Midnight Oil - 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (Full Album) REACTION
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Hey guys. Have just watched your reaction video to the Oils “10-1” album. Apart from being a great excuse to listen to my all time favourite album in full, I totally enjoyed seeing your reactions. I loved your comments, which were incredibly perceptive and prescient (given you knew very little about the band) and for the most part, totally accurate. Your guesses on their influences (prog, punk) were spot on, their place in the popular culture of Australia (this was the album that sent them from liked in Australia to huge in Australia - it spent something like three years in the Australian Top 100) and the comparisons with INXS (this album and INXS’s The Swing shared the same producer, 21-year old Englishman Nick Launay) were all bang on. They were definitely ahead of the curve on new sounds, and they did things their own way. I’m so glad you enjoyed it and thanks for showing the love for this classic album. There is a LOT more the Oils than “Beds are Burning”.
Wonderfully kind comments. Thank you
@@WelpHereWeAreOnUA-cam Great reaction, I've watched it twice now.
The song Power and the Passion is about the dismissal of Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam in 1975 and the apathy of the Australian people. It is widely believed Whitlam was overthrown by the American and British governments. The Americans wanted him gone because he wanted to close down the top secret American military intelligence base at Pine Gap in the Australian outback, hence the line "flat chat Pine Gap in every home a big mac and no one goes outback and that's that." The British wanted him gone because he was making plans to nationalise the Australian mining industry and the Queen was the largest shareholder in Rio Tinto, one of the world's biggest mining companies. So the C.I.A. and British intelligence conspired with govenor general Sir John Kerr to have Whitlam removed from office.
The song Maralinga is about the small outback town of Maralinga in South Australia. In the 1950's Australian prime minister Sir Robert Menzies allowed the British government to conduct nuclear weapons testing near Maralinga. Many Australian military personel who worked at the test sites and many members of the local Aboriginal tribes died of cancer from being exposed to radiation. The Australian government tried to cover it up but the truth started to come out in the 1970's.
I'd love to see you guys react to Midnight Oil's second album Head Injuries which was released in 1979. In my opinion it is one of the greatest hard rock albums of all time.
In Oz we just referred to the album as 10 to 1. Midnight Oil were hugely popular in Australia, and while INXS was massive, the oils felt like they were our band while INXS felt international. Midnight Oil were the voice and music of young idealistic political Aussies. Thanks for reacting. Very nostalgic.
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OIL'S.... OIL'S.... OIL'S 😃
The best live band I've ever seen for energy and so many great songs. ☮️
One my favourite albums ever! I would recommend comparing this to their 1979 album "Head Injuries." Big difference. Midnight Oil don't really follow trends, but they were always in tune with how music was evolving with technology and experimental sounds. Sometimes they fit in with the zeitgeist but not always. Nick Launay engineered this album with them, and this opened the door for him to work with other Aussie bands like INXS and The Models. Launay engineered INXS' The Swing and Listen Like Thieves. And...this album stayed in the Australian charts for two years. It was huge in Australia.
Midnight oil was a trend setter, they were political and environmental with their song writing and didn't really care if it was what was "trending" at the time. They had their own sound and were instantly recognisable.
1979 _'Head Injuries"_ it's still their most punk rock album....I still play it!
Love it❤
It's one helluva album. It's still my favourite.
My fav oils album by a mile
Yeah
This is their Best album
But HI blows
Guys for me their most Punk album, Powderworks
Please watch them live . “ oils on the water “ you won’t regret. It’s minus 80s studio stuff - just the best band live ever . I’ve seen many.I’m old 😀
I've Followed Midnight Oil since 1978! Totally Unique & Noone could come near Them, Live! All Brilliant Musicians! Please listen to more than just Beds Are Burning etc. Their LP/EP Catalogue Is Amazing! OILSSSSSSS! 🖐👏🎼💖
Species is their best. Pity it was not a full length album. Hercules and Blossoms and Blood are just awesome.
Bird noises! Another great 4 track EP ( no times for games, wedding cake island) amazing band , still have every vinyl album including 12" singles armistice Day, from place without a postcard (sideB live Stand in line, which is a song from Head injuries) & the dead heart. ☮️
I was 16 when this album came out. I’m from Sydney too. A lot of Australian music was political in a rageful way. We were all scared to death of nuclear war and felt like we had no power over anything, so all we could do was scream in frustration. So I think that’s the best way to think about Midnight Oil - they said (screamed) the things we were thinking about and put it to great rock.
