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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a way to go out, December 17, 2002
On 2 December 2002 Midnight Oil announced that Peter Garrett would be calling it quits. That's 25 years and 14 full-length albums. That's quite a track record. I seem to recall the Beatles tried something like this when they were ready to call it quits - a "back to roots" attempt, something that resulted in Get Back and which was so bad McCartney had to crawl back to Martin on his knees.The Oils have returned to their roots here. Watch the video on the CD to get an appreciation for what they're doing: The pan of the instruments is the same on every track. The guitar on the left is Martin, the one on the right (with occasional keyboard) is Jim, Rob's drums are out back, Bones is on the bottom, and Peter is up front. This is so effective it defies description. Many might say Diesel and Dust is their finest; others will say it's Head Injuries. Still others no doubt like Earth and Sun and Moon; but this is arguably the best they've ever done. And what a way to end a show. And if you've never seen these guys live, you really missed it. And I don't mean on the telly either: I mean live, preferably in a little steamy pub somewhere so Peter Garrett looms over you like the son of Boris Karloff and the precision of the guitars attacks your senses and the drums and all the rest... The first time I saw Midnight Oil, it took the venue management fifteen minutes to get the crowd under control. I was standing with their sound engineer in the middle of this sea of people. He wasn't even phased. In the end the management had to threaten to close the place if the crowd didn't calm down. In the meantime the venue had pressured their sound system to its limits in an attempt to drown out the hooting public. Fifteen minutes of foot stamping and clapping and shouting and cheering - fifteen very long, very tense minutes. Yes, you had to be there. And that is the effect these guys and girls have on people. To call them cult would be an understatement. What a way to go. Thank you, all you Oils, for the one exceptional experience in rock. Peter, Rob, Martin, Jim, Bones, Gary Morris, Peter Gifford, Neil Murray, Andrew James, and all the rest, the crews, the roadies: I hope you realise what you've done for the world you live in. Thank you very much. Godspeed to you all.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not the Oil's Best...But Close, February 20, 2002
After their last two disapointing studio efforts ("Breathe" & "Redneck Wonderland"), one might wonder if Midnight Oil were still capable of making music filled with hooks, melodies, & memorable choruses. All doubts melt away with the refreshing intro to "Golden Age", the lead track on "Capricornia". With its chiming duel guitars & melody, one can't help but be reminded of the Midnight Oil of old...the sound is earily similar to both "Diesel and Dust" and "Earth and Sun and Moon". The entire album is great, & best enjoyed when listened to as a whole rather than one track at a time. Any of the first three songs could be released as singles (Golden Age, Too Much Sunshine, Capricornia), but this album's strengths lies in its shifting mood swings from song to song. A must have for even the casual Midnight Oil fan.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Impressive Finale, March 21, 2007
Capricornia, Midnight Oil's final recording, is the band's most consistent from start to finish since Blue Sky Mining. After several listens, I think it deserves to be considered as one of 6 essential Midnight Oil records to own (along with 10,9,8..., Red Sails in the Sunset, Diesel and Dust, Blue Sky Mining, and Scream in Blue (Live)).
Warne Livesey, who produced Diesel and Dust, returns for this record, and does another outstanding job, helping to modernize and update the Midnight Oil sound for the 21st Century. Livesey subtly softens the edges of the guitar and vocal sound without sacrificing the overall power of each, or the fast pace of the songs. Guitar melodies with softer, bass pickup tones are emphasized, and subtle electronica beats and sounds are interspersed to give the record a modern feel. The volume level of this CD significantly greater than the earlier CDs, probably by 50% or so. Jim Moginie, who has been involved in writing almost every Midnight Oil song over their long career, appears to have had more free reign to let his ideas come to fruition as he initially envisioned them, rather than having the band take a demo and rework it. As a result, the band members take their lead from his guitar, and the songs have a more consistent feel and pace from beginning to end.
In another difference, the traditionally strong and loud backing vocals of Hirst, Moginie and Hillman (which are a combination of a co-lead vocal and a harmony vocal) are appropriately deemphasized in order to allow Peter Garrett the space to take center stage. Garrett has never sounded better as a lead singer, and Livesey seems to believe in Garrett's abilities more than Garrett himself or the band ever did. On many songs, it is difficult to discern the unique markers of Garrett's voice. He sounds like a singer, not a personality with a mic. The music used to be made to fit to Garrett. On this record, Garrett fits the music. The lyrics are also different this time around, as the writing is more subtle, personal and not quite as direct or in your face as older classics like 'Truganini' or 'Beds are Burning'.
