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MTV Unplugged Info

(Original article online here)

"MTV Unplugged" presents an acoustic performance with veteran Australian band, Midnight Oil. Known for their explosive live performances and indelible relationship between music and politics, the band gained superstar status with their 1982 hit, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 which spawned the hit singles "U.S. Forces" and "Power and the Passion." By 1986, the band had addressed many of the most important issues of the century, including the arms race, the danger of nuclear conflict, and the environment.

In 1987, The Oils tackled the plight of Australian Aborigines with the release Diesel and Dust, which included the band's first international hit,"Beds Are Burning." This was followed by the enormously successful Blue Sky Mining in 1989, and their incendiary live album, the 1992 release Scream In Blue. Midnight Oil is currently on tour with their latest album, Earth And Sun And Moon. The album's first official release, "Truganini," is about a tragic historical figure, who by 1873, was the sole surviving Tasmanian Aborigine in Australia. The Oil's "Unplugged" song selections include "Blue Sky Mining," "Beds Are Burning," "Sell My Soul," "In The Valley," and "Truganini."

An excerpt from the MTV Unplugged book..."It is impossible to listen to a Midnight Oil concert and not be left with one lasting audio impression: harmonies. Even when attacking their instruments at full throttle, the band manages to capture background harmonies as if they were being provided by choirboys. With these tools to work with, the show couldn't have been anything but great. Not to mention that it was the first and only Unplugged taping ever to feature a musician playing a hollowed-out log called a didgeridoo. That sight was almost enough to take your mind off the enormous, gyrating bald man for just a moment."

Set List:
  1. Feeding Frenzy
  2. Sell my Soul
  3. Short Memory
  4. Tell Me the Truth
  5. Blue Sky Mine
  6. Lucky Country
  7. Now or Neverland
  8. Antartica
  9. The Dead Heart
  10. In the Valley
  11. Beds are Burning
  12. Warakurna
  13. Earth and Sun and Moon
  14. Truganini
  15. Drums of Heaven
  16. Mu Country
  17. We Gotta Get Out of This Place (Written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil)

Midnight Oil

Peter Garrett - vocals, harmonica
Bones Hillman - bass, vocals
Robert Hirst - drums, vocals
Jim Mogine - guitar, autoharp, vocals
Martin Rotsey - guitar

And:
Adam Plack - didgeridoo on "The Dead Heart"
Chris Abrahams - piano, organ
Bashiri Johnson - percussion

From MTV Unplugged Site, by

(Note: this article has not been approved for reproduction.)