You got it, they began as a punk-ish band called "Farm" back in 1972. This album was the moment in which they began to experiment a lot with keyboards and more prog-oriented elements. Later on, around the late 80's, they developed the jangly, postpunk-ish sound that made them internationally famous with the "Diesel and Dust" album. Throughout their career they've tried other elements such as electronic beats (in "Redneck Wonderland") but their core of powerful drums and intricate guitars has always been there.
It's pretty unfortunate that most people think their career is nothing but "Beds Are Burning". Their material is vast and never less than great. I recommend "Blue Sky Mining" and "Earth & Sun & Moon".
The Farm were prog and played Genesis covers. Punk wasn't really a thing in 72. There's a punk feel to the first three albums as they needed to be high energy to win over the pub crowds.
I like thier self titled debut album the best 👌
By the way, Midnight Oil is currently finishing their final tour ever, and in the last gigs (in September/October) they will be playing this album in its entirety.
@47:40 How popular were the Oils when 10, 9, 8, ... came out?
In the earlier days the Oils were a popular live act, mostly in Sydney and Melbourne, known in the music industry as the East Coast. They were known for their energetic shows. If you listen to their first three albums MIdnight Oil, Head Injuries, Place Without a Postcard, you can hear their sound developing and their recording engineering improving. (as happens with many bands - INXS followed a similar path in that regard) But the Oils were still a relatively underground band. They were not in the mainstream, but they had a strong following nonetheless. 10, 9, 8... was when they started getting commercial radio airplay that brought them to the attention of mainstream listeners. In a way, this was their breakthrough album. Their three follow up albums Red Sails, Diesel and Dust, Blue Sky Mining, got a lot of commercial radio play, and apparently (from one source I heard) Diesel and Dust is the No. 1 favourite album in Australia - even more popular than AC/DC's Back in Black.
I feel so sorry for those who didn't grow up listening to the Oils, especially their early stuff.
I'm a little younger than you, and I had to rediscover albums like "Bird Noises" and "Place Without a Postcard". For context I was born in the late 70's.
My favorite Oils album. Love Tin Legs and Tin Mines.
Great listen! I'd forgotten how many highlights this album has. It was part of the soundtrack to my political awakening as a 80's teen in a rapidly changing Australia. Just a note on the song Maralinga - its about the nuclear weapon testing performed by the British government in the mid 20th century in the Australian outback that destroyed vast swathes of the country and killed or displaced the indigenous community in the area. I'm sure its a contextual thing, but I find the lyrics quite moving and not forced at all, and I still remember the impact it had on my understanding of the treatment of Aboriginal communities in contemporary Australian society.
I played this to death in my car when I was about twenty two
They were environmentalists and protest songs trend setter
The oils before u2
These type of songs didn’t get much AirPlay in America for obvious reasons
To touch on some of the questions you guys brought up. INXS and Midnight Oil were huge in Australia before their international hits (Kick and Diesel & Dust respectively), along with many bands that didn't make it internationally, such as Cold Chisel. These bands could do pretty well for themselves just touring around Australia, particularly up and down the East coast. All of these bands really refined their live sounds by playing in front of generally drunk & aggressive Aussie crowds, who wouldn't hold back against any band that half-assed it. But what that created is a very clear historical through line of the Aussie "pub rock sound" as it evolved from the 60's (Missing Links, Purple Hearts), through the 70's (Billy Thorpe, AC/DC, Cold Chisel, Midnight Oil, INXS, The Scientists), the 80's (Cosmic Psychos, Hoodoo Gurus, Beasts of Bourbon) all the way right through to today (King Gizz, The Chats, Amyl & the Sniffers).
The US promote/agent for Cold Chisel dropped them in favour of Motley Crue. Probably a smart financial move.
Half ARSED please mate. Australia, don’t become America.
lol, speaking of Aussies not holding back... @@Dogrockdog
Lobby Loyd and coloured balls. 😊
@@ianclough2198 Lobby was in Purple Hearts, but you're not wrong. Hugely influential.
Hey guys I've watched your reaction to this album probably 5/6 times and am impressed by both your methods of analysing how the Oils music has developed over time so thanks for both your thoughtful analysis.
