Midnight Oil rocked with so much power & conviction (or should that be power & passion??) that its hard not to admire the work they put out. Lead singer Peter Garrett never held back: manic singing and flailing limbs were his trademark before he traded it in for a career in Australian federal politics. Now its hard to believe he was the same guy...
I received this album as a present from an uncle on my 13th birthday at a Mexican restaurant in Fremantle way back in April 1990 - and since that day I firmly believe its one of the best albums of all time. "Read About it", "Power and the Passion", "US Forces" and "Short Memory" - they are all Aussie rock classics now. I even think it was ahead of its time sonically too. Check out the instrumental "Scream In Blue" - it sounds like U2's "Zoo Station" from Achtung Baby - 9 years before U2 released it!
One final note: Watching the band play "Only The Strong" live back in the late 90's on the 20,000 Watt R.S.L tour is one of the single greatest performances I've ever witnessed.
Garrett for PM! There I said it.
Peter, if you stand for something, stick to it, there I said it, despite that, the music stands up today, I'm glad I had the chance to see them live. Both 20,000 Watt R.S.L and the subsequent Redneck Wonderland tours of 2001 and 2002 respectively are still in my top 10 concerts attended. When I'm locked in my room..... \nn/, ,\nn/
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