining has the theme of the environment and environmental degradation due to exploitation for short term monetary gain. The single adjective that best describes this band is "uncompromising". Famously, they never appeared on Countdown, highly ironic considering they released an album whose title is a countdown.
for sure, i can relate to your statements there. i guess for me 10-1 is there best album because it was the one that when i listened to it, it grabbed my attention and kept it. The experimentation was a plus for me, because in this instance it worked. i think midnight oil and cold chisel were such important Australian bands because they remained unapologetically Australian in all regards. I think that gave some bands that followed the confidence to keep that in mind when they were writing songs, but i'm not sure any bands after them managed it to the same degree as those two. Kudos must also be given to Skyhooks, who were the first band I know of to thematically use Australia as the base of it's songs, particularly their debut - Living in the Seventies.
This happens to be Jim Moginie's favourite album. They played it in its entirety on his birthday in Chicago last year. I love this album. When it was first released it could only have been interpreted as a radical statement of intent. I happened to see them on the accompanying tour and to hear this album played live with such power, passion and ferocity will stay forever embedded in my memory. They have put out a host of great albums, some before and some since, but there's something ineffable that sets 10-1 apart.
I know this is a long shot but is there anybody out there that happened to be at their September shows at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in 1983? If my memory serves me correctly they were the first Australian band to headline a concert at this 12,000 seat venue.
Outside World Brilliant atmospheric opening, with a certain ominous dread underpinning it. Excellent use of the synths to create the melody and tension. The splashes of drums and guitar certainly help to add to the drama. This was a million miles away from anything that the Oils had put out previously and this grabbed my attention straight away. Although anything but a standard rock song, this song, as an opener grabbed the attention and moved into the album in a way that made one wonder what was up next. Towards the end of the songs the intensity builds up only to drop out into a melodic musical coda. Lyrics There's a wind on the eastern side Ghost gums dance in the moonlit night Mopoke mourns the racketeers The bosses they can sense your mood All in place to a hand that rules They all want to deal you out I can see the outside world Everything's inviting in the outside world Leaving all my problems in the outside world It's the summer of another year A little world weary a little more to fear Hold those cards tight to your chest Maybe someday you could be a man Living quietly in a caravan Not the Lismore road tonight
Only the strong This song again starts with some ambient stuff and one starts to wonder if the Oils have turned into an Aussie version of early OMD .... but then BANG in comes the Oils rocking full tilt. The use of dynamics across the album is sensational and Launay and the boys paced this album beautifully. Also across the first two songs there is a theme of isolation, almost agoraphobia that comes across to me. Lyrics When I'm locked in my room I just want to scream And I know what they mean (One more day of eating and sleeping) Speak to me, speak to me I'm not spoken for, I'm ready to talk Look at me, look at me I've been broken up and shaken down Speak to me, speak to me I'm at the edge of myself I'm dying to talk Look at me, won't you look at me Back once more at the point of no return When I'm locked in my room I just want to scream And I know what they mean Only the strong
As you mentioned a wonderful way to start the album. First with the slow and ominous build up of "Outside World" and then with the brutal explosion that is "Only the strong".
I listen to this album so often that my 5 and 7 year old sons sing along to this song. As you can imagine, I am quite proud of that!
10 to 1 really should be talked about amongst the all-time great rock albums. Just an incredible album from start to finish.
exactly. no list of great rock albums is complete without 10-1 or circus animals. my whole point for doing these threads was to try and introduce these great artists to a U.S. crowd and whoever may be around here and hopefully have them listen and wonder how on earth they haven't heard this stuff before ... not sure how successful it has been because it seems that most just want to rehash the same bands they've been listening to for 50 years
I don't have those numbers, but it's possible there are more than 2 early masterings. Actually, I'm not sure the "CMU P 29 on the hub" disc is a "mastering" per se, but an unintentional mess-up in a re-press. For what it's worth, the better of the two CK 38996 discs I'm talking about is actually slightly louder, but sonically vastly superior. Neither is especially compressed, but I think those numbers you post are just peak readings... Given my experience with Diesel and Dust, it's probably worth checking out any non-US pressings (CDCBS catalog #s) against the US releases. It would be difficult to be a music fan and eschew anything with poor sonics; unfortunately, it makes up too much of recorded music! That said, especially in a thread that may inspire readers to make some purchases, it's always preferable to choose the best-sounding version available - which can do nothing but enhance your enjoyment of the music.
Please don't get discouraged. It's the same on any music board. Someone posts about something they love; most of the responses come from people who already know it and have it. Every so often there will be someone who hasn't heard it and will seek it out. Maybe the artist has been in the back of their minds for a while. I find that artists gradually seep into my consciousness. I may read a 5 star review of an album; I think "that sounds interesting but I have no idea if it's for me, must check it out sometime". I read comments on music sites. I might hear one song on the radio. Eventually there come a tipping point where I am motivated to seek out a few clips and listen. Then comes the decision to buy. That's how it was for me with Anathema, and with Sufjan Stevens. I'm thinking of doing threads like this for a couple of artists I have in mind, but I'm pretty new to this forum so I think I'll wait a while and get more familiar with how the place works.
It's all good. I just carry on regardless. It's not disheartening, more bewildering. have a thread about the beatles, the stones, the who or hendrix and 50,000+ people will look at it, have a thread about someone else and maybe 5000 will look at it. It doesn't dishearten me, it just shows me that folks main thing is to comment on people and things they know so as to be able to seem somewhat of an expert. Anathema are new to me, but they do sound pretty good.
Short Memory This is perhaps my favourite Oils song. The song is musically hypnotising and lyrically poignant. This is a rock classic whether anyone recognises it or not. Lyrics Conquistador of Mexico, the Zulu and the Navaho The Belgians in the Congo short memory Plantation in Virginia, the Raj in British India The deadline in South Africa short memory The story of El Salvador, the silence of Hiroshima Destruction of Cambodia short memory Short memory, must have a, short memory The sight of hotels by the Nile, the designated Hilton style With running water specially bought short memory A smallish man Afghanistan, a watch dog in a nervous land They're only there to lend a hand short memory Wake up in sweat at dead of night And in the tents new rifles hey short memory If you read the history books you'll see the same things happen again and again Repeat repeat short memory they've all got it When are we going to play it again Got a short, got a short, got a short, got a short They've got a short must have a short they've got a short aah Short memory, they've got a.
Read About It Another classic Oils song. This brings us back up to more standard Oils fare, with an uptempo rock song with great riffs. One thing the Oils seemed to learn while recording this album is how effective acoustic guitars can be in putting a song across. This song is punchy, poignant, well written and a live staple. Lyrics The rich get richer, the poor get the picture The bombs never hit you when you're down so low Some got pollution, some revolution There must be some solution but I just don't know The bosses want decisions, the workers need ambitions There won't be no collisions when they move so slow Nothing ever happens, nothing really matters No one ever tells me so what am I to know You wouldn't read about it, read about it Just another incredible scene, there's no doubt about it Hammer and the sickle, the news is at a trickle The commissars are fickle but the stockpile grows Bombers keep acoming, engines softly humming The stars and stripes are running for their own big show Another little flare up, storm brewed in a tea cup Imagine any mix up and the lot would go Nothing ever happens... You wouldn't read about it, read about it One unjust ridiculous steal, ain't no doubt about it You wouldn't read about it, read about it Just another particular deal, there's no doubt about it
