Who would have thought the apocalypse would sound so damn
\nbeautiful? When Midnight Oil released
\nBlue Sky Mining<\/i> in 1990, there wasn’t a more timely album
\nout there. Exxon set off an environmental movement that became both
\na debate topic and a fad. No other group had more credibility when
\nit came to addressing environmental issues than Midnight Oil. And
\nwith the success of
\nDiesel And Dust<\/i>, all the ‘Oils really had to do is get up on
\nthe soapbox, create some catchy rhythms and let loose to have a
\nhit.<\/p>\n
Thankfully, they took the high road on
\nBlue Sky Mining<\/i>. And even after the environmenal movent
\nbecame passe, this album has not lost an iota of urgency. It
\naccomplished the ultimate goal of a great political album: use
\npersonal examples to shed light on a bigger issue.<\/p>\n
I picked this album up when I was 16. My sophomore year in high
\nschool was better than junior high, but it still was an isolated
\nhell. This album spoke to me like
\nNevermind<\/i> and
\nPretty Hate Machine<\/i> speaks to bitter, pissed off kids of the
\n’90s. Songs like “Bedlam Bridge,” “Mountains Of Burma” and “River
\nRuns Red” are all stunning accounts environmental and personal
\ndespair.<\/p>\n
Credit the musicianship as much as the lyrics as to why
\nBlue Sky Mining<\/i> works on as many levels as U2’s
\nThe Joshua Tree<\/i>. Drummer Rob Hirst and guitarist Jim Moginie
\nshare the bulk of the lyric writing, dispelling the preconception
\nthat charismatic lead singer Peter Garrett writes most of the
\nlurics. Moginie and Martin Rotsey are a great rhythm\/lead guitar
\nduo, especially in the song “River Runs Red”. The band complements
\neach other so much that you can almost tell what each song is about
\nby the music alone (on the other hand, this is coming from a guy
\nwho has worn out this tape so much, clear spots can be seen in some
\nparts in the tape).<\/p>\n
\nBlue Sky Mining<\/i> is probably the mellowest of the ‘Oils
\ncollection. It as also their most powerful release. Just as you’re
\nabout to sink into the helplessness of “River Runs Red” and
\n“Montains Of Burma”, a song like “King Of The Mountain” and “Blue
\nSky Mine” kick you in the ass like an Australian pub bouncer.<\/p>\n
“Shakers And Movers” and “Forgotten Years,” the two best tracks
\non the album mesh the despairing lyrics with their driving beat
\nthat has made them so great to see live. On “Forgotten Years”, the
\ndrumming and the guitars are at their most fierce on the album as
\nGarrett cries “The hardest years, the darkest years, the roarin’
\nyears, the fallen years”. On “Shakers And Movers,” the band builds
\nup to a peak and Garrett crystallizes the mood by singing “And the
\nstorm is breaking now\/yeah the storm is breaking now\/yeah the storm
\nis crashing now”.<\/p>\n
No matter how dark and intense Midnight Oil makes the storm,
\nthere’s always a hint of light coming after. But on
\nBlue Sky Mining<\/i>, the light is very dim. Still, Peter Garrett
\nhas not sang with more confidence as he does on this album.<\/p>\n
The ‘Oils are best when they are playing their songs live. But
\nwith
\nBlue Sky Mining<\/i>, the songs are just as effective coming from
\nyour car stereo as it is in a packed concert hall.<\/p>\n
Like The Clash’s
\nLondon Calling<\/i>, this album came out as the new decade opened
\nup. And like
\nLondon Calling<\/i>, its message still holds up towards the end
\nof the decade. Expect this album to be way up there on my “best
\nalbums of the 90s” list.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":24458,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[5774],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-35662","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-midnight-oil","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/35662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35662"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/35662\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35662"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=35662"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=35662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}