MIDNIGHT OIL

PilbaraBass · #1 01-09-2005, 04:46 PM

I caught them on the television yesterday. It was a rerun of a concert that they played at the Sydney opera house. That P-bass sounded HUGE!!! Tight and punchy and very much like the recordings (even on crappy broadcast TV).

I always loved the driving sounds that this guy would put out.

Question is, who IS this guy?

slinkp · #2 01-09-2005, 11:36 PM

They've had a pretty stable lineup but have changed bassists a couple times.
It was either Peter Gifford (early 80s) or Bones Hillman (late 80s onward).

I saw them live in 1998 or thereabouts. Awesome live band, they really delivered a wallop.

Mohter · #3 01-10-2005, 03:10 AM

That's Peter Gifford guys - Bones was a bit later although I couldn't nail it exactly of the top of my head

They
were always very particular about their sound and could ALWAYS reproduce what they recorded with equal authority live, proud of them.
Ampeg rig I thought by the look of it - see the perspex sheets either side of Rob Hirst? Rotsey pulls a mean sound from a Ric
too eh?
It was excellant to hear some early stuff and even better that they played it with the same passion I saw their at early gigs

Woodchuck · #4 01-10-2005, 04:00 AM

That bass run at the end of "The Power and the Passion" still blows me away to this day.

Mohter · #5 01-10-2005, 04:58 AM

Yep though I still think the first album hit like George Forman - check out Stand In Line.

Philbiker · #6 01-10-2005, 06:47 AM

Everything I've ever heard from these guys is magic. I love Midnight Oil. "Breathe" is my favorite record of theirs I think. I may be missing one of their first records though.... There's a fantastic retrospective video of them, I bought a PAL converting all-region DVD player just to watch it.

The Golden Boy · #7 01-10-2005, 10:05 AM

Kinda odd...

I heard the Burning Beds song yesterday for the first time in years...

slinkp · #8 01-10-2005, 10:28 AM

The live album, "Scream in Blue", is a great recording of a fantastic live band. Check the really cool bass work at the end of "Dreamworld", one of my favorite songs.

Mohter · #9 01-11-2005, 01:51 AM

I really dug the way they kept the standard up while still exploring diff sounds/feels, love it all - but Head Injuries still does it for me - both the record and the attitude at the time.
They inspired us to be independant / original way back then.

If you've got the album - the foto on the back isn't exactly
staged - more a reflection of what happened as far as the vibe on the street went

ah well they deserved it we all
thought then with royalties a pittance .......... of course it did make it a tad harder for those next into the breach of recording

What the hell they were right and everone was breaking the molds and changing the rules back then, and it needed it too