It is impossible to underestimate the importance of Midnight Oil’s album Diesel and Dust. The album, which was originally released in the late summer of 1987, brought the Oils’ sound across the ocean from Australia to America and made them into Australia’s biggest hitmakers. More importantly than that, however, Diesel and Dust had a significant social impact as well—it introduced the world to the plight of aboriginal Australians.
Before he became Australia’s Minister for the Environment, Heritage, and the Arts in late 2007, Peter Garrett was better known as the spear bald and outspoken lead singer of Midnight Oil. Although their first few albums were huge hits in their native Australia, it took the stunning single “Beds Are Burning” to introduce Midnight Oil to a larger audience. Indeed, the song was a hit, cracking the Top 20 in the United States and entering the Top 10 in charts in South Africa, France, Ireland, and the UK. This was not a love song, though; it was, rather, a plea to Australians to wake up and acknowledge their treatment of their country’s indigenous peoples. “The time has come,” Garrett barks over jangling guitars and a persistent rock beat, “to say fair’s fair / To pay the rent / To pay our share.”
Unlike the albums before it, Diesel and Dust benefited from the sheen of producer Warne Livesay. Some of the Oils’ previous songs had catchy choruses, sure, but Diesel and Dust was neither punk nor art rock. It was radio friendly; it was a well-calculated sellout. Each of the songs could have made a great single (my favorite song on the album is “Put Down that Weapon,” a track that is all the more relevant today). Through its catchy pop-rock, Midnight Oil introduced its listeners—both Australian and otherwise—to a series of political struggles that they may either have been ignorant of or have tried to ignore.
In “Warakurna,” Garrett sings that “some folks live in water tanks,” while “some folks live in red-brick flats.” “Sell My Soul” takes an even stronger tact: “Mechanize, city bursts and farmers die / They cry . . .” While these lyrics might seem preachy on the page, the songs themselves—full of keyboards, samples, and a 12-string Rickenbacker guitar—are catchy and memorable.
This version of Diesel and Dust, released just in time for the album’s 20th anniversary, contains a bonus DVD and restores “Gunbarrel Highway” to the end of the album. (The song was removed from US editions of the release so as not to offend American consumers.) The digital remastering was done by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering with Warne Livesay assisting, and the sound is clear and beautiful. (Unlike many recent remasters, there is no clipping or “hot mastering.” Each instrument is allowed space to breathe.) The two discs come in a sturdy, handsome gatefold sleeve that includes all of the original liner notes as well as a short essay about the band. If you’re a Midnight Oil fan, as I am, this reissue is worth every penny. And if you’re new to the band, I would have you seek it out. It is political music at its best. You won’t be disappointed. |