I suggest you take the time do watch the Oils on water gig of 1985 to get an appreciation of how they perform in a live context and how their muscianship and sound is so outstanding.
Take care
Midnight oil was big in Australia .
I saw them at a festival in 1984
they were a powerful outfit .
The crowd was jumping
The Oils are tops (yes i'm a diehard fan - from the states, since the late 80s). IMO one of THE best live bands there has ever been (look up performances on youtube). Always about the message and fighting the good fight for environmental issues and much more. Excellent lyrics, musicians and a drummer that should be way more lauded in the history of drummers. Put it this way, my best friend and I were drawing the Midnight Oil logo on our school books, while others had Guns and Roses and the like. Very perceptive review btw, this is an album where they started to branch their sound into more experimental areas. I would love to see you guys react to live performances, more songs or even more albums. Thanks for doing this, I dig what you guys do.
Kind words :))) thank you !
Yep,Rob Hirst is killer! My fave drummer. 👍
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I've seen them twice back in the 80s. They were just fan..effin.. tastics?
Pardon my French, but I f*cking love this album.
one of the best Australian albums of all time , you guys should check out the 1979 album called Head Injuries !
This was the first US release. Read About It and Power and the Passion got airplay. The next album, Red Sails in the Sunset, is my favorite. It had an MTV hit, Best of Both Worlds. Then Diesel and Dust landed with U2's Joshua Tree. Brilliant live show!! Sadly, they're playing they're last tour.
best of both world ,that the first song of the Oils i ever heard of ,i was in high school and when MTV was any good they played that video ! it was love at first ear. but it took me many years to get this album 10 to 1
Love Midnight Oil. This is easily one of their best albums, and definitely their earliest best album. Their earlier albums, Place Without a Postcard ('81), Bird Noises ('80), Head Injuries ('79), and their first, Midnight Oil ('78), are good in their own ways, shining out in the occasional song, but this is easily their earliest most polished album. Personally, I like some of their older stuff because of how pure rock-y it is - it just gives off vibes of a pub rock band full of young Aussies - which is exactly what it was. However, their later stuff is exceptional because of the messages they carry, probably beginning to be evident here in Short Memory. I would seriously recommend Progress from Species Deceases in '85, and Blue Sky Mine from Blue Sky Mining in '90; they are my two favourite Oils songs. The whole Diesel and Dust album (where Beds are Burning came from) is a masterpiece, too, as is Red Sails in the Sunset, the album that followed this. In honesty, I feel they dropped off after Blue Sky Mining, except for maybe a good song or two in Earth and Sun and Moon in '93. A great band who deliver a punchy political message shrouded in hard rock - something they've been famous for forever. Check out what they did at the 2000 Sydney Olympics - they've always been very politically charged and critical. By the way - Oils fans normally abbreviate that album name to 10-1 (10 to 1)!
I call it the countdown album.
Agree. But pre 10-1 sounds so much better live.
So many songs are truly HAUNTING .
@@niauropsaka 171 weeks in the charts will do it, famously didn’t play on countdown because they didn’t wanna mime.
this is their best album, if not one of the greatest (me think!)
Great comment, just a time correction Red Sails came out before Diesel and Dust
Enjoyed the review thanks, and a fair response I am a big fan and love this Album, but so many others.... If you look at nothing else check out you tube videos of the oils live some of their early gigs, goat Island Australia etc.. If only to see their power on stage an Pete's legendary and very unique dancing!! I just saw them for the last time in the UK on their final tour and they are currently winding up in Australia still with huge power and stage presence. As a live act they were hard to beat. A recording of Hercules live from the early days also worth a look, as it emphasises the power they play with. Great albums - Place without a postcard, Diesel and dust (with "the famous song" ), Redneck wonderland (takes a while but it is a great rock album). And their latest Resist with some great and meaningful songs.
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@@WelpHereWeAreOnUA-cam I agree with @rduncan83 totally. Check out the docu-movie Midnight Oil-1984. It answers many of your questions (link below in case of no 🔗). Great review.
Movie trailer ua-cam.com/video/cOvdu15uN10/v-deo.html
Great reaction fellas!. The following albums "Red sails in the sunset" and "Diesel and dust" were also amazingly good.
You can check out our Patreon if you'd like to request one. The link is in the description.
