01	Don't Wanna Be The One						03:00
	02	Brave Faces						04:44
	03	Armistice Day						04:23
	04	Someone Else To Blame						02:36
	05	Basement Flat						04:25
	06	Written In The Earth						03:11
	07	Burnie						04:32
	08	Quinella Holiday						02:34
	09	Loves On Sale						02:21
	10	If Ned Kelly Was King						03:32
	11	Outside World						04:21
	12	Only The Strong						04:30
	13	Short Memory						03:52
	14	Read About It						03:48
	15	Scream In Blue						05:50
	16	US Forces						04:05
	17	Power & The Passion						05:37
	18	Tin-Legs & Tin Mines						04:40
	19	Somebody's Trying						04:20
	20	Tell Me Something						03:30

Place Without a Postcard

Date of Release 1981 (release)

Place Without a Postcard, produced by the usually reliable Glyn Johns, is so-so, but a real letdown after the intensity of Head Injuries. The songs are very good and at its best, it hints at the consistency that was to mark the rest of their recorded work, but it never coalesces into a whole. Even after repeated plays, Place Without a Postcard is too much of a mess to recommend unequivocally. - John Dougan

1. Don't Wanna Be the One (Garrett/Hirst/Moginie/Rotsey)
2. Brave Faces (Garrett/Moginie)
3. Armistice Day (Hirst/Moginie/Rotsey)
4. Someone Else to Blame (Gifford/Hirst/Moginie)
5. Basement Flat (Garrett/Moginie/Rotsey)
6. Written in the Heart (Hirst/Moginie/Rotsey)
7. Burnie (Garrett/Moginie)
8. Quinella Holiday (Garrett/Moginie)
9. Loves on Sale (Garrett/Rotsey)
10. If Ned Kelly Was King (Garrett/Moginie)
11. Lucky Country (Garrett/Hirst/Moginie/Rotsey)

Peter Garrett - Vocals
Glyn Johns - Producer, Engineer
Rob Hirst - Drums
Jim Moginie - Guitar
Martin Rotsey - Guitar
Sean Fullan - Assistant Engineer
Peter Gifford
Robert Butcher - Artwork, Design, Photography

1981 CD Columbia CK-46145
1981 CS Columbia CT-46145



10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Date of Release 1983 (release)

Midnight Oil were already one of Australia's most popular bands when they made their American debut with 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and while some knowledge of the intelligent but physical hard rock of the group's first three albums might have made it a bit easier for U.S. audiences to swallow, 10, 9, 8... was a daunting first listen even for loyal fans. Blending an art rocker's sense of adventure and fondness for odd textures, a hard rocker's muscular force and love of power chords, and a peace punk's passion for an intelligent rant, Midnight Oil bore small resemblance to anyone on 10, 9, 8..., running from the dreamy but ominous "Outside World" and "Maralinga" to the bone-crushing fury of "Only the Strong" and "Somebody's Trying to Tell Me Something" while making a number of stops in between. Nick Launay's deliberately eccentric production made the most of the band's dramatically oddball approach (dig that panning! check out that drum sound!), and for an album that so often goes for the purposeful left turn, it's remarkably listenable and catchy, offering up one passionate anthem after another. The band's politics are both well considered and unapologetically upfront throughout, which probably didn't help much with sales in the United States, where dance singles traditionally don't feature the chant "Better to die on your feet than to live on your knees," and questioning American foreign policy is uncommon on Top Ten albums (the album stayed on the Aussie charts for over two years, and "Power and the Passion" was a major success on the singles chart). As catchy as the Easybeats, as sweaty and hard-hitting as Rose Tattoo, and lots smarter than either, Midnight Oil were among the finest bands to emerge from Australia during the 1980s, and 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 was their first undeniably great album and still ranks with their very best. - Mark Deming

1. Outside World (Moginie)
2. Only the Strong (Hirst/Moginie)
3. Short Memory (Garrett/Hirst/Moginie)
4. Read About It (Garrett/Hirst/Moginie)
5. Scream in Blue (Garrett/Moginie/Rotsey)
6. Us Forces (Garrett/Moginie)
7. Power and the Passion (Garrett/Hirst/Moginie)
8. Maralinga (Garrett/Moginie)
9. Tin Legs and Tin Mines (Garrett/Moginie/Rotsey)
10. Somebody's Trying to Tell Me Something (Garrett/Gifford/Hirst/Moginie/Rotsey)

