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Title: The Oils' Most Popular Album
Review: "Diesel and Dust" marked the peak of popularity for Australian troubadors Midnight Oil (in America, anyway). The single "Beds are Burning" was staple on American rock radio in the late 1980s, which is interesting since a close listen to the lyrics will reveal that the song is about Aboriginal land rights, not exactly the kind of topic that normally inspires large sales. The fact is, the song's fantastic hook is what sold it. That is also true on the rest of the album, especially on tracks like "The Dead Heart" (the follow up single to "Beds"), "Warakurna," "Sometimes," amd "Bullroarer." The rest of the songs fill in well among the highlights.Overall, Midnight Oil had the talent to become the Australian U2 had they toned down the (leftist) politics in their lyrics and concentrated instead on the musical side of things. Even so, this is still an excellent album.
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