10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
by Midnight Oil

Not as much of the manic vocals on this as I seem to have associated with Midnight Oil. Very well balanced. Consistent and steady.

For me, listening to "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1" is to dive into Midnight Oil's back catalog. I first became acquainted with the group with the albums " Diesel and Dust ”and“ Blue Sky Mining ”and only with the excellent 1993 album“ Earth and Sun and Moon” I became a serious fan of the group, which I have since followed with great pleasure.
I tried once before to dive into the group's past with “Red Sails in the Sunset”, which I did find a little disappointing, by being able to only modestly finding the fine melodies and vocal harmonies that I loved about the group. Maybe it was the advent of bassist and vocalist Bones Hillman that changed the group's sound in my direction, when he joined after “Diesel and Dust” in 1987?

In any case, my impression of "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1" is a bit the same - something is missing. The group's political commitment and indignation over human injustices is, as on most albums, highly present; so in that field the group has been consistent over the years; it is the group's somewhat harder and less melodic songwriting that does not appeal to me in the same degree. Fortunately, there are songs that live up to expectations. "Short Memory" has a really nice guitar line and a nice melodic chorus, in addition to an interesting different beat. The upbeat ”U.S. Forces ”offers fine crisp acoustic guitars, melodic passages and nice harmony vocals. And then there's the single "Power and the Passion", which I knew beforehand - a slightly heavy number with a catchy chorus.

Although it's not quite like the Midnight Oil of recent years, I guess I shall end up diving back again into another of the group's early albums; for example. "Place without a Postcard" from 1981, which was the predecessor to "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1"

https://www.angelfire.com/nv/Badfinger/BANDmidnightoil.html

From TerryTezza 08/09/2019 00:33 | #240970

A true Aussie icon band at their best in Midnight Oil with 10 to 1. The album covers a whole range of political topics with some attitude and pleads for solutions in this complex world. From Destruction of Cambodia to business deals in parking lots, this has so many great lines to read about. I remember after an Oils concert everyone in the train sing their song U.S. Forces...magic. This album has great hits mixed with atmospheric sounds and tune like Pink Floyd. This album is legendary in Australia and should be the same over the world.

From Brad1770 09/07/2017 12:24 | #197436

This album appears under appreciated on this site but in Australia it has God like status for any music lover growing up in the 80's . This album provided the soundtrack to our young lives , we smoked weed , lost our virginity and drove around the coast all with this album blowing our minds . Only beaten by Midnight Oils Diesel and Dust for best Australian album of all time . I know every word , every note every micro second of this amazingl album and god damn love it . I understand how the Australian lyrical content could be confusing to non- Australian listeners impacting scores

A rock smorgasboard where picking the best track is nigh impossible. Went platinum 10 times over locally but hardly a ripple anywhere else. Pity because this is the greatest rock band of the eighties at their pinnacle.

In '83 or '84 I came home one day with 2 albums by new groups (to Canada anyway) that I had heard about but had only heard one song from each. My roommate pronounced them both "shit". Both are still in my personal top 100 of all time. One is this, which got me into good Aussie rock. The other was Murmur-REM.

One of the great landmark Aussie albums

From timtooky 03/31/2014 20:01 | #108201

with this recording the "aussis" are proving, that they could write tuneful and interesting poprock songs. still there are ups and downs here. some tracks are good, but some doesn't make much sense to me.