54. Midnight Oil--Earth and Sun and Moon

 #54: Midnight Oil--Earth and Sun and Moon (1993)

Top-Notch Tracks: "Earth and Sun and Moon," [#101 HJ200], "Truganini," "My Country," "Outbreak of Love"

Album Depth: "Now or Never Land," "In the Valley," "Renaissance Man," "Drums of Heaven," "Tell Me the Truth"

Weak Links: "Bushfire"

Stand-Out Lyrics: "Sediment is flowing from river to seas. Now where are the mighty nations? No lines to be seen,"--"Earth and Sun and Moon"

"Blue collar work, it don't get you nowhere, you just go round and round in debt. Somebody's got you on that treadmill, mate. And I hope you're not beaten yet."--"Truganini"

"Farmers are hanging on by their fingertips."--"Truganini"

"A new world order has been formed between the cheque book and the dawn. A new renaissance man is born."--"Renaissance Man"

"I hope virtue brings its' own reward, and I hope the pen is mightier than any sword."--"In the Valley"

"Hey-yaw, hey-yaw, hey-yaw, ho-oh-oh."--"Now Or Never Land"

Midnight Oil--"Earth and Sun and Moon"

Album cover: 7 out of 10. It's very earthy, and sunny, and moony.

Comments: Hey, here's Midnight Oil with another album full of love ballads and bubble-gum pop songs! Wait--what's that? You say there're no love ballads or bubble-gum pop songs? Sorry, I'm always getting Midnight Oil and the Backstreet Boys mixed up.

No, with Midnight Oil you're much more likely to get a lesson about historical Australian figures than any sappy declarations of love. (Anyone for some Truganini or Namatjira?) Not that there's anything wrong with some silly love songs, but sometimes it's nice to have something a bit different. Midnight Oil is a bit different.

Damn, the bass work at the beginning of the songs "Earth and Sun and Moon" and "Truganini" is fantastic! There weren't any big hits in America off of the album, but "Truganini" and "My Country" did get a little radio airtime, plus they were the two songs the band performed on their lone appearance on Saturday Night Live in May of 1993. (Christina Applegate was the host. There was one skit that some people find a bit memorable.) (I tried to find a video of Midnight Oil's SNL "Truganini" performance, but the internet overlords shut me down. As I recall, it was a masterpiece of Peter Garrett's performative dancing style.)

Of course, in the almost thirty years (!) since this album came out, some of those political lyrics have to have become a bit obsolete, right? ("My country, right or wrong" indeed!)


Up next: Twinner winners!




 


Comments

  1. darenolsonFebruary 25, 2021 at 4:42 PM

    Having seen midnight oil in concert, I would say that Peter Garrett's performative dancing style is not really a dancing style at all. It's more of a style of musical seizure--kind of like Joe Cocker, only turned up to 11, but only if Joe Cocker was a 1.

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