Along with this, the band also looked to progress their sound to the next level. Whereas the band had had a reputation for combining their surf rock roots with the growing punk phase that was occurring around them at the time that their first album was released, as they moved into this second album there appears to be a move towards prog rock and then the post punk sound that was by then beginning to be incorporated into the Australian pub rock scene.
The band retained the same line up for their second album and looked to build on the strengths of the band’s music. The powerful guitar riffs and soling from Jim Moginie and Martin Rotsey, with added keyboard trills from Moginie in the mix, the thumping bass lines of Andrew James, the frenetic controlled frenzy that is the drumming of Rob Hirst, and the unique vocal stylings of Peter Garrett. Midnight Oil could have remained a surf rock band, they could have morphed into a punk band, they could have moved into a Oz pub rock band. Rather than any of those things, Midnight Oil cherry picked pieces of all of those genres and mixed it together with what they were creating themselves. And the result of that was what became “Head Injuries”, an album that still stands the test of time 45 years after its release.
The album opens with ‘Cold Cold Change’, led out by the great melodic harmonised guitars backed by the driving bass and distinctive vocals which immediately mirror the guitar hook, and then an interesting solo break through the middle. it’s a solid opening track that probably doesn’t bust out as much as it threatens to do with that opening riff, but it still has some great vocals from Garrett and the guitars working hard. “Section 5 (Bus to Bondi)” then breaks in, a more zany and out-there track than is expected. The synth piece from Moginie through the middle of the track is almost like the band Madness in style, as are Garrett’s vocals in places. It is a frantic song through the verses before slowing to a more normally designed chorus section. It is the main song on this album that shows a distinct merging of genres within the band’s music. “Naked Flame” follows, and showcases Garrett and his amazing changeable vocal style from the outset with the imperfect wailing something that only he could achieve and not be mocked for. Once again, this song has an interesting mixture of styles and Moginie’s synth also being a more dominating influence. Then comes “Back on the Borderline” that opens with a great riff and drum roll from Hirst, kicks off at a higher tempo and energy, and with a great drive and chord progression along with the catchy lyrics expertly sung by Garrett, this is where part of the template of where Midnight Oil was heading was captured. The first side of the album closes out with “Koala Sprint”, which opens with a spoken statement from Garrett and then revels in its surf rock origins of singing about leaving the suburbs and road tripping up the coast. It is the longest song on the album, and one that delves to the band’s beginnings lyrically and even musically, again stretching between genres throughout its five plus minutes.
The album’s second half is decidedly darker lyrically and perhaps musically, and with a string of the album’s most politically charged homages, the first of which being 'No Reaction', which features the closest thing to an AC/DC riff this album has to offer. 'Stand In Line' speaks about the government losing touch with the everyday working class people, a song that came in the middle of the Fraser years of the Australian parliament and seems directly firmly in their direction. Penultimate track 'Profiteers' is essentially a protest song with singsong vocals that sound delivered through a megaphone, and a sonic aesthetic that would fit on other like-minded albums of the era. These three tracks perfectly embody Midnight Oil’s uncompromising approach at this point in their career, even if it meant forgoing commercial success at the time. The album then closes dramatically with the huge 'Is It Now?', which features some of the album’s most satisfying melodies. These build to the album’s massive climax in the middle of the song, in which Garett rants and shrieks over those great guitar leads, before an instrumental section fades the album out.
While it may not be their most well-known album, and although they didn’t see international success for a few years yet, Midnight Oil delivered some of their most catchy and impassioned material on “Head Injuries”, and is a shining example of why people should give Midnight Oil’s earlier releases a chance.
During my high school years, when I began to become more interested in the music of Midnight Oil, the story that I heard on most occasions from those people who had been fans of the band prior to my discovery of them was that “Head Injuries” was by far the best album that Midnight Oil had released. When “Diesel and Dust” and then “Blue Sky Mining” were released later on, the same people continued to say the same thing. And I understand why those people kept proclaiming that, because there was a seismic shift in the music that Midnight Oil began composing after this album, starting to move away from the surf rock tones that still touch tracks on this album, the ones that drew in those initial fans from Sydney’s North Shore and eastern suburbs.
And the charms of this album are that the music comes from that era. The debut album didn’t quite capture the energy that the band gave off on stage (of this you will have to trust me, as I was far too young to have seen them at that point of their career), but here the production tried to take into account the frenetic power that was the stage presence of Midnight Oil, and that it was important to be able to bleed that into the studio to record these songs that would soon be released into the world.
