Customer Reviews

Earth & Sun & Moon

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I don't make the above claim lightly...I've been listening to Midnight Oil for years, have all their albums, and consider myself a serious fan. Picking a "best" album out of such surpassing body of work is difficult, but if pressed I come back to this one.

Why? Of everything they ever recorded, ESM simultaneously represented the most refined playing, the most intelligent lyrics, and the best production...all without losing any of the edge that made them a Sydney surf band of the 70s. The political rhetoric is less strident here, but still packs a powerful punch...the band is more mature here, finally reconciling their deep love for the land and people of Australia with their deeply-felt concern about its problems. All this...and some wonderfully catchy tunes!

No, this is not the angry bar band of the early albums, and for that some fans might disagree with my choosing it as one of the Oils' best. But as a complete package from this stage in the band's evolution, this work equals and usually surpasses anything they've ever done.

Midnight Oil is one of the greatest bands out there, whether their music blazes high and wild or gets softer but no less intense. It's a mystery why, at least here in the US, this album wasn't given more of a push by the label. It's a winner; in fact, it's probably a contender for being their best release. The songs are all uniformly excellent, from defiant anthems like "My Country," "In The Valley" and "Truganini" to the more esoteric qualities of "Outbreak Of Love" and "Bushfire." The title track and the album closer, "Now Or Never Land" are as optimistic in lyrical bent as this usually dour group gets, and NOTHING here sounds or feels heavyhanded, which, much as I like the Oils, has not always been true of some of there other CDs. Visionary, raw, fearless, constantly on the mark....EARTH AND SUN AND MOON is all of these things and one of the finest works by Midnight Oil or anyone else.

(Actually: 3.5 stars).

Midnight Oil was one of the best bands of the 1980's with four outstanding records (10,9.8.., Red Sails in the Sunset, Diesel and Dust, Blue Sky Mining) and one of the finest live records ever made (Scream in Blue). Their star began to decline a bit in the 1990's as the band members decided to devote more time to family, political activism (including Peter Garrett's political career). Earth, Sun and Moon reflects this reduced focus, as they seemed to try to make a good record instead of a great one.

The record is well-produced, has a very 'live in studio' feel, and sounds great on long drives. The songs themselves have a steadier and slightly slower pace. Jim Moginie has added more bluesy sounds to his diverse palatte, both on guitar and organ, but Rob Hirst seems less active this time around. The frenetic energy that gave rise to Midnight Oil's improvisation and experimentation is not captured in this recording, leaving one wanting a bit more.

The songs drag on a bit too long and are missing the catchy hooks that make so many Midnight Oil songs memorable. 5 of the 11 tracks run over 5 minutes in length, and no song is under 4 minutes, which is much longer than prior Midnight Oil recordings. The choruses are often drawn out, and consequently, some of the melodies fall flat.

The lyrics are more focused on national issues in Australia, and seem to serve as the perfect platform (whether intentional or not) for Garrett's political career. The passion is very much alive, focused (perhaps too narrowly), but the band shows it still knows how to evoke emotions with its direct, defiant and poignant deliveries.

The most memorable songs on this record from my point of view are: 'Renaissance Man', 'Earth and Sun and Moon', 'Truganini', and 'Now and Never Land'. Other worthy tracks are 'In the Valley' and 'Tell me the Truth'.

'Truganini' is as good a song as the band has ever written. It has the passion, creativity and musical dexterity of the best Midnight Oil songs. 'Feeding Frenzy' and 'Renaissance Man' show a deft touch with transitions, melody and demonstrate an ability to incorporate blues into the Midnight Oil framework without missing a beat.

'Earth, Sun and Moon' and 'In the Valley' show the band emphasizing melody over power effectively.

This record will probably have some appeal to those who are not fans of their 80's records, as they sound more like a straight ahead blues/folk rock band, and the musicianship is excellent, while the vocals, though loud, are somewhat more subdued. However, when compared with prior works, one feels as if the band had stopped making music their all-consuming ambition, as the band members moved into their 30's, stopped long tours and focused more on family and on Australia.

"Earth and Sun and Moon" from 1993 continues Midnight Oil's commercial success of their two previous albums, "Diesel and Dust" and "Blue Sky Mining". Though a new producer, Nick Launay, was called in to produce, it's another slightly slick produced album - which is in no way meant as a negative observation. All three albums are among my favourites and all contain great songs and great playing.

Midnight Oil succeeds in combining various musical styles like, rock, soul, funk or folk into their own easily recognizeable sound. Other strengths are their fine vocal harmonies and their unique sense of creating catchy choruses.

On this album all their virtues are there. The hit single "Truganini", the title-track and "My Country" are fine examples of Midnight Oil soul-rock with a catchy chorus.