Indeed they were!...but I would go the other way and do "Red Sails in the sunset".
Love this. Thanks for the video. Really cool to see younger people taking a fresh look on this album without the context of the time and zeitgeist that it was released in. I did cringe each time you made the inevitable comparison between them and INXS, though. I remember when INXS were practically booed off stage at the 1983 (I think?) Stop The Drop concert in Noosa because a large number of the crowd demanded Midnight Oil, who were headlining, to come on stage instead. I don't know if it's true, but I always felt like INXS had a different reason for their hard work to become the mega-stars that they were. I felt that Midnight Oil's drive and passion came from a different place to them. Love them both, but, um, yeah. BTW, I kind of stopped following their stuff after Red Sails in the Sunset. Something changed in their sound that didn't gel with me after that. Like a lot of the other comments below, I would also recommend the earlier, more raw stuff they released, and their live performances are amazing to experience. Also "Supercomputer, the new contraband" I believed may have referred to talk at the time about certain high-performance computing equipment of the time being subject to export controls under various international agreements, such as the Wassenaar Arrangement. These controls were designed to prevent the export of advanced technology that could be repurposed for military or other sensitive uses. Later, in 1988, importing of the Akai sampler was actually restricted in Australia by customs due to the power of its programmable DSP chips being deemed potentially dangerous in a military application.
This album changed my music listening tastes for the rest of my life. Going to school discos in the mid 80's, the last 2 songs were regularly US Forces and Power and the Passion. Then you knew the disco was over and it was time to go. :)
As many others have stated, the "Oils on the Water" gig was a masterpiece. Enjoy! ua-cam.com/video/6RaMvEk55kQ/v-deo.html
The entire band is made up incredibly talented musicians. 10 to 1 was their opportunity to flex their creative muscles. 40 years or so later, it still sounds so fresh - and kicks butt.
I saw them on this tour at the Sydney Entertainment Centre and they tore the house down (which was a habit they had of doing). This is still my favourite album and yes there’s a lot of emotion attached to that opinion - it came out near the end of my secondary schooling and it was played at many parties.
Thirty or so years later I had the pleasure of working with Jim Moginie when he came on board as the composer on a tele movie was working on (as the editor). Very humble man. I got him to sign all my Oils CDs but my prized possession is my autographed LP vinyl of this album. I got to thank him for their music.
Thanks guys, what a great review. It would be interesting to hear what you think of their 2022, yes you heard correctly, 2022 album, Resist. In my mind it's a triumph, but you make up your own mind. Jim, Australia....
Thank you so much for doing this!!!
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Great review, bit of trivia INXS first gig was at uni supporting Midnight Oil.
Correct Midnight Oil were trailblazers in music and human rights and the environment. As a youth I was exploring my angst and found my music, don't get me wrong massive U2 fan, but with the Oils they didn't need grandstanding to make a point
Hey guys, have a listen to another Aussie band V. Spy V. Spy and their best albums Harry's Reasons, AO MOD TV VERS. & Xenophobia, Why?
"Little Brothers" to Midnight Oil 🖐
Australia was an awesome place musically in the 70's and 80's,mainly due to the "pub scene proving grounds".
Live audiences,right in your face, and with no hesitation to tell you if you're shit or not.
The Aussie pub rock scene toughened the mettle of those who went on to make it.
…and those who watched it!
Yep, this is when the Oils sound became polished, but the albums and EP’s before 10 to 1 are amazing. Best described as really fast Prog with some great surf guitar sounds thrown in. Quintessential Australian band and sound, who forged their own path. They are due to play the 10 to 1 album live in Sydney Australia on October 3rd 2022. Will be awesome!
Got to see them live at Mississippi Nights in the late 80s or early 90s. Incredible show! Been a fan for decades.
10 to 1 is my favorite Oils album. You need to see their concert film Oils on Water. It shows what a great live act they were (as all Aussie bands were in the 1980’s due to the pub scene).
We just call this Aussie pub rock.😁 The Oils are in the top 5 of Aussie bands of that era, In no particular order it would be AC/DC, The Oils, Cold Chisel, The Angels and INXS. All of these bands paid their dues on the pub circuit and where immense live.
First album I simply referred to as the countdown album.
Hooked at first spin.
