If you'd really like to see what Peter Garrett looks like topless and swimming in a red sea, search for the video of this song on YouTube. The overtly and completely unnecessarily psychedelic video is pretty neat, but it's almost a colorized version of the Red Hot Chili Pepper's Give It Away video. Completely out of step with Midnight Oil, it's amusing how sincere the band looks while lip synching.
To focus on the music, the song is great. Yes, it's psychedelic, but not a throwback to the 60s as the video would have you believe. More of a mash of Midnight Oil's Aussie rock and the psychedelic revival sounds of bands like XTC.
The song is an excellent example of the band working together and sounding like a complete unit without a lot of overbearing production. The spaciousness of the verses perfectly balance the exhilarating fusion of the chorus and you're left with a perfect piece of music.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Midnight Oil - Earth and Sun and Moon
I'll start out by admitting that I am a huge Midnight Oil fan and while not all their albums have been fantastic, each one is worth checking out an offers fantastic songs.
Earth and Sun and Moon is the first Midnight Oil release to come out while I was a fan of the band. I had started liking the band about a year after Blue Sky Mining had come out and was working my way through their back catalog when Earth and Sun and Moon came out. While it's not my favorite Midnight Oil album, it's one of their best, is very easily accessible and still holds up incredibly well 17 years later.
(wow, writing that made me feel really old... 1993 wasn't that long ago... was it?)
For some reason, I decided not to go see them when they played the Roy Wilkin's auditorium to support this album, which resulted in me having to wait eight years for my next opportunity to see them live (September, 2001 – Celebrity Theater, Phoenix, Arizona). This made my desire to hear everything they released previously even stronger and had me keeping track of new album releases.
Stylistically, it follows all the benchmarks of a Midnight Oil album; lyrics that are environmentally, socially and politically conscious, rockin' guitars and excellent production. It also adds some well placed keyboards, which is something they've done a lot in the past, but really sound like part of the band's music this time, rather than an afterthought tossed on by a producer. It all fits together for a rewarding listen the first time as well as the hundredth.
Earth and Sun and Moon is the first Midnight Oil release to come out while I was a fan of the band. I had started liking the band about a year after Blue Sky Mining had come out and was working my way through their back catalog when Earth and Sun and Moon came out. While it's not my favorite Midnight Oil album, it's one of their best, is very easily accessible and still holds up incredibly well 17 years later.
(wow, writing that made me feel really old... 1993 wasn't that long ago... was it?)
For some reason, I decided not to go see them when they played the Roy Wilkin's auditorium to support this album, which resulted in me having to wait eight years for my next opportunity to see them live (September, 2001 – Celebrity Theater, Phoenix, Arizona). This made my desire to hear everything they released previously even stronger and had me keeping track of new album releases.
Stylistically, it follows all the benchmarks of a Midnight Oil album; lyrics that are environmentally, socially and politically conscious, rockin' guitars and excellent production. It also adds some well placed keyboards, which is something they've done a lot in the past, but really sound like part of the band's music this time, rather than an afterthought tossed on by a producer. It all fits together for a rewarding listen the first time as well as the hundredth.
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