Search - Midnight Oil :: Capricornia

An Impressive Finale

Khyber900 | Los Angeles, CA | 03/21/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Capricornia, Midnight Oil's final recording, is the band's most consistent from start to finish since Blue Sky Mining. After several listens, I think it deserves to be considered as one of 6 essential Midnight Oil records to own (along with 10,9,8..., Red Sails in the Sunset, Diesel and Dust, Blue Sky Mining, and Scream in Blue (Live)).



Warne Livesey, who produced Diesel and Dust, returns for this record, and does another outstanding job, helping to modernize and update the Midnight Oil sound for the 21st Century. Livesey subtly softens the edges of the guitar and vocal sound without sacrificing the overall power of each, or the fast pace of the songs. Guitar melodies with softer, bass pickup tones are emphasized, and subtle electronica beats and sounds are interspersed to give the record a modern feel. The volume level of this CD significantly greater than the earlier CDs, probably by 50% or so. Jim Moginie, who has been involved in writing almost every Midnight Oil song over their long career, appears to have had more free reign to let his ideas come to fruition as he initially envisioned them, rather than having the band take a demo and rework it. As a result, the band members take their lead from his guitar, and the songs have a more consistent feel and pace from beginning to end.



In another difference, the traditionally strong and loud backing vocals of Hirst, Moginie and Hillman (which are a combination of a co-lead vocal and a harmony vocal) are appropriately deemphasized in order to allow Peter Garrett the space to take center stage. Garrett has never sounded better as a lead singer, and Livesey seems to believe in Garrett's abilities more than Garrett himself or the band ever did. On many songs, it is difficult to discern the unique markers of Garrett's voice. He sounds like a singer, not a personality with a mic. The music used to be made to fit to Garrett. On this record, Garrett fits the music. The lyrics are also different this time around, as the writing is more subtle, personal and not quite as direct or in your face as older classics like 'Truganini' or 'Beds are Burning'.



The songs overall have a stronger focus on melody, a brisk pace with few groove killers, and if you didn't know it was Midnight Oil, you'd think this was a young band in their 20's. The difference is that young rock bands in the first decade of the 21st century suck, but this record and this band are great.



Now for the songs:



1. Golden Age - A fast paced guitar rock song that is based on a melodic, jangly guitar riff (which sounds as if it was played on a 12 string guitar or with an effect that simulates the dual octaves of a 12 string) by Moginie that I don't get tired of hearing. Rotsey does an excellent job of playing off Moginie's riff (which was always a band strength). The song has the pace of earlier Midnight Oil songs, but is hummable, singable, and is a great change of direction for a group known for the power rocker and the emphatic rock ballad. The selective use of backing vocals, sometimes buried beneath the lead vocal enables the song to glide at its smooth and fast pace without any unnecessary breaks in the groove.



2. Too Much Sunshine - A subtly eclectic rock song that begins with a heavier guitar, processed (and slightly distorted vocals) and a harder drum sound and then transitions to a bridge with a softer, cleaner, echoed guitar riff by Rotsey, followed by a rocking chorus. This one sounds like a track the Red Hot Chili Peppers could've done on By the Way or Stadium Arcadium. The pace is again fast and breezy. Moginie gives another stellar performance.



3. Capricornia - The best pop song Midnight Oil has ever done. The tasteful, jangly guitar melodies of Moginie and Rotsey echo Johnny Marr circa The Smiths. Garrett handles the role of lead singer on a melodic song very well. His vocals are appropriately doubled, echoed and spaced to make them effective in this context.



4. Luritja Way - My favorite track on this CD. Subtle melodies and transitions, beautiful, driving acoustic guitars that recall REM's "Me in Honey" or earlier Midnight Oil tracks like 'Sleep' or 'Minutes to Midnight', a deep bass and a brisk pace make this song instantly likeable and memorable. Garrett again shines on vocals with Hirst providing backup lower in the mix, and a lead vocal in the break.



5. Tone Poem - A solid rock song with a great lead guitar by Moginie. This song has good, eminently listenable guitars, space during the verses, a steady rock beat, and a chorus that grows on you with each listen.



6. A Crocodile Cries - a brief piano instrumental/interlude by Moginie. It works like an intermission in a film. The last time they did something like this was the horn/big band instrumental `Bakerman' on Red Sails in the Sunset.