Intelligence and groovy both .Thanks for doing it. College radio too controversial for mainstream, here is a larger than life frontman trying to wake you up in the 80's. So yeah If someone mentioned oil you could feel like you were in on it whatever it was but it wasnt corporate and commercial being served up it was a dish you asked for.
10 to 1 and Red Sails are my two favourite Oils albums. Such incredible music. And the concert 'Oils on the Water' is phenomenal - I think that concert should have been your first exposure to them. Also: I love how the light bulb appears above your head about 24 minutes in. ;)
LOL I never thought i would hear two Daleks singing Beds are Burning :)
Midnight Oil set the trends. They were woken when woke was still fringe.
Exactly
Lol. I wouldn't admit to being woke 🤣
@@psychedelicprawncrumpets9479 Well a king gizzard and the lizard wizzard to you pal
This music was part of the surfing culture in Australia at the time. Also Talking Heads, George Thorogood, the Divinyls, and Dire Straits.
For me Powderworks, perfect late Arvo break 4 foot glassie surf North Maroubra and the Oils songs like othing lost nothing. Midnight Oil was my soul in the ,80's
Late to the party but this was like a shot from the dark as an Australian teenager. It spent 171 weeks in the charts here if that gives you the impact it had.
Family bought me a turntable for my birthday last week. I turned 54. They also gave me one record to play on the day, too. That record? This one
Great memories! Thanks for watching and sharing:))
Like you, all I knew from Midnight Oil was "Beds are Burning". This was a very interesting introduction to their deeper discography, even though it felt a bit uneven/all over the place. really a mix of styles in there: rock, post-punk, new wave, art rock and some proggy moments.
This is a pretty discordant album. But it goes hard.
I think that's what made this album a huge success in Australia, it was all over the place with different styles and brilliant live.
We were hungover from the 70's and northern hemisphere music and needing something different
Very much a similar generation that I had to be sold on a few songs before buying an album. This album had 3 killer singles which as a 12 year old convinced to spend the money to get the album. But the album just went on day and night rotation with the love of all the album cuts.
This album had me buy the back catalogue and look forward to each album that came out.
But live is always where they shone - 'Oils on the Water' from a coupe of years later is an absolute hi point of live video - it is a must see of a band at their high point.
10-1 a fantastic album…. This album really exploded in Australia in 1982…..and your observations about our music is pretty spot on….. we do put our own twist on things and crank up the level…. That makes Aussie music so different from US and UK music.
Great review of such a great album. This was a kind of make or break album for The Oils and ended up staying in the Australian albums charts for over 3 years.
Check out the video on UA-cam (ua-cam.com/video/ZPzW-iOL9LA/v-deo.html) of them playing 10-1 live start to finish at The Palais in Melbourne in 2022 for the album's 40th anniversary.
Hey guys. Just found your reaction/review of 10-1. Always interesting to see people discover the album after 40 years of having it my life all this time. First concert at 15 was this album tour. It was a soundtrack to our teenage years. Peaked at number 3 and was in the charts for 171 weeks. It sure was different back then. In retrospect it still is. Thanks. Watching you guys reminded me of the first time I heard it.
Awesome !!
Really satisfying revisiting this album with your commentary
Thank you !🙏🤘
Midnight Oil's guitar work was always exceptional, so creative and original.
Absolutely, Jim Moginie and Martin Rotsey were a great guitar duo.
I believe Midnight Oil formed around 1976-77, with their first album released in 1978.
Please do a reaction on the Midnight Oil album “Head Injuries “ (1979), every song is an absolute banger.
One of the best bands ever. Be it in Australia or the entire world. Check out the UA-cam video "Midnight Oil live at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago June 10, 2022". It is better than amazing.
Place without a postcode the best album in my book legendary band.
Place without a postcard (1981), was a masterpiece, but Head Injuries (1979), was probably the Oils best album, some of those riffs were killer, every song was an absolute banger.
what a great listen. Not there best album (its up there) in my option I think there best work came 8 year later with the Blue Sky Mining Album but is still a album I listen to this day.
NO!!!! this their best album!! BSM is Diesel and dust two ,not a bad album but to me rehash
You NEED to listen to their earlier stuff...hard, raw and unpolished!! Excellent stuff! Midnight Oil were huge before this came out with a strong underground following. Once this came out they went ballistic in the charts!!!