Midnight Oil - Producer
Gary Morris
Peter Garrett - Vocals
Rob Hirst - Drums
Nick Launay - Producer, Engineer, Mixing
Jim Moginie - Guitar, Keyboards
Martin Rotsey - Guitar
Gavin McKillop - Assistant Engineer, Mixing Assistant
Peter Gifford - Bass
Gisele Scales - Violin

CD Columbia CK-38996
1983 LP Columbia 25314
CS Columbia PCT-38996



Midnight Oil
Formed 1975 in Sydney, Australia

Australia's Midnight Oil brought a new sense of political and social immediacy to pop music: not only did incendiary hits like "Beds Are Burning" and "Blue Sky Mine" bring global attention to the plight of, respectively, aboriginal settlers and impoverished workers, but the group also put its money where its mouth was - in addition to mounting benefit performances for groups like Greenpeace and Save the Whales, frontman Peter Garrett even ran for the Australian Senate on the Nuclear Disarmament Party ticket.
The band formed in Sydney in 1971 as Farm, and originally comprised guitarists Jim Moginie and Martin Rotsey, drummer Rob Hirst and bassist Andrew "Bear" James; Garrett, a law student known for his seven-foot-tall stature and shaven head, assumed vocal duties in 1975, and the group soon rechristened itself Midnight Oil. After months of sporadic gigs, they began making the rounds to area record companies; following a string of rejections, the group formed its own label, Powderworks, and issued their self-titled debut - a taut, impassioned collection of guitar rock which quickly established the Midnight Oil sound - in 1978.

After declaring their independence from the music industry, the Oils grew increasingly active and outspoken in the political arena; after performing in opposition to uranium mining, they supported the Tibet Council before turning their attentions to the unfair practices of the local music industry, and formed their own booking agency in response to the monopoly exerted by area agents and promoters. With their 1979 sophomore effort Head Injuries, the band scored their first hit single, "Cold Cold Change," and earned a gold record. James left the band the following year due to health problems; with new bassist Peter Gifford, they cut the EP Bird Noises, another chart success.

With 1981's Place Without a Postcard (recorded with producer Glyn Johns), Midnight Oil achieved platinum status on the strength of the smash "Armistice Day," which won the group an American deal with Columbia Records. Their follow-up, 1983's 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, spent over two years in the Australian Top 40; after 1984's Red Sails in the Sunset, Garrett made his run at Senate, losing by only a narrow margin. Participation in the Artists United Against Apartheid project followed, leading directly into Midnight Oil's increased interest in the battles of Australia's aboriginal settlers and a tour, dubbed "Black Fella White Fella," with the aborigine group the Warumpi Band.

The aborigines' plight came to the fore on 1987's Diesel and Dust, the Oils' breakthrough record; sparked by the hit single "Beds Are Burning," the album reached the U.S. Top 20 and made the band a household commodity. After bassist Dwayne "Bones" Hillman (ex-Swingers) replaced Gifford, Midnight Oil returned with 1990's Blue Sky Mining, which they followed with a concert outside of the Exxon corporation's Manhattan offices in protest the company's handling of the Alaskan oil spill. (A film of the performance titled Black Rain Falls was later released, with profits going to Greenpeace.) The album Earth and Sun and Moon appeared in 1993, followed three years later by Breathe. Midnight Oil next resurfaced in 1998 with Redneck Wonderland. The Real Thing, only available in Australia, followed in 2001. It was a solid collection of new songs and live tracks from Midnight Oil's magnificent run at the Metro Theatre in Sydney. Capricornia, issued on Liquid 8 in spring 2002, marked the band's 14th album of their career. In December, Peter Garrett announced his split from the band after 25 years. Garrett, who left Midnight Oil on good terms, wished to pursue other challenges. - Jason Ankeny



1978 Midnight Oil CBS
1979 Head Injuries Columbia
1981 Place Without a Postcard Columbia
1983 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Columbia
1984 Red Sails in the Sunset Columbia
1987 Diesel and Dust Columbia
1990 Blue Sky Mining Columbia
1992 Scream in Blue Live Columbia
1993 Earth and Sun and Moon Columbia
1996 Breathe Columbia
1998 Redneck Wonderland Columbia
2000 The Real Thing [live] Columbia
2002 Capricornia Liquid 8