Midnight Oil “Diesel and Dust”
Midnight Oil “Diesel and Dust” Columbia 1987 In the summer of 80/81 Sydney’s beloved 2JJ became national broadcaster Triple J. There was a farewell doublejay concert in Parramatta Park with ten bands playing on a sweltering summer’s day. The park was packed and the Oil’s did a blistering set at about sixth on the bill; then half the crowd left. They were not top of the bill, but clearly the tribes had come out to hear Midnight Oil. The Oils were iconic at home, but had little impact beyond Australian shores. Diesel and Dust was the group’s first global success, going platinum in America and spawning the massive hit, Beds Are Burning. While the album lacks the gutbucket Aussie pub rock of their earlier work, the Oils still come up with powerful and persuasive music like The Dead Heart and Dreamworld. There was no compromise in the band’s political stance with most of the album’s songs addressing the issues of Aboriginal rights. Strangely, Beds Are Burning, a song clearly calling for compensation for Aboriginal people, topped the charts around the world. The more intimate Sometimes is probably amongst the best the band ever wrote ("Sometimes you’re beaten to the core/Sometimes you’re taken to the wall/But you don’t give in"). In the quest for an international audience Midnight Oil maintained their musical and political integrity with Diesel and Dust. Twenty years after Beds are Burning and former Oils man Peter Garrett is in Federal Parliament; however this album has stood the test of time and become a classic album.
Midnight Oil
“Diesel and Dust”
Columbia 1987
