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20,000 Watt R.S.L.

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Released
  
12 October 1997

Length
  
75:55

Release date
  
12 October 1997

Genre
  
Rock music

Recorded
  
1979–1997

Artist
  
Midnight Oil

Label
  
Columbia Records

20,000 Watt R.S.L. httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediaenthumb5

20,000 Watt R.S.L. (1997)
  
Redneck Wonderland (1998)

Similar
  
Midnight Oil albums, Rock music albums

Midnight oil 20 000 watt r s l greatest hits 1997 album


20,000 Watt R.S.L. is a compilation album by Australian rock band Midnight Oil released in October 1997 on their own label Sprint Music. The word "Collection" appears on the front of the CD along the hinge in the same type face as the title and the name of the band and may have been intended as part of the album's title; however, it does not appear on the spine. The release has also been distributed inside a cardboard sleeve which adds "Midnight Oil: The Hits" to the album art, distinguishing it as a compilation album.

Contents

The compilation covers the majority of Midnight Oil's career, starting with their 1979 album Head Injuries, and includes tracks from all their major studio releases (and one EP), even including two songs from Redneck Wonderland, which was released after the compilation in 1998. The liner notes contain an essay on the band by Australian author Tim Winton.

The album peaked at #1 on the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) album charts, and achieved 4×Platinum sales, it also peaked at #18 in New Zealand. The R.S.L. in the title refers to the Returned and Services League of Australia.

In 2006, Midnight Oil released a second compilation album, Flat Chat, a collection of the band's heavier rock songs (although there is some overlap between the two compilations, as four of the eighteen songs on Flat Chat also appear on 20,000 Watt R.S.L.).

2012 saw the release of Midnight Oil's most comprehensive compilation album to date, the double-disc Essential Oils. "What Goes On" is the only 20,000 Watt R.S.L track not present on Essential Oils.

Midnight oil kosciusko


Background

Midnight Oil was an Australian rock band from Sydney formed in 1976 with vocalist Peter Garrett, drummer Rob Hirst, bass guitarist Andrew James and keyboardist/lead guitarist Jim Moginie, Guitarist Martin Rotsey joined in 1977 and Midnight Oil established their own record label Powderworks, they released their second album Head Injuries on this label in October 1979. Founding bass guitarist James left due to illness in 1980, he was replaced by Peter Gifford, Gifford was himself replaced by Bones Hillman in 1987.

Australian Top Ten singles were "Power and the Passion", "The Dead Heart", "Beds Are Burning" and "Blue Sky Mine". Aside from chart success both "Power and the Passion" and "Beds Are Burning" were listed by Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) in the Top 30 best Australian songs of all time in 2001. Through a long and distinguished career, the band became known for its driving hard-rock sound, intense live performances and political activism, particularly in aid of anti-nuclear, environmentalist and indigenous causes.

Track listing

Songwriters according to Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA):

  1. "What Goes On" (Garrett, Hillman, Hirst, Moginie, Rotsey)
  2. "Power and the Passion" (Garrett, Hirst, Moginie)
  3. "Dreamworld" (Garrett, Hirst, Moginie)
  4. "White Skin Black Heart" (Garrett, Hillman, Hirst, Moginie, Rotsey)
  5. "Kosciusko" (Hirst, Moginie)
  6. "The Dead Heart" (Garrett, Hirst, Moginie)
  7. "Blue Sky Mine" (Garrett, Hillman, Hirst, Moginie, Rotsey)
  8. "US Forces" (Garrett, Moginie)
  9. "Beds Are Burning" (Garrett, Hirst, Moginie)
  10. "One Country" (Garrett, Moginie)
  11. "Best of Both Worlds" (Hirst, Moginie)
  12. "Truganini" (Hirst, Moginie)
  13. "King of the Mountain" (Hirst, Moginie)
  14. "Hercules" (Garrett, Hirst, Moginie)
  15. "Surf's Up Tonight" (Garrett, Hillman, Hirst, Moginie, Rotsey)
  16. "Back on the Borderline" (Garrett, Hirst, James)
  17. "Don't Wanna Be the One" (Garrett, Hirst, Moginie, Rotsey)
  18. "Forgotten Years" (Hirst, Moginie)
  • Tracks 1 and 4 are taken from Redneck Wonderland (1998).
  • Tracks 2 and 8 are taken from 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (1982).
  • Tracks 3, 6, and 9 are taken from Diesel and Dust (1987).
  • Tracks 5 and 11 are taken from Red Sails in the Sunset (1984).
  • Tracks 7, 10, 13, and 18 are taken from Blue Sky Mining (1990).
  • Track 12 is taken from Earth and Sun and Moon (1993).
  • Track 14 is taken from Species Deceases (1985).
  • Track 15 is taken from Breathe (1996).
  • Track 16 is taken from Head Injuries (1979).
  • Track 17 is taken from Place without a Postcard (1981).

    • Personnel

    Midnight Oil
  • Peter Garrett – vocals, harmonica
  • Peter Gifford – bass, vocals (on tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 14, 17)
  • Bones Hillman – bass, vocals (on tracks 1, 4, 7, 10, 12, 13, 15, 18)
  • Rob Hirst – drums, vocals
  • Andrew James – bass (on track 16)
  • Jim Moginie – guitars, keyboards, vocals
  • Martin Rotsey – guitars
    • Additional personnel
  • Gary Barnacle, Peter Thoms, Luke Tunney - brass on 'Power and the Passion'

    • Songs

    1What Goes On2:58
    2Power and the Passion5:40
    3Dreamworld3:37

    References

    20,000 Watt R.S.L. Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA