Midnight Oil - Earth And Sun And Moon (1993)

Expectations have been raised, the ante upped with the release of Earth And Sun And Moon, Midnight Oil's ninth album and their first studio work in nearly three years. If 1987's platinum-selling Diesel And Dust proved to be the Australian band's breakthrough album, 1989's Blue Sky Mining left the Oils poised on the brink of international superstardom. A lengthy creative silence was punctuated only by the reissuing of long unavailable early Oils' albums and last year's lackluster live set (which failed to capture that band's real live energy and ability).

Earth And Sun And Moon lives up to every single artistic promise Midnight Oil has ever made, as the band stays true to both their musical roots and their political and philosophical underpinnings. Their distinctively unique sound – a hybrid of '60s-styled American-influenced hard rock and quirky Australian pop has proven to be the perfect vehicle for the delivery of their politically-oriented message of racial equality, brotherhood and environmental populism. This disc offers a set of songs that should please both die-hard fans and attract new listeners with several radio-friendly yet powerful cuts.

Americans tend to view Australia as the land of "Crocodile Dundee," with a jaunty "g'day mate!" and "shrimp on the barbie." It is a culture familiar, yet alien to our own, and it is in this light that the Oils and their work must be viewed. The band lives on an island that is part urban decay and part pastoral countryside, part tropical rainforest and part desert. It is in this microcosm of the planet at large which tempers their unique point-of-view and fuels their artistic vision. Some critics have complained of the band's alarmist frame of mind and radical ideals; they miss the optimism boiling under the surface which says that "we can change the world, if we want."

The core trio of what was to become Midnight Oil...drummer Rob Hirst, guitarist Jim Moginie and bass player Andrew "Bear" James...first came together in 1971 in Sydney. In 1975 the fledgling Oils advertised for a vocalist, attracting charismatic frontman Peter Garrett; a year later they added additional guitarist Martin Rotsey. They changed their name and Midnight Oil was formed. Current bassist Bones Hillman joined the group in 1989 during the Diesel And Dust tour.

By 1978 the Oils went from playing the rough seaside surf joints of Sydney's northern shores to playing for the rougher inner city punk clubs. Their aggressive style and dynamic live show (along with Garrett's unconventional vocal delivery) won them a cult following and led to widespread, year-long touring across the country. The band subsequently formed their own record label, releasing their self-titled debut in November of 1978.

The Oils have never been afraid to take a controversial stance, and their political preferences are well-known. Ten days after the release of their first album, they played a anti-uranium mining benefit. They never looked back, forever linking their art with their politics, activists at heart, championing causes and groups such as Greenpeace and Save The Whales. Formidable frontman Peter Garrett, tall and bald-pated, ran for election to the Australian Senate under the Nuclear Disarmament Party ticket in 1984, suffering a narrow defeat in the closely-contested race.

"Earth And Sun And Moon," the song, as well as the album, is an unbridled celebration of the human spirit. Recorded in Sydney on an analog deck to create a live sound, Earth And Sun And Moon brings a new perspective to the issues which the Oils hold so dear. Since the band's eye-opening 1986 tour of their homeland's aboriginal settlements (which in turn led to Diesel And Dust), witnessing for themselves the poverty, alcoholism and pain visited upon the land's native population by white settlers, they have incorporated a great deal of aboriginal influence into their work, expanding it to include the influence of indigenous peoples worldwide.

From the thick, multi-layered guitars ringing with a handful of static notes which begin the title cut to the reverent tribal chants which close it, the song documents our social losses even while creating a season of hope for our collective futures. "Now there's oil spills in the water where Columbus once sailed/And there's history and mystery and it's rolling away" sings Garrett of our fortunes. "Too messed up to care/Anyone got a wing and a prayer?" he asks passionately, tossing off "In the blink of an eye/Thank you and good night." The popish, flower-child harmonies of the chorus sing of better days, closing with "Earth and Sun and Moon/Human tribe, one thin blue line/Earth and Sun and Moon will survive, will survive, we will survive..."

"Truganini," the album's first single release, is the sad story of the last Tasmanian Aborigine, Truganini. The sole survivor of a military pacification and resettlement program which eerily parallels that directed towards our own Native Americans, she begged to be buried in the D'Entrecasteaux Channel. After her death in 1876, her remains were buried in a vault in the Hobart Penitentiary, to later be dug up and stored in an old apple crate. Crudely displayed in the Tasmanian Museum until 1947, the noble queen finally got her wish after 200 years of unrest as her remains were cremated and scattered on the channel. The Oils use her story as an allegory for how life treats us all, as well as a comment on racism which is all pervasive: "Blue collar work, it don't get you nowhere/You just go round and round in debt/Somebody's got you on the treadmill, mate/And I hope you're not beaten yet." The chorus closes the somber tune, "I hear much support for the monarchy/I see the Union Jack in flames, let it burn/I see Namatjira with dignity/I see Truganini's in chains."

It is the final cut, though, of Earth And Sun And Moon, "Now Or Never Land," which serves to frame the album's contents and define its lyrical stance. An activist call to arms, it showcases the band's commitment to its ideals and its view of our future. A musically sparse song, with throbbing bass lines and rhythmic percussion underlining Garrett's course, effective vocals, "Now Or Never Land" explains "I grew tall in this lucky land/And I thank god for that/But there's needles in the sand." Describing the economic and environmental waste which greed has created in his land and ours, Garrett nonetheless goes on to proclaim, "It's a rhythm of the sea/Lost island of hope/It's a rhythm of the sea/Who will discover you?"

It is this island of hope which Midnight Oil sings to, hoping against hope to help create. "Rises in rivers, in power of the sun/Rises in sea level, look out mammon's bastard son/Infidels are praying at the stock exchange/Chrome camels are crashing on the smooth terrain," sings Garrett, damning the fools who have destroyed our garden of Eden. As the band winds down, though, his vocals describe the utopia possible – if all of us work to make it so – "Dream a South Pacific dream of now or never land/Suitcase full of good ideas, history that's filled with tears/Kill nostalgia, xenophobic fears/It's now or never land..." Although other cuts on Earth And Sun And Moon may speak volumes, such as "My Country" and its questioning of the blind following of patriotism, to the bittersweet memories of "In The Valley," it is this simple, eloquent closing statement which stands as a powerful illustration of the Oils' music. It's "now or never," folks, to create the sort of land we want to live in.... (Columbia Records)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Earth And Sun And Moon from Amazon.com)