Customer Reviews

Redneck Wonderland

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I have read several of the reviews here and just had to comment on them. Those who like it seem to refer to it as a new direction for Midnight Oil that works. Those who don't like it complain that the melody is missing. It seems that these folks like the more acoustic/mellow sound of Midnight Oil ("Earth and Sun and Moon," "Diesel and Dust," "Blue Sky Mining," etc.).

I have been a Midnight Oil Fan since about '82, when "10. . .1" was released (their first US release). It was like nothing I'd ever heard. I found the music a bit disturbing, yet beautiful. By the time "Red Sails. . " was released I was in love with this band and excited to hear the more experimental sounds of "Red Sails in The Sunset" (What is that brass woodwind interlude all about?). Those two albums form the core of my love for this band. In the decades since that time, I have collected every album and EP the Oils have released, but those two remain the benchmark by which all others are judged (yes, I know that's a personal thing - music is subjective, after all).

When "Diesel and Dust" was released I was happy that the group had found success stateside and it gave me about a year of "I told you so. . ." conversations with friends who always wondered why I was so in love with this quirky Australian band. "D&D" is a great pop album and is an amazing achievement. It contains some of my favorite songs by the group (however, "Beds are Burning" ranks with my least favorite), but it was very commercial and I was a bit sad that my "secret band" was now being played all over the radio. But again, I was glad to see them reap the rewards of over a decade slugging it out in the underground (at least in the US).

The two albums after "Diesel and Dust" found the Oils softening their sound further. Even the rockers featured thin guitar sounds (hear "Blue Sky Mine") with too much chorus and not enough "balls." Great songs, with wimpy, sterile execution. Not bad, but certainly not the rock I'd come to love on the first two albums I'd heard by these guys. And the weirdness had all but vanished by the time "Earth and Sun and Moon" was released.

I recently viewed their video compilation DVD and watched the videos in chronological order. This really gave me a sense of how the band progressed from a scrappy Aussie surf/bar band to a skilled, powerful, experimental political band to a commercial arena rock band with a message ("the Australian U2"). From the first videos where Peter Garret dances around like a madman to the later ones where he's riding on the back of a jeep and the entire band is outfitted in dated 80s-wear, I really got a sense of how they had changed both musically and physically.

It reminded me of why I started to lose interest around the time of "Blue Sky Mining," was disappointed by "Earth and Sun. . ." and didn't even bother to purchase "Breathe" until about a year or two after it was released. These guys had peaked and I could feel the decline. The question was how long would they stick it out.

I got a promo copy of "Redneck Wonderland," just prior to its release. I still listened to their earlier work on a regular basis and was curious to see if this one would be yet another trek into the mellow acoustic sound they'd grown into, but didn't work for me.

I was happily surprised to see that this album was not more of the same. It harkened back to the sound that made me fall in love with them in the first place. The guitars were heavy and raw. Peter Garrett was angry. In fact, the whole band sounded pissed off.

In addition, they brought back a lot of foreign sounds - noises that were a bit uncomfortable, but somehow made sense.

I've always thought that Midnight Oil recognized how they had lost their way and that this album was their attempt to get back to their roots. To me it's the hardest (rock) album they had released since "Red Sails. . ." It is rare for a band that has been around for over 20 years (as the Oils had been at the time this was released) to release something this energetic, raw and "new" sounding - especially following their less challenging output from the late-80s through the mid-90s.

Obviously, I am a big fan of this band. But if your experience with their music is similar to what I have described above, you may want to pick this up. If you're a fan of their softer side, (e.g. turn it up every time "Beds Are Burning," comes on the retro station) then perhaps you should stay away from this one.

Those who call this album garbage either love the mellower side or must not be too familiar with their earlier work (or perhaps we just hear this one differently), because the early stuff is a bit awkward, disturbing and difficult. And that's when I like them best.

Unfortunately, they released "Capricornia" after this, which might as well have been called "Earth and Sun and Moon Part 2." But for a moment, they awoke and created one last rocker that is the quite enjoyable "Redneck Wonderland."

I'm a longtime Oils fan; I believe I own everything they ever released, even the EPs. I saw them once in concert, and they'd be tops on my list of bands to see again if I ever got the chance.

When this album was released, it took me a while to get used to the new sound...it's different from anything the Oils have ever done (and anything else in your collection for that matter). The groove is metallic and incisive, updating the political intensity of their best music to a new set of listeners. It's impossible to ignore the anger of this album, obviously reflecting the Oils' disgust at the direction of Australian politics at the time. But above all, the music rocks...turn it up to eleven and see if your system survives!

My greatest concern is that this will represent the Oils' last effort...I hope I'm wrong. The last decade has seen them grow more and more disaffected with the music industry in general; I believe that "Breathe" was an intentional slap at Sony face, designed to give the label exactly what it didn't want...a low key collection of garage band tunes...when Sony was looking for another "Diesel and Dust" (the best part, though, is that "Breathe" is actually a very effective - though noncommercial - album). I think that "Redneck Wonderland" ends their recording commitment, and they may be tempted to surf off into the sunset. I hope not.