The songs overall have a stronger focus on melody, a brisk pace with few groove killers, and if you didn't know it was Midnight Oil, you'd think this was a young band in their 20's. The difference is that young rock bands in the first decade of the 21st century suck, but this record and this band are great.
Now for the songs:
1. Golden Age - A fast paced guitar rock song that is based on a melodic, jangly guitar riff (which sounds as if it was played on a 12 string guitar or with an effect that simulates the dual octaves of a 12 string) by Moginie that I don't get tired of hearing. Rotsey does an excellent job of playing off Moginie's riff (which was always a band strength). The song has the pace of earlier Midnight Oil songs, but is hummable, singable, and is a great change of direction for a group known for the power rocker and the emphatic rock ballad. The selective use of backing vocals, sometimes buried beneath the lead vocal enables the song to glide at its smooth and fast pace without any unnecessary breaks in the groove.
2. Too Much Sunshine - A subtly eclectic rock song that begins with a heavier guitar, processed (and slightly distorted vocals) and a harder drum sound and then transitions to a bridge with a softer, cleaner, echoed guitar riff by Rotsey, followed by a rocking chorus. This one sounds like a track the Red Hot Chili Peppers could've done on By the Way or Stadium Arcadium. The pace is again fast and breezy. Moginie gives another stellar performance.
3. Capricornia - The best pop song Midnight Oil has ever done. The tasteful, jangly guitar melodies of Moginie and Rotsey echo Johnny Marr circa The Smiths. Garrett handles the role of lead singer on a melodic song very well. His vocals are appropriately doubled, echoed and spaced to make them effective in this context.
4. Luritja Way - My favorite track on this CD. Subtle melodies and transitions, beautiful, driving acoustic guitars that recall REM's "Me in Honey" or earlier Midnight Oil tracks like 'Sleep' or 'Minutes to Midnight', a deep bass and a brisk pace make this song instantly likeable and memorable. Garrett again shines on vocals with Hirst providing backup lower in the mix, and a lead vocal in the break.
5. Tone Poem - A solid rock song with a great lead guitar by Moginie. This song has good, eminently listenable guitars, space during the verses, a steady rock beat, and a chorus that grows on you with each listen.
6. A Crocodile Cries - a brief piano instrumental/interlude by Moginie. It works like an intermission in a film. The last time they did something like this was the horn/big band instrumental `Bakerman' on Red Sails in the Sunset.
7. Mosquito March - Probably the closest thing to grunge punk that this band has done. The guitars range in tone from clear and deeply resonant to thickly distorted, and the changes between intro to verse to bridge to chorus are seamless. Livesey perfectly compresses the guitars to prevent them from overwhelming the pace of the track and the hypnotic quality of the Garrett's singing. This one also reminds me of the kinds of rock songs the Chili Peppers play today.
8. Been Away Too Long - A relatively short, fast paced rock song with a verse that builds up to a blistering chorus. This song is a bit too repetitive and doesn't have the hypnotic feel of Mosquito March.
9. Say Your Prayers - The most electronica and synthesized track on the record. The song is actually based on a bluesy acoustic guitar riff, typical of older Midnight Oil songs, but is buried under a nicely crafted industrial sound reminiscent of U2 circa Achtung Baby or Zooropa. The horns which helped made Diesel and Dust a special record make a return appearance on this track. This one has got a nice groove and grows on you with each listen.
10. Under the Overpass - A song that begins as an acoustic folk ballad, and then evolves into an industrial blues song and later into a U2 like rock ballad. Moginie's guitar tone and sound is the closest he has come to The Edge (though all of these bands came out of the same post-punk era of guitar playing). Another memorable track.
11. World That I See - a melodic rocker ode to the environment. As has become typical with this record, a fast, crisp pace, excellent guitar melodies, a deep bass, selective use of distorted guitars (on the chorus) and nice vocal harmonies. An enjoyable track. They sound like a band 20 years younger than they are.
12. Poets and Slaves - This six minute slow ballad that alternates between blues, guitar rock and a piano ballad is closer to the experimentation that the band did on Red Sails in the Sunset. Though the pace is much slower and the song takes a while to build, the guitar parts are nicely played (including slide guitar) and the song seems to grow on me with each listen.
If this was Midnight Oil's final statement (and with Peter Garrett's career as a Labour member of parliament and shadow minister blossoming that is most likely the case) then there is no better way to go out then with a performance like this one. This is probably one of the best alternative rock records of this decade.
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