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The compilation covers the majority of Midnight Oil's career, starting with their 1979 album Head Injuries, and includes tracks from all their major studio releases (and one EP), even including two songs from the forthcoming Redneck Wonderland album, which was released after this compilation in 1998. The compilation does not include any material from the band's eponymous 1978 debut album or the Bird Noises EP (1980). The liner notes contain an essay on the band by Australian author Tim Winton. |
The album peaked at #1 on the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) album charts, and achieved 5脳Platinum sales, it also peaked at #18 in New Zealand. |
In 2012, Midnight Oil released the 2-disc compilation album Essential Oils, a more comprehensive summary of the band's career, and which includes material from all of the band's studio albums and EPs between 1978 and 2002. There is only one song ("What Goes On") included in 20,000 Watt R.S.L. that is not included in Essential Oils. |
Background |
Midnight Oil are an Australian rock band from Sydney formed in 1976 with vocalist Peter Garrett, drummer Rob Hirst, bass guitarist Andrew James and keyboardist/lead guitarist Jim Moginie, Guitarist Martin Rotsey joined in 1977 and Midnight Oil established their own record label Powderworks, they released their second album Head Injuries on this label in October 1979. Founding bass guitarist James left due to illness in 1980, he was replaced by Peter Gifford, Gifford was himself replaced by Bones Hillman in 1987. |
Australian Top Ten singles were "Power and the Passion", "The Dead Heart", "Beds Are Burning" and "Blue Sky Mine". Aside from chart success both "Power and the Passion" and "Beds Are Burning" were listed by Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) in the Top 30 best Australian songs of all time in 2001. Through a long and distinguished career, the band became known for its driving hard-rock sound, intense live performances and political activism, particularly in aid of anti-nuclear, environmentalist and indigenous causes. |
Track listing |
Songwriters according to Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA): |
"What Goes On" (Garrett, Hillman, Hirst, Moginie, Rotsey) |
"Power and the Passion" (Garrett, Hirst, Moginie) |