Breathe (Midnight Oil album)

Breathe is the ninth studio album by Australian rock band, Midnight Oil, which was released on 15 October 1996 under the Columbia Records label. It peaked at No. 3 on the ARIA Albums Chart and appeared in the top 40 on the New Zealand and Swiss Albums Charts. The album was produced by Malcolm Burn and according to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, it had a loose, raw style with almost a low-key sound.

YouTube Encyclopedic

1/3
Views:
22 445
84 108
7 099

Transcription

Background

Australian rock band, Midnight Oil, released their ninth studio album, Breathe, on 15 October 1996, which appeared three-and-a-half years after their eighth album, Earth and Sun and Moon.^[1]^[2] The line-up for the album was Peter Garrett on lead vocals, Bones Hillman on bass guitar and vocals, Rob Hirst on drums and vocals, Jim Moginie on guitars, keyboards, and vocals, and Martin Rotsey on guitars.^[1]^[2] The album was produced by Malcolm Burn and released for Sprint Music by Columbia Records.^[1]^[2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[3]
Rolling Stone	^[4]

Breathe peaked at No. 3 on the ARIA Albums Chart and appeared in the top 40 on the New Zealand and Swiss Albums Charts. In Australia it was certified gold for shipment of 35,000 copies by ARIA. AllMusic's reviewer, Stephen Thomas Erlewine, described it as having "a more direct sound while keeping the anthemic melodicism ... less ambitious than its predecessor, yet also more forceful".^[3] According to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, it had a loose, raw style with almost a low-key sound.^[1] Rolling Stone's Tom Moon compared it to earlier albums which "were filled with wide-screen screeds, the lectures on Breathe are offset by evocative mood pieces ... In fusing the hurtling momentum of punk with the righteousness of old-timey hymns, the Oils have arrived at a potent music that uplifts as it agitates".^[4]

Track listing

*Breathe* track listing
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Underwater"	Garrett, Hillman, Hirst, Moginie, Rotsey	5:02
2.	"Surf's Up Tonight"	Garrett, Moginie	3:05
3.	"Common Ground"	Garrett, Moginie	4:26
4.	"Time to Heal"	Garrett, Moginie	3:54
5.	"Sins of Omission"	Garrett, Hillman, Hirst, Moginie, Rotsey, Malcolm Burn	4:35
6.	"One Too Many Times"	Moginie	3:27
7.	"Star of Hope"	Moginie	4:57
8.	"In the Rain"	Garrett	2:28
9.	"Bring on the Change"	Garrett, Moginie	3:50
10.	"Home" (featuring Emmylou Harris)	Garrett, Moginie	4:29
11.	"E-Beat"	Garrett, Moginie	4:32
12.	"Barest Degree"	Hillman, Hirst	3:09
13.	"Gravelrash"	Garrett, Hillman, Hirst, Moginie, Rotsey	3:27

Personnel

Midnight Oil

Peter Garrett – lead vocals
Bones Hillman – bass, vocals
Rob Hirst – drums, vocals
Jim Moginie – guitars, keyboards, vocals
Martin Rotsey – guitars

Guest musicians

Malcolm Burn – guitars, organ, bass
Emmylou Harris – vocals
Buddy Miller – guitars
Daryl Johnson – Djembe
Ethan Allan – piano

Charts

Chart (1996)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[5]	3
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)^[6]	32
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[7]	33
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[8]	26
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[9]	31

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)^[10]	Gold	35,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'Midnight Oil'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86448-768-2. Archived from the original on 13 August 2004. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
^ ^a ^b ^c Holmgren, Magnus; Stenerlöv, Carl-Johan. "Midnight Oil". Australian Rock Database. Passagen.se (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
^ ^a ^b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Breathe – Midnight Oil". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
^ ^a ^b Moon, Tom (6 November 1996). "Midnight Oil: Breathe". Rolling Stone. No. 748. Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
^ "Australiancharts.com – Midnight Oil – BREATHE". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 9813". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
^ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
^ "Charts.nz – Midnight Oil – BREATHE". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
^ "Swisscharts.com – Midnight Oil – BREATHE". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2014 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 31 December 2014.

External links

Midnight Oil

v t e Midnight Oil
Peter Garrett Rob Hirst Jim Moginie Martin Rotsey Andrew James Peter Gifford Bones Hillman
Studio albums	Midnight Oil Head Injuries Place without a Postcard 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Red Sails in the Sunset Diesel and Dust Blue Sky Mining Earth and Sun and Moon Breathe Redneck Wonderland Capricornia The Makarrata Project Resist
Live albums	Scream in Blue The Real Thing Best of Both Worlds Armistice Day Live at the Old Lion, Adelaide, 1982
Compilations	20,000 Watt R.S.L. Flat Chat Essential Oils
EPs	Bird Noises Species Deceases
Singles	"Don't Wanna Be the One" "Armistice Day" "US Forces" "Power and the Passion" "Read About It" "The Dead Heart" "Beds Are Burning" "Put Down That Weapon" "Dreamworld" "Blue Sky Mine" "Forgotten Years" "King of the Mountain" "Sometimes" "Truganini" "Land" "The Real Thing" "No Man's Land" "Gadigal Land" "First Nation" "Rising Seas"
Related articles	Discography Ghostwriters Oil Rag A Version of Now (Garrett solo) The True North (Garrett solo)
Category