MIDNIGHT OIL
Midnight Oil (known informally as “The Oils”) are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett (vocals, harmonica), Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie (guitar, keyboard), Martin Rotsey (guitar), and Bones Hillman (bass guitar). The band became a mainstream concern in Australia with the release of 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (1982) – which spawned the hits “Power and the Passion” and “US Forces” – and reinforced their standing via chart-topper Red Sails in the Sunset (1984). The group went on to garner worldwide renown with seminal record Diesel and Dust (1987) and its singles, “Beds Are Burning” and “The Dead Heart”. They enjoyed further global success with Blue Sky Mining (1990) and Earth and Sun and Moon (1993) – each buoyed by an international hit single in “Blue Sky Mine” and “Truganini”, respectively – and remained a formidable presence on the Australian albums chart until their 2002 disbandment, by which point they had sold 12 million albums worldwide. The outfit reformed in 2017. (More from Wikipedia)
Hunters & Collectors, Ghost Nation – I liked this 1989 album so much (their sixth) that I have picked up another couple of albums by this fine Australian band that came along when movies and rock bands alike from Australia were finding audiences around the world. Hunters & Collectors were opening for Midnight Oil at one point but were struggling to find success in this country. Allmusic was not impressed, giving the album only 2 stars; but Australian music journalist Ian McFarlane called Ghost Nation “perhaps the band’s finest album to date”, and Rolling Stone Australia named them Australian Band of the Year in 1990.
(December 2015)