"Bushfire" is a quiet acoustic track and another favourite.

The outstanding track, though, is the exquisite "In the Valley" - great folkish melody - extremely catchy chorus - clever lyrics - in short one of the few songs that seem to have it all.

Highly recommendable album!

For those of us who were in limbo when the Oils first began to do their stuff, it was almost like having had a deprived childhood. I found this first album only a few years ago, when I was in my late thirties. What a revelation it turned out to be. Here was a rock band (did you say - Rock Band?) that thought about the world and returned its point of view straight back to you without stammering. These guys are not just dancing in the dark. Whether you get the potent messages the band is sending, or not, or even care that they exist (for the moment), one can't help thinking that their music will penetrate into those regions of the mind where the automaton lives, and do its work anyway.

"Earth, Sun & Moon" carries a mix of strangely patriotic, strangely anti-Establishment lyrics. These guys love the land of Australia, but they constantly question the underlying values of Australians. Songs like "My Country," with its political overtones going back to the last century, and "Truganini" with its awful lament for the pressure that has been brought to bear on Australia's human inhabitants (and which continues), remain blazed in the mind as though by branding. They say it's a rough band, whose concerts are hard and heavy. Yet such poetry issues forth from these electronic partners that, if Rock should really be the domain of the Devil, then the Oils must have made a wonderful pact indeed.

I was never really a big Midnight Oil fan - that is, until I heard Truganini on the radio for the first time in 1993. Once I heard that song, I knew I was hooked, and believe me, this CD does not disappoint. While Truganini is my personal favorite, evry song on this CD is a winner, especially In The Valley, Drums Of Heaven, and Earth And Sun And Moon. The songs still have Midnight Oil's trademark aggression, but possess a looser, more relaxed feel than previous standouts like Beds are Burning and Koscluszko. In my mind, this looseness makes the CD even more enjoyable - one which you will want to listen to over and over. It's a shame that this CD wasn't more popular when it first came out - it really was one of the best CD's of 1993 and deserved a better fate. BUY THIS CD!

.... This is one of the rare works that you could play over and over, and never get tired of listening to the fresh, varied tracks. I thought that 'Diesel and Dust' was outstanding when it first came out, only to be eclipsed by Blue Sky Mining and then this career-defining album. Midnight Oil's eco-consciousness and empathy toward the plight of the Aborigines is less apparent in this work when compared with some of their earlier works, but the earthiness and musical-maturity of these tunes has few peers in the history of rock-and roll. This is one of the few albums ever produced without a weak song on it. My personal favorite is the earthy, richly-textured 'Outbreak of Love'.

Earth And Sun And Moon has everything that anyone could need in an album. From rock anthems such as Truganini to the mellow sounds of In The Valley leave you craving for more. This is a must for any Oil's fan out there.

After the Oils' pentateuch of excellent albums from 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 to Blue Sky Mining (including the fiery Species Deceases EP), Earth and Sun and Moon doesn't quite rise to the standard created over the previous ten years. But it's not to say that the band has lost its spirit. "Truganini," "Drums of Heaven," and "Tell Me The Truth" rock as hard as any other song they've played, while "Bushfire" and the righteous "Feeding Frenzy" are downright chilling. Organs (or synthesizers?) are used here more than usual, which adds to the eerie feel in places. But the '90s-type syncopation in "Outbreak of Love" (not to mention the loopy chorus: "Because I know/This is the end of the beginning of the outbreak of love") just doesn't sit well with the Oils' usual straightforward attack. Likewise, "In The Valley" sounds just a bit too twee, and the title song a bit top-heavy and burdensome. All in all, I tend to give this album the benefit of the doubt. As with every album, this one delivers the powerful politics with the remarkable chord progressions that set Midnight Oil apart from most any other band.

Every now and then you pick up on of those discs in which every song is a winner, the sound quality is superb and certain tracks are outstanding! This is definitely one of those CD's. In addition to the great mix and the soulfully heavy guitar riffs, are the sounds of warmly overdriven tubes from a Hammond B-3 through a Leslie (or some similar combination of organ sounds). While the instruments used are evidently a tip of the hat to an earlier time, this is no 70's album by any stretch of the imagination. It is by all means a modern creation that is uniquely Midnight Oil.

My personal favorites are "Feeding Frenzy," featuring Hammond Organ and that obligatory 70's sound of the Mellotron and "Renaissance Man," "Bushfire" and "Outbreak of Love" are both haunting and captivating.

I love this "album" from start to finish. It is truly a classic! The places lacking in musicality are made up for by highly developed lyrics and vice versa. I can't understand why I only had to pay $1.50 for it. I would have paid full price when it came out had I known how great it was.