Published on Aug 7, 1998
Sometimes, I can’t explain why certain things are in the Pierce
Archives. Oh, I can explain why
Space Ritual from Hawkwind is in there (it had Lemmy
Kilmister – hoo, what a mistake
that was!), I can explain why
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida from Iron Butterfly is in there (it was
psychedelic, so it had to be cool – and it was). I can even explain
why Wham! is in there (it was a quarter, gimme a break).
But for the love of me, I can’t figure out why I bought
Earth And Sun And Moon from Midnight Oil back in 1993. I’m
admittedly not big into Midnight Oil, and this particular album
didn’t get a lot of airplay. The only reason I can think I bought
it is that the music on it was so damn good.
Peter Garrett and crew had experienced superstardom with their
releases
Diesel And Dust and
Blue Sky Mining, but it almost felt like the band wanted to
escape from the “hit single” mode they seemed to be locked into at
this point. What this spelled for Midnight Oil was a return to
music for the sake of the song, not the sake of the charts. This
could have been career suicide in the eyes of the suits, but it
still resulted in a very fine record that did have hit single
potential.
In one sense,
Earth And Sun And Moon spelled a move away from
guitar-driven songs, and more emphasis on the organ work of Jim
Moginie. In my mind, an excellent idea. The opening track “Feeding
Frenzy,” which builds up from Bones Hillman’s unique bass work,
creates such a vast layering of sound that this could have been a
masterpiece for the band.
The one song I remember getting airplay in Chicago, “Truganini,”
possibly lost its deeper meaning as it came over to the States and
out of Australia, but it still is a powerful song, if not as strong
as other hits like “Beds Are Burning” and “Forgotten Years”. No,
that title is reserved for the criminally-overlooked “Outbreak Of
Love,” another song whose sonic layers scream silently for your
attention. A beautiful number, this could have been Midnight Oil at
their most creative. Even the title track features layers of sound
that wash over the listener gently.
This doesn’t mean that Garrett and crew had abandoned the guitar
or the poppy single. “Bushfire”‘s acoustic guitar backbone sets the
mood for another song you’ll remmeber after listening to this album
even once. As for hit singles, “In The Valley” was poppy enough to
have gotten the nod, and should have garnered some significant
airplay when this album came out. Unfortunately, it didn’t.
Where
Earth And Sun And Moon goes wrong is only on a few songs.
The first part of the album is a little more difficult to get into,
as tracks like “My Country” and “Renaissance Man” just don’t
capture the listener’s attention or the spirit of this album that
well. Only one other song on the album, “Tell Me The Truth,” falls
short of expectations.
Some people criticize Midnight Oil for their political stances
they take. In the case of
Earth And Sun And Moon, these causes seem to be kept to a
minimum (or they’re very well hidden). I found political agendas
only on the title track and “Truganini”; the rest just seemed like
good ol’ rock to me.
Earth And Sun And Moon is, with the exception of the pre-
Diesel And Dust catalog, one of the forgotten albums from
Midnight Oil – and it’s an album that deserved a better fate. Five
years after it came out, it still remains a high water mark for the
band.