I was exposed to this album at several different times during my life, but never actually owned a copy of the album until a decade ago, when I went out and purchased every Midnight Oil album I didn’t already own at that stage. So it really wasn’t until that point that I began to seriously listen to it and take it all in. And while that was an error on my part, as I should have been doing that many years beforehand, I have found that it was almost like finding a new album that was already 30 years old.
It has been an interesting couple of weeks now revisiting it once again, but for probably the first time in my life listening intently to gather what I can from it, and judge just what it is about this album that I love or loathe. The music on this album is very much different from what they expanded into during the 1980’s decade, but it isn’t any less interesting. And I think I truly discovered it at an appropriate time. If it had been back in the mid-1980's where my musical focus began to turn to heavy metal, I could well have lost this album, much as I explained that I did with “Diesel and Dust” on the episode I did last year on that album. Instead I truly found it at a time where my focus wasn’t all on one genre of music, and I could appreciate it for what it is and not for what I wanted it to be.
Midnight Oil went forth from this release, and dominated the Australia charts through the following decade. And while younger fans may not be as aware of their first two albums as those of us who grew up with that music in their ears, “Head Injuries” is an important album to digest when deciphering the succession of what became the band’s golden years.
The album’s second half is decidedly darker lyrically and perhaps musically, and with a string of the album’s most politically charged homages, the first of which being 'No Reaction', which features the closest thing to an AC/DC riff this album has to offer. 'Stand In Line' speaks about the government losing touch with the everyday working class people, a song that came in the middle of the Fraser years of the Australian parliament and seems directly firmly in their direction. Penultimate track 'Profiteers' is essentially a protest song with singsong vocals that sound delivered through a megaphone, and a sonic aesthetic that would fit on other like-minded albums of the era. These three tracks perfectly embody Midnight Oil’s uncompromising approach at this point in their career, even if it meant forgoing commercial success at the time. The album then closes dramatically with the huge 'Is It Now?', which features some of the album’s most satisfying melodies. These build to the album’s massive climax in the middle of the song, in which Garett rants and shrieks over those great guitar leads, before an instrumental section fades the album out.
While it may not be their most well-known album, and although they didn’t see international success for a few years yet, Midnight Oil delivered some of their most catchy and impassioned material on “Head Injuries”, and is a shining example of why people should give Midnight Oil’s earlier releases a chance.
During my high school years, when I began to become more interested in the music of Midnight Oil, the story that I heard on most occasions from those people who had been fans of the band prior to my discovery of them was that “Head Injuries” was by far the best album that Midnight Oil had released. When “Diesel and Dust” and then “Blue Sky Mining” were released later on, the same people continued to say the same thing. And I understand why those people kept proclaiming that, because there was a seismic shift in the music that Midnight Oil began composing after this album, starting to move away from the surf rock tones that still touch tracks on this album, the ones that drew in those initial fans from Sydney’s North Shore and eastern suburbs.
And the charms of this album are that the music comes from that era. The debut album didn’t quite capture the energy that the band gave off on stage (of this you will have to trust me, as I was far too young to have seen them at that point of their career), but here the production tried to take into account the frenetic power that was the stage presence of Midnight Oil, and that it was important to be able to bleed that into the studio to record these songs that would soon be released into the world.
I was exposed to this album at several different times during my life, but never actually owned a copy of the album until a decade ago, when I went out and purchased every Midnight Oil album I didn’t already own at that stage. So it really wasn’t until that point that I began to seriously listen to it and take it all in. And while that was an error on my part, as I should have been doing that many years beforehand, I have found that it was almost like finding a new album that was already 30 years old.
It has been an interesting couple of weeks now revisiting it once again, but for probably the first time in my life listening intently to gather what I can from it, and judge just what it is about this album that I love or loathe. The music on this album is very much different from what they expanded into during the 1980’s decade, but it isn’t any less interesting. And I think I truly discovered it at an appropriate time. If it had been back in the mid-1980's where my musical focus began to turn to heavy metal, I could well have lost this album, much as I explained that I did with “Diesel and Dust” on the episode I did last year on that album. Instead I truly found it at a time where my focus wasn’t all on one genre of music, and I could appreciate it for what it is and not for what I wanted it to be.
Midnight Oil went forth from this release, and dominated the Australia charts through the following decade. And while younger fans may not be as aware of their first two albums as those of us who grew up with that music in their ears, “Head Injuries” is an important album to digest when deciphering the succession of what became the band’s golden years.
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