To your discussion around the 30 minute Mark about buying CDs and experiencing the music, back then 40 years ago it was different as you said previously. YOU didn't race out and buy CD, you didn't necessarily go and buy the latest record which was on the radio. What you did do, was when your friend said to you; "I'm going to see Midnight Oil at Caringbah Hotel, or up at Carmens at Miranda, or of the many other famous pubs in Sydney, Melb. and Brisbane (which were not curtailed in their trading practices by draconian licensing laws, like now), do you want to come?", you answered, "okay Iets GO!". You went. You saw. You thoroughly enjoyed the indoor intimate experience of the live band, AND you went home vowing to purchase their latest record… And you did, and you enjoyed it, and you went on to purchase more of their records because they were a great band. And that goes for INXS, Midnight Oil, the Divinyls, Spy vs Spy, Cold Chisel, The Angels, Icehouse, Australian Crawl, Men At Work, etc. You got pissed, the police came, people were sent home, the pub cleared. EVERYBODY had a great time. Boys and girls went home....Many children were made in those days!!!
I became aware of Midnight Oil, in the summer of 1983, when Rolling Stone had a (positive) review of ""10, 9, 8...", and I saw Midnight Oil on the "Thicke of the Night" late-night program where it played "Read About It," "Short Memory," and "Power And the Passion". I believe it had a didgeridoo player join them for "Power..." I believed Midnight Oil to be an underground sort of band, even through the time it released 'Diesel and Dust" with "Beds Are Burning" and "The Dead Heart". and then it became an underground band again, even though it continued to have more airplay into the 90s.. One of my friends saw them at a theater in, like, Berkeley?
Love how you get "Tin Legs & Tin Mines" I've always thought It's Hauntingly Beautiful!
So Right Joanny xx
First three albums are corkers. In the first two, Midnight Oil and Head Injuries, are raw and full on. Then they got more political. During this time legendary artists like Roger Daltry et al commented that they were the best live band on the planet.
Sorry guys, just to add, Moginie and Rotsey are two of the best dual guitar attacks ever along with Angus and Malcolm Young. IMO
@@letstalk3265
Agreed, James Moginie and Martin Rotsey are one the best guitar duos ever.
With “short memory”, Peter Garrett, once introduced this song at a live concert with the following:
“This song is dedicated to Hen.ry Kiss.inger who won the Nobel peace prize for bombing the living daylights out of Cambodia”.
Head injuries and Bird Noises and powderworks are the albums prior to 10 to 1 . Rob Hirst is the other big driving force in the band . He’s the drummer.
So you did this album a YEAR AGO and you said you liked it and would/wanted to listen to more...WELL WHERE IS IT!?!!?!?! Get to their earlier stuff ASAP and I might subscribe...
Their breakthrough album. It was on the Australian album charts (top 100) for more than 2 yrs. Best watched live
Midnight Oil was always popular in Australia, ever since they released thier first self titled debut album. But the 10-1 album moved them closer to the Australian music mainstream and overseas recognition.
Their first 3 albums were pure, blunt, unadulterated rock, punk-rock, alt-rock. Zero prog. Their next release after 10 to 1 - Species Deceases - the band talked about the irony of how that album was the one that broke through for them, yet they immediately realised afterwards that they'd had more than enough of trying out a lot of the new electronic sounds that appeared in the early 80's. They tried out a few more sounds on the their next full album "Red Sails in the Sunset" but they primarily stuck to natural instruments (again) from Species Deceases onwards.
It's so hard not to dance like Peter while listening to this album, even while sitting down. Only the strong was the expression my teenage rage back in the day
Me too, I was 16 haha.
Listen guys.. some music like AUSSIE MUSIC OR PAUL MACARTNEYS ALBUMS are the best loved Paul's album but you've stopped playing maccas album 👍🇦🇺
in terms of popularity, this was their most popular album in Australia yet hitting #3 and was the first one to hit the top 10, putting them well into the Australian mainstream (though the next 3 albums would go to #1), as singles go US Forces was their best performing single yet at #20 but was beaten by Power and the Passion #8 straight after. Aside from New Zealand , Midnight Oil wouldn't get international chart success till 1987's Diesel & Dust, though this album did make an impression getting to #178 in the Billboard 200, they were apparently popular on the US college radio, they didn't make it the USA to tour until 1984 I think.
