Customer Reviews

Midnight Oil

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Midnight Oil's first album set the tone for what was to come in the next two decades: a sound that few have dared to copy. While others have claimed that early Oils grew out of the late 1970s punk movement, I would argue that their position on a musically isolated continent helped them to find an original sound. The chord structure found on "Midnight Oil," "Head Injuries," and "Place Without a Postcard" is vastly more complex than the fairly simplistic (yet altogether very cool) stuff that the early punks were coming up with. Certainly "Midnight Oil" reminds one of late surf tunes, but it's inclusion by others as an outgrowth of punk is misplaced.

Now for the important stuff: this album is not for the casual listener. It flat our rocks--don't get me wrong--but those who got hooked into the Oils with the toned-down social consciousness of "Diesal and Dust" will find a real, and maybe rude, awakening. This album is moody and complex, and isn't as oriented toward what later would become the Oils trademark: social acitivism. All of that said, it's a joy to go back and listen to this stuff from time to time, because this album encapsualtes the true, raw, and completely unapologetic energy of Midnight Oil in a way that might only be matched by one of their live shows. To this day a dream of mine is to be able to go back to 1981 or 1982 and see a live version of "Powderworks" in a little pub on the North Shore. Instead I just have the album. Which gets pretty close.

This is the debut album from Australia's finest export and one of the world's greatest and long lasting groups. The CD is definately good, and there are many hints towards the total greatness they would achieve on later albums. To me, "Surfing With a Spoon" is one of the best examples of this. It has a very melodic opening which eventually gives way to a blistering guitar-fest, and then has this funky synth-laden bridge before it returns to another angst-ridden guitar explosion. "Powderworks" is a prime example of youthful "turn it up and play it hard" songwriting (but that doesn't mean its not cool!) Come to think of it, every song on this album is good, there's no stand out *classic* songs per se, but its still a classic album in that the songs are full of energy, drive, and vigor and they were a taste of the greater things to come (for example "Head Injuries" their next album is so much better than this album.)

A fun album worth having for fans, not the place to start listening to the Oils though, and especially if all you've heard is the singles "Beds Are Burning," "Forgotten Years," and "Truganini."

The very energetic debut by the Aussie rockers starts off with a bang with the explosive "Powderworks", a song that would be given a much more vigorous workout on the live album Scream in Blue Live. Still, this song in particular shows off the band's Who-influenced surf punk. "Nothing Lost, Nothing Gained" closes the album as a slow bluesy piece with an absolutely scorching pair of Martin Rotsey solos. Most of what's in between isn't as strong as these two bookend numbers, but the energy the band brings to each number outweigh any technical flaws that might be present in their playing. The fact that Midnight Oil would emerge a year later with the dynamite Head Injuries only shows how quickly their musical skills would grow, a trend that would continue into the 90s as each album would prove to be a musical leap from the previous one. Not the best Midnight Oil album, but still a strong debut.

At the point that this album was recorded Midnight oil were making the move into the larger rooms in Sydney and it's western sprawl and away from the northern beaches.This is the sound of a band at the point where they have almost defined THE SOUND , the point where it all gels for the first time.Don't get me wrong this is an album that no one but the oils could have made and even with it's less than hi fi sound it still manages to capture the feeling of being at a Sydney pub venue like the Family inn or the Comb and Cutter and seeing this amazing band in action.
More experimental than later albums and with some fantastic , lengthy guitar solos Midnight Oil rocks.

Involved with such activist groups as Greenpeace and Save The Whales, Midnight Oil is no doubt a band that will put its money where their mouths are. Their feral, raw style of rock 'n' roll (punk rock with tinges of surf-inflected melodies...witness the spine-tingling intro to "Surfing With A Spoon")is passionate but without the flawed performances that are the bane of punk rock: Andrew James' able bass lines pulse beneath Martin Rotsey's top-notch fretwork and Jim Moginie's equally awesome lead/rhythm guitar playing, not to mention his chilling organ fills. Peter Garrett adds the icing on the musical cake by delivering powerful vocals that are unabashedly Australian and fervent (his voice on "Nothing Lost-Nothing Gained" is able to hit falsetto range, indeed an impressive feat for a band with punk leanings). Holding it all together is Rob Hirst's dynamic percussion, running the gamut from slow and dreamy snare and hi-hat to rapid-fire, balls-to-the-walls salvos of cymbal crashes and tom-tom rolls. All in all, this band has a very unique sound that is exciting and a thrill to listen to, especially at high volumes. Their instrumental prowess provides them with avenues to explore that many punk bands could never dream of let alone hope to pull off quite as well as these guys do. Also, if you're sick of radio and the pop music fare dominating music video channels these days, give these Aussies a try. You won't be disappointed.

This was Midnight Oil's best album. Ignore the lousy reviews. The Oils had a distinctive sound and had perfected their show.. I saw them live many times! This CD captures the energy and unique synergy of Peter Garret's vocals (he actually sang on this album!), Rober Hirst's powerhouse drumming, James Moginie's dynamic riffs and leads... Frankly, sorry boys, but in my view it was all downhill from here on. The Oils achieved commercial success beyond expectations, and probably in spite of their all too overtly political and pedestrian lyrics.. but the real gold is this first album, in terms of its shere poetry and power. Check it out!! Don't believe me!! LISTEN2IT!

In my opinion, Midnight Oil is one of the best five bands that emerged between 1975 and 1985, ranking right up there with U2, REM, the Ramones, and the Clash. Unlike those other four bands, however, Midnight Oil's debut record is not a classic. To be honest, it sounds as if the band may have not quite been ready to go into the studio in 1978. There is only one stand-out track, "Powderworks," which certainly hints at the brilliance of later releases. Still, there is a scorching version of this song on SCREAM IN BLUE (LIVE), rendering this version almost moot. Among the other tracks, "Dust" and "Surfing with a Spoon" are OK, but that's about it. To be honest, this is probably the only Midnight Oil CD that I don't play anymore. I'll give it 3 stars because I love Midnight Oil and I am willing to admit my biases.

For completists only.

I used to have a rather lukewarm opinion of this album, but I'm listening to it at the time of this writing and I've changed my mind about it. It's actually an entertaining listen and band. Most of this record sounds like the band is just jamming with the barest skeletons of songs to hold it together, but it has the distinctive sound that marks Midnight Oil and bears the seeds of what would become truly great music, pretty much everything that came after.

This album just rocks! What can I say? This is great Aussie punk-influenced surf music. It lacks the political/ecological angle that their later albums have, but is still the great music we have come to expect from Midnight Oil. They even take a stab at prog-rock with the well-crafted "Nothing Lost - Nothing Gained".

midnight oil's debut album yet they may have a lack of alblity which would feature on latter albums but this features some class solo's yeah i can't understand the lyrics but who cares
i just love this album for being different