7. Mosquito March - Probably the closest thing to grunge punk that this band has done. The guitars range in tone from clear and deeply resonant to thickly distorted, and the changes between intro to verse to bridge to chorus are seamless. Livesey perfectly compresses the guitars to prevent them from overwhelming the pace of the track and the hypnotic quality of the Garrett's singing. This one also reminds me of the kinds of rock songs the Chili Peppers play today.



8. Been Away Too Long - A relatively short, fast paced rock song with a verse that builds up to a blistering chorus. This song is a bit too repetitive and doesn't have the hypnotic feel of Mosquito March.



9. Say Your Prayers - The most electronica and synthesized track on the record. The song is actually based on a bluesy acoustic guitar riff, typical of older Midnight Oil songs, but is buried under a nicely crafted industrial sound reminiscent of U2 circa Achtung Baby or Zooropa. The horns which helped made Diesel and Dust a special record make a return appearance on this track. This one has got a nice groove and grows on you with each listen.



10. Under the Overpass - A song that begins as an acoustic folk ballad, and then evolves into an industrial blues song and later into a U2 like rock ballad. Moginie's guitar tone and sound is the closest he has come to The Edge (though all of these bands came out of the same post-punk era of guitar playing). Another memorable track.



11. World That I See - a melodic rocker ode to the environment. As has become typical with this record, a fast, crisp pace, excellent guitar melodies, a deep bass, selective use of distorted guitars (on the chorus) and nice vocal harmonies. An enjoyable track. They sound like a band 20 years younger than they are.



12. Poets and Slaves - This six minute slow ballad that alternates between blues, guitar rock and a piano ballad is closer to the experimentation that the band did on Red Sails in the Sunset. Though the pace is much slower and the song takes a while to build, the guitar parts are nicely played (including slide guitar) and the song seems to grow on me with each listen.



If this was Midnight Oil's final statement (and with Peter Garrett's career as a Labour member of parliament and shadow minister blossoming that is most likely the case) then there is no better way to go out then with a performance like this one. This is probably one of the best alternative rock records of this decade.

"

Musicus interruptus

Flight Risk (The Gypsy Moth) | usa | 08/22/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've been thinking about what I should say about this album for about a month. I don't feel qualified anymore to break down the content of most of it, though you can be pretty well assured it is primarily engined by political ideas (or ideals); I lived in Australia for long enough to know how fervently the populace embraces the political arena (there is NO apathy concerning it) and the Oils were foremost in music in addressing just about every hot-button topic (and very well, I might add) but I have been away for a long while and have not kept up, having plenty here to occupy me in that regard. Peter Garrett has given up tilting at windmills musically and has, as it were, entered the fray for real, as a member of the Australian legislature, and I hope he is realizing his dream of effecting change. The fervor to do so always burned in his eyes, and I would love to hear one of his speeches; I know they are eloquent.



That said, this lamentably final entry by the Oils is arguably their most tuneful to date. It has passion, good writing, and great musicianship. Put up against Diesel And Dust, their other very singable - and probably most famous - recording, I would be hard pressed to choose between them.Capricornia starts out by grabbing you off your seat with "Golden Age", which immediately became a favourite of mine; throughout, the jangling guitars and drum-heartbeat make me dance in my car seat. "Too Much Sunshine" would appear to be about what we are doing to the environment - always high on the Oil's list - and further in, "Under The Overpass" seems to be about the homeless. As I said, I've been out of it for some time, so the bulk of this CD is likely addressing Australian issues I am not qualified to expound upon, but some things do come through loud and clear. If you screw up the environment, be prepared to be bit in the butt. Quite a few songs here carry that message, in Peter's characteristic howl.



There are no draggy songs here - the one possible exception being the slow-beat "Poets And Slaves", which makes up for it by being melodic and listenable - and the whole of it makes one sad that there will not be any more. This was the premier band to come out of Australia - not just my opinion - and they fed a need in music that is not so well addressed in an industry that embraces hiphop and soaring vocals these days. This album will stand the test of time in being considered one of the great works of its genre. There is no way you can sit there immobile while listening to it. I wish there would be more; i am glad they went out on such a stylish, well-done note."

Stands the test of time (and repeated playings...)

Greg | West Coast USA | 07/02/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The songs and playing are superb, as is the production. Melodic in all the right places, but you really can't separate the part from the whole--the drums fit, the bass is right where it needs to be, the guitars chime and scream in all the right places, and the vocals...well, the vocals probably make all of it work. I love them, front and back. Garrett really shines."