"ten to one'
@34:00 The beginning of Scream in Blue is really an instrumental outro to Read About It and then morphs into Scream in Blue. When you don't stop the album and just listen through it just sounds like one song and Scream in Blue sounds like it starts abruptly, shortly before the singing. This album is best listened to in one sitting, without pausing. On Place Without a Postcard (their 3rd album) and 10, 9, 8... many of the songs just blended into each other. (Head Injuries - their 2nd album also did this, but to a lesser degree)
As for Bed's Are Burning, that's about the time I stopped buying Oils albums. It sounded like a definite move towards what was acceptable to mainstream. And while there was some good stuff in there, I personally felt they moved away from what made them so special.
I bought all of Sweet's albums (until Fever of Love) and I bought all of Kiss' albums (until they released I Was Made For Loving You) and I had a few other catalogues of famous bands. I never listen to Kiss now. On a rare occasion I will listen to Sweet's Desolation Boulevard, but I still regularly listen to Midnight Oil's early stuff, Cold Chisel, and The Angels (occasionally)
Midnight Oil came out of the Australian Pub Rock scene that exploded with a multitude of bands in the 70s. The bands played up and down Australia’s East coast with sojourns to the capital cities on the South and West coast. These bands played 5-6 nights a week honing their skills in front of rambunctious drunk and stoned audiences who were out for a good time. Sometimes as few as 25-50. Sometimes 1,000-2,000. In front of that crowd you had to be play loud and well. It helped if you had a great frontman (and in the main they were men). Out of that stew you got Bon Scott fronting AC/DC; Michael Hutchence fronting INXS But also, bands, who I would argue were as good, if not better: Angry Anderson fronting Rose Tattoo (think of AC/DC for Bikers); Peter Garrett fronting Midnight Oil ( the most political of the bands); Jimmy Barnes, on vocals, with Ian Moss, on vocals and guitar, fronting Cold Chisel (Hard rock with a roots flavour) and Doc Neeson, fronting The Angels (AKA Angel City) whose guitarists rival AC/DC in skill. Lots of other great bands came after them but few made it overseas. The tyranny of distance stopped them from making an impact internationally. Rock world’s loss not Australia’s. In my mind many of them were equal, if not better, than the hair metal bands that dominated internationally during the 80s
As a huge Midnight Oil fan I'd love to see you guys do more reactions to their albums, and I do think they have a lot to offer (even without my fan-tinited glasses), I think a lot of their writing from the 80s and 90s still holds up today relatively well, and they just have a lot of good sounding music to put it simply. Loved hearing your insight on the album, and can't wait for more.
❤️🤟🙏🤟❤️
This album took Midnight Oil fro no radio to high rotation, from 500 people clubs to 10,000 arena’s and the album stayed in the top 50 for like 2 years. Their first commercial success. And you’re right, this was a musical departure as the previous albums were, prog/surf rock and punk.
This is very much midnight oils revolver they are on the way to Desil and Dust in 1987. And that was the big Sgt pepper success for them. But on this record they took a huge gamble and it paid off for them. INXS was managed by midnight oils manager as well. Then he gave them over to Chris Murphy in 1983. And Chris Murphy became INXS’S manager till 1993.
The song Maralinga is melancholy on purpose. Maralinga is a site in the South Australian central desert where the Australian Government allowed the British to perform atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons. Kept pretty secret from the Australian population for decades, probably because they deemed the land remote and uninhabited. This was far from the case, and the local Aboriginal population suffered from loss of lands, flora and fawna for decades after, probably to this day.
The Oils were the reason I became a muso! This album was softer than earlier work. I played their title album to death… very punk but Oz flavoured. In the 80s they played the pubs and club scene and packed the venues out. Saw them the first time at the ANU in Canberra and I liken it to a Nirvana gig. Packed house, smoke, lights, sweat and noise. Sometimes they would play under a pseudonym in Jindabyne… a tiny town in the alps and when the word got out we’d cram ourselves into a car and drive 2 hours to see them. The Jindy Pub would be wall to wall with fans. Checkout their early albums, they don’t disappoint 👍
This album was (quite quirky) and completely different from the first 3, which were straight out rock/punkish albums but with their own style, but all different. I’ve been following them from the beginning because of their strong political standing and they were unique to most bands of the time. Also, if you play this album without interrupting it, on side one, each song blends into the next, there’s no pause in between tracks. They were awesome live, especially in the earlier years.
