Scream In Blue - Live

Reviewed in All Music Guide

Scream In Blue Live is, thankfully, a very worthy addition to the group's catalogue. The Oils' music has always had more edge and power in a live setting, and this captures it perfectly. All that's missing is the visual dimension of frantic and imposing front-man Peter Garrett stalking the stage. Great songs that were delivered too tamely in their studio incarnations - "Dreamworld" from Diesel and Dust and "Stars of Warburton" from Blue Sky Mining, for example - erupt in full bloom live from the Brisbane Boondall Centre. Other highlights include "Progress," recorded in 1990 at a protest rally in front of Exxon head offices on 6th Avenue in New York, and a passionate plea for aboriginal rights that serves as introduction to "Beds Are Burning."

Roch Parisien