Details
Track Listing
1. Underwater
2. Surf's up Tonight
3. Common Ground
4. Time to Heal
5. Sins of Omission
6. One Too Many Times
7. Star of Hope
8. In the Rain
9. Bring on the Change
10. Home
11. E-Beat
12. Barest Degree
13. Gravelrash
Album Notes
Midnight Oil: Peter Garrett (vocals); James Moginie (guitar, keyboards); Martin Rotsey (guitar); Bones Hillman (bass); Rob Hirst (drums).
Additional personnel: Emmylou Harris (vocals); Malcolm Burn (guitar, organ, bass); Buddy Miller (guitar); Ethan Allan (piano); Daryl Johnson (djembe).
Recorded at Darling Harbour Studios, Sydney, Australia from May to June 1996 and Kingsway Studios, New Orleans in June 1996.
Two decades down the road, the Oils' music has grown out of its punk beginnings, but the band's fiery political rhetoric has lost none of its passion. Daniel Lanois protege Malcolm Burn produced BREATHE, and the album finds the Oils staking out new stylistic territory. It was partially recorded in New Orleans, and the spiritual nature of that city seems to have permeated many of the songs. The unforgiving beat of "Sins Of Omission" tells of a future hounded by evil deeds of the past ("pummeled plains, beaten fields"), while the uplifting "Time To Heal" offers hope in the aftermath of adversity. The country-influenced "One Too Many Times" lightens the mood slightly before the rootless sentiment of "Home" (featuring Emmylou Harris on vocals and Buddy Miller on pedal-steel guitar) returns a forlorn sheen to the proceedings.
Industry Reviews
...the overall sound is subtle and subdued, with lots of atmospheric keyboards and acoustic guitars; even when the boys launch into a balls-out rocker like 'Bring on the Change,' Peter Garrett's singing stays firmly rooted in a quieter space...
Musician (02/01/1997)
3.5 Stars (out of 5) - ...more varied than...previous Oils efforts....triumphant anthems...alongside stunningly basic, acoustic folk songs....In fusing the hurtling momentum of punk with the righteousness of old-timey hymns, the Oils have arrived at a potent music that uplifts as it agitates.
Rolling Stone (11/28/1996)
|
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
All rights reserved.