With Redneck Wonderland Midnight Oil have pushed the sounds and tweaked the knobs to update their sound. It works on every song. They sing of concrete and technology, as always, but this time they are using more technology to attain new guitar sounds, more interesting keyboards, fuzzed bass, and even weird vocal effects. The Oils have always talked of how technology takes us away from nature and our humanness but the technology employed here only adds to the human urgency. The first song employs an 'airy-drive' to it. 'Concrete' employs some interesting arrangements. 'Cemetery' really does get close to my heart. 'Comfortable' may be the only song that took me a bit to get into. All of the other songs are right on with the lyrics and the edgy-tech music. Over the entire album the Oils stay close to enviro-concerns and music that pushes and evolves, all the while retaining the MO sound. Excellent and Challening!

If you enjoy weak AOR and can't wait to get home to play your Kenny Loggins and Bryan Adams albums, then you'll agree with the 1 and 2 star reviews posted below. This cd is not for the faint hearted. As I expected would happen, Redneck Wonderland has shattered the Midnight Oil fan-based yet regained many of fans lost with the release of the 'gluggy' and mainstream "Diesel and Dust" 12 years ago. The cd has heart, and is inventive and searching as a piece of work, delving into many different genres and emotions.

Basically put, as a Midnight Oil fan for 20 years, living and breathing music in the Oils heartland, I'm mightily proud of what the Oils have done here. In the eyes of music purests, the Oils are ressurected.... and in the eyes of this die-hard Ozrock enthusiast, the Oils have reached their peak with their best album..... and if I hear anyone else mention the execrable "Blue Sky Mine", I'm going to puke !!! Let go and live the passion that is Midnight Oil in the present.

The latest edition from "the bushmen Down Under" (Letterman) reminds me a lot of their first few albums. They have returned to a much harder, edgier style like you'd find in their namesake and Head Injuries, just slightly jazzed up with a techie sound. The key to falling in love with this cd, and almost every other Midnight Oil cd out there, is listen to it loud and often. Even if it feels like you are suffering through a song or two I guarantee you there is a point where you 'get it' and the song imbeds itself into your mind, heart and soul.

Having been a fan since Garrett was a long haired surf bum, this was the first Oils album I shared with my son. He now asks for 'rednewunalan' and 'what goes on' and makes sure I dance (properly) with him. Living in Angola, it gives me the sound of home that 'Breathe' did not. Great stuff! I liked the experiments of 'Earth' and 'Breathe' but with this, the Oils are back. Play it loud.

The new Midnight Oil CD, once again, took a few listens to really gain my attention. But once it did, the CD grabbed me and really became a favorite of mine. Even though I still earn for the days of Blue Sky Mining and Diesel and Dust, given a chance, Redneck Wonderland really speaks to you!

This CD grows on you much as Blue Sky Mining. This is a 5 star CD because their is nothing else out there, with the exception of Live Pearl Jam, that can touch it. Songs like "Cemetary in my Mind" the title track, and "Comfortable place on the Couch" are as powerful as anything the Oils have ever done. Keep it up!

The best thing about any Midnight Oil album is that you don't like it the first time you hear it. But The Oils seem to know just how to sneak into our psyche and before you know it their latest album is their greatest album. Redneck Wonderland is a mammoth record. After the subtlety of Breath they give us all a desperately needed wake up call. Not content with a gentle nudge they deliver a kick in the behind using both feet. Tackling issues that no one else dares to. Delivered with the conviction that only they have. If this were to be their last album they could retire knowing that they performed above and beyond the call of duty. When you stand this recording against any of the `happening' acts of today, you ask yourself "Where's the justice". The Oils prove once again that they are the best band in the world.

I was totally unprepared for "Redneck Wonderland," the new Midnight Oil CD. Imagine that classic Oils sound paired with the most recent David Bowie outings("Outside" and "Earthling"). It is truly mind-shattering that these are the same band members that brought us the classics, "Blue Sky Mining," "Diesel and Dust," "Earth and Sun and Moon," and "Red Sails in the Sunset." There are some songs, like "Cemetery on My Mind" and "The Great Gibber Plain" that are traditional Oils tunes, but the majority incorporate techno sounds and heavily distorted guitars lushly surrounding Peter Garrett's unmistakable voice. Through the heavier sound remains the musical mainstays of the Oils - driving bass and drums, the distinctive sound of James Moginie and Martin Rotsey on guitar, and of course, the bald leader: Peter Garrett, whoselyrics are as politically-charged and relevant as ever. I am looking forward to the tour! A new, welcome move in the continuing evolution of that Midnight Oil sound.