A powerful release by Midnight Oil

In a CD full of political and social messages this album release is powerful and strong in delivery, mood and authenticity. Songs such as 'Short Memory' and 'US Forces' discuss both Australian and American issues at home and abroad with little tact and I can see how this CD did offend some people. But its still a great sounding song.



'Power & The Passion' is my favourite from this album. Peter Garretts unique voice deep and rich with throaty growls carries the words through the deep strong sometimes deafening beats. A great band this Aussie group of fella's are and this being one of their earlier CDs and is one of their all time best.

Another 5-Star Review for MO

As Australians, the members of Midnight Oil had to sit on the sidelines watching while the Reagan administration and the Kremlin played a high-stakes game of chicken, which had the potential of wiping out all life on the planet. In addition both sides in this struggle were funding "revolutions" and "counter-revolutions" in all four corners of the globe. To be honest, this pissed the Oils off. Instead of repressing their anger, they used it to fuel this incendiary set of songs. The end result was a classic, and it is arguable that no album better captures late Cold War paranoia and angst better than this one.



Basically, Midnight Oil pulls no punches on this one. The topics include apathy ("Short Memory"), the corporate media ("Read About It"), US foreign policy ("US Forces"), post-armageddon dreamscapes ("Maralinga" and "Tin Legs and Tine Mines"), the emptiness of life in the modern corporate society ("Outside World" and "Only the Strong"), and the willingness to stand up and fight against tyranny ("The Power and the Passion"). Pretty heady stuff, really....but Midnight Oil somehow pulls it off, mostly because the songwriting is so strong. They are still experimenting with new sounds and song structures, but the production is crisp, the songs are memorable, the musicianship is first-rate, and the energy level is very high.



Probably the greatest compliment I can pay this record is that although I bought it originally on vinyl in 1983 and have been listening to it off and on for over 20 years now, it still sounds just as fresh and innovative as the first time I heard it. I can not make the same claim about any other album from the same period, except for U2's WAR and REM's MURMUR. Pretty good company, I think.



A classic....not to be missed.

Overrated, not the Oil's best

For some strange reason, this album seems to get a lot of attention and hype as being the best MO album. Although it has a few classics in the Midnight Oil catalog, it's definitely not their best album. All albums prior to Diesel and Dust show the band trying to find the right balance of melody and experimentation. Plus, for a band with a strong sense of guitars-drums-vocals, this album has too much sythesizer and electronic drum noodling.

I'd put this album in the center of a list of albums from best to worst. Blue Sky Mining, Diesel and Dust, and Earth Sun Moon all outshine this one.