I remember seeing "Power and the Passion" on MTV sometime in the 80's and having my mind instantly blown. It sounded like nothing else being played at the time and I immediately bought 10,9,8... and put it on heavy rotation on my pathetic little tape player that I had at the time. "It's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees" became the ethos of my life.
Might be a year since you posted this, but you need to watch any of their live performances of Power and the Passion to watch Rob Hirst's drumming the solo. He actually improves and improvises this part.
This is my favourite Oils album. Species Deceases beats it, but it is sadly only an EP.
Well done!
Glad you guys liked this album. Was the sound track of my teenage years. Short form surf prog/punk
Well, if you want to hear some great Oz rock:
Midnight Oil - Head Injuries
The Saints - Primitive Sounds
X - At Home With You
Radio Birdman - Living Eyes
The Angels - No Exit
Hunters and Collectors - Human Frailty
Died Pretty - Free Dirt
Laughing Clowns - Mr Uddich Smuddich Goes to Town
Ed Kuepper - Electrical Storm
Skyhooks - Guilty Until Proven Insane
The Go-Betweens - Before Hollywood
The Birthday Party - The Bad Seed
The Boys Next Door - Door, Door
Models - Local And/or General
we discussing the lyrics and meaning of Short Memory? How all injustices and genocides in our generations are simply forgotten as time passes, how we all have a Short Memory
The weird sonic ending to the album can be explained by that on the vinyl the sound gets stuck in a groove and repeats ad infintum.
Interesting that a lot of people have comented that they love 'Red Sails In The Sunset'. I do too but thought I was in the minority. I thought a lot of die hard Oils fans didn't rate it.
Outside World, my absolute favourite song of theirs!! Reminds me of driving back to Melbourne from Sydney with my bestie in 1983. Great memories!! Beautiful song!! We were only there for 2days. Went to a large RSL club, met some lovely Royal Australian Navy divers, who wanted to take us sightseeing the next day, but we got homesick (so silly) and drove back home instead.
Based on the work Nick Launay produced with 10-1
Inxs hired him to produce The Swing.
I didn't hear this until years after it first came out. I got hooked by 'Beds are Burning' in the late 80's as a late teen and then went through the back catalogue of releases, which at the time, were more difficult to get hold of in the UK. I really like this album. Wish I'd heard it in the early 80s.
I was lucky enough to be a little kid when these songs were massive in Australia so they burned in my memory....then saw them live as a teenager for the first time in 91 then that was it....loved them ever since
I was soooo lucky to have grown up with this power house of a band, there musicianship is outstanding.
Love your reaction good observation re Aussies sitting back watching the rest of the worlds music then recycling and adding their own Oz touches
One of the things that I love about the Oils early stuff is that where most bands have a verse, chorus, bridge structure (generally three structured pieces to the song) and maybe an intro/outro, The Oils had those three structured parts, but usually had another two or three structures in there as well. Each instrument made room for the other instruments, and Hirsty drumming was second to none. I also liked that they didn't fade out songs. Each song had a definitive ending, unless it blended into the next track.
American radio didn’t play the oils early stuff to political for USA radio stations
As an Aussie we just called it 10,9,8 and it was huge for me as a 14 year old high school student
Dude , "the Swing" by INXS was the world mking alnm , set them up .
Oils you had to see live , high energy , loud and rocking saw them heaps always packed out great times when the preliminary bands would be drowned out by the chant for the oils , they were huge first saw them at Sydney University
The whole album is a great ride from start to finish! Still sounds strong to this day.
I don't think I saw it mentioned, but fun fact; in Somebody's Trying To Tell Me Something, the end on the LP goes into an endless loop 🖐
Their first three albums were where they were at their heaviest. They're three fantastic melodic heavy rock albums.
This is the bands favourite album to perform live and they have being do it 40 years later on the recent tour.
This album was in the top 100 for over 3 years, this was really popular in Australia, touring all the time and on radio all the time. Both US Force and Power and the Passion along with Read About It were on radio all the time. later it was Outside World, Only the Strong and still very popular on Radio top 100 songs lists.
The oils were huge , 4 decades of touring . YES THEY ARE BIG.
My brother made a Mixtape for me in the late 80s and it contains a few Midnight Oil songs, and this songs never getting old to me...