Midnight Oil

Several years before "Beds are Burning," before anyone heard of them outside their Australian homeland, Midnight Oil were releasing smart, sleek punk rock. Some of those early recordings are included in Essential Oils, a two-CD compilation drawing from the 12 studio albums released between 1978 and 2002 as well as a pair of seldom-seen EPs. With their social and environmental concerns and anthemic, arena-filling sound, Midnight Oil were fellow travelers with U2 in the '80s. Veteran Rolling Stone writer David Fricke penned the impassioned jacket notes.