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Diesel and Dust

Midnight Oil - Diesel and Dust Audio CD

A fair review of the Midnight Oil "Diesel and Dust" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Midnight Oil reviews here, or go back to the Midnight Oil tabs.

Band: Midnight Oil
Title: Diesel and Dust
Rating:

Release Date: 2008-05-06
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Beds Are Burning 2: Put Down That Weapon 3: Dreamworld 4: Arctic World 5: Warakurna 6: Dead Heart 7: Whoah 8: Bullroarer 9: Sell My Soul 10: Sometimes 11: Gunbarrel Highway [*] 12: Dead Heart [DVD][*] 13: Stand in Line [DVD][Live][*] 14: Power & the Passion [DVD][Live][*] 15: Blackfella/Whitefella [DVD][Live][*] - Midnight Oil, Warumpi Band 16: Gotta Be Strong [DVD][Live][*] - Warumpi Band 17: Warumpinya (Papunya) [DVD][Live][*] - Warumpi Band 18: Best of Both Worlds [DVD][Live][*] 19: Nuyntu Nyaalyjirriku [DVD] - Warumpi Band 20: Helps Me Help You [DVD][Live][*] 21: Waru [DVD][Live][*] - Warumpi Band 22: Kosciusko [DVD][Live][*] 23: Beds Are Burning [DVD][*] 24: Island Home [DVD][Live][*] - Warumpi Band 25: Read About It [DVD][Live][*]

No Holding Back
The album's lyrics and sound were inspired by their Blackfella/Whitefella concert tour of aboriginal settlements in 1986. "Diesel and Dust" is the sixth album from Midnight Oil, and the one which probably gave them their greatest international exposure. The album is powerful, and though its subject matter is rooted in Australian society, this is an album which can be appreciated wherever one lives. Originally released in August of 1987, it has been re-released 21 years later including the song "Gunbarrel Highway" which failed to make it on the U. S. and Canadian releases of the album. It also contains a DVD documentary of their Blackfella/Whitefella tour.

"Beds Are Burning" opens the album with a strong political, social, and musical statement. The song refers to giving land back to the Pintupi, one of the last people to be brought into settlements, and though it was inspired by a specific situation, the lyrics speak to the subject of injustice and the righting of wrongs. "Put Down That Weapon" is a song which discusses keeping nuclear weapons out of Australian territory, even if they are on ships from other countries, a step which New Zealand had taken in 1985. "Dreamworld" is another wonderful piece, looking at the trade-off between environment and business which comes from destroying natural lands to make money. "Arctic World" is not quite up to the level of the preceding pieces, but it isn't horrible either. It picks up on the theme of Dreamworld, and perhaps how it applies to Antarctica. "Warakurna" is a step back in the right direction musically as they take up the Aboriginal cause again. Lyrics like "White law could be wrong, Black law must be strong" and "This land must change or land must burn" speak to the need of making the culture more inclusive. It is a nice closer to the first half of the album.

"The Dead Heart" opens the second half with the longest piece on the album. And it picks up right where "Warakurna" left off in terms of subject matter. It was released as a single prior to the release of the album, and is one of the best songs on the album. "Whoah" is next, and is a bit more of a spiritual piece, contrasting with some more secular ideas. "Bullroarer" refers to an Aboriginal device which was used for communication over a long distance with its distinctive sound, and the lyrics bring in some wonderful imagery about this desert continent. "Sell My Soul" is about the conflict between cultures, and more specifically about the Lost Generation. "Sometimes" is another strong track, with a never quit lyric, and music to match. "Gunbarrel Highway" refers to a road in New South Wales and the lyrics convey a sense of the divide between cultures as one drives away from the cities and into the desert.

The "Blackfella/Whitefella" documentary is a very nice look into the inspiration for the "Diesel and Dust". It is not a detailed fact-oriented documentary, but instead it lets the images and the music tell the story. The tour consisted of Midnight Oil and the Warumpi Band, and while a couple of the songs for this album were written prior to the tour, "The Dead Heart", and "Beds are Burning", the majority of this album was inspired by the tour. The theme for both the tour and the album appears to be the meeting of two diverse ideas: Black and White; Aboriginal culture and Western culture; nature and civilization. While often these ideas are pitted in opposition to each other, it doesn't have to be that way, and that is evident from the documentary as well as from the lyrics. Aboriginal culture doesn't have to be destroyed to make room for Western ideas; instead its survival enriches all of Australia.

This is perhaps their best album, and well worth listening to regardless of where it ranks. The group consists of: Peter Garrett (vocals); Robert Hirst (drums); James Moginie (guitar, keyboards); Martin Rotsey (guitar); and Peter Gifford (bass).
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Hasn't Gathered Any Dust After 20 Years
In fact, lead singer Peter Garrett was an elected member of his country's government. Midnight Oil are one of the most politically conscious bands in rock, singing about the political climate in their native Australia. Diesel & Dust was their breakthrough album in the US and it spurred on by the driving single and lead track "Beds Are Burning". That song, propelled by its powerful horn section, is about the plight of the Aboriginal people of their homeland. The other nine tracks all take on some sort of political bent. They show that one can make good music, make a statement and not come off as preachy or pretentious. "Put Down That Weapon" is a track that simmers along while "Dreamworld" is a frenetic rocker. "Whoah" & "Bullroarer" are calls for change. The album's centerpiece and one of the best songs to be released in the last twenty years is "The Dead Heart". The song has a majestical sound with kettledrums pounding through and a riveting doo-doo chorus, it is an unforgettable and powerful song. Midnight Oil sings about subjects that we in America may not fully understand, but they convey the true power that music can be, because you find yourself pausing to think and hoping for change. .

Decidedly mixed feelings.
Great album, great to finally have BLACK FELLA/WHITE FELLA available on DVD in its entirety, great to have "Gunbarrel Highway" finally released in the US copies of the album. . . all great. So why do I have mixed feelings? Because I look at what appears to be the "taming" of Peter Garrett these days, now that he's a high pol in the current Australian government, and I find much of it inexplicable. The contortions he's gone through to justify his current compromises on the environment and aboriginal rights, ones that he would have scorned a decade ago, make the admittedly terrific songs on DIESEL AND DUST ring just a little hollow nowadays. Garrett's no doubt decided that a certain amount of compromise helps one's ultimate agenda, but right now it is a little like imagining if Chrissie Hynde all the sudden decided to start shilling for the US beef industry. Ah well, so it goes.

yes, it's worth getting!
The DVD is the 'Black Fella / White Fella' tour documentary/concert which was only previously available on VHS (and that was of course, many many years ago. You never know for sure with reissues, but I was pleasantly surprised. . . ) A must for M. O. fans. The CD includes one bonus track, the hard-to-find outtake 'Gunbarrel Highway. ' The set is a little pricey, but for me it was certainly worth it. Hopefully, they'll reissue 'Blue Sky Mine' with DVD of the 1990 Exxon protest show in NYC. . .

Keep wishing for a return of the Oils, maybe someday.

You can see a complete list of all Midnight Oil discography, or go back to the Midnight Oil tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.