[Powderworks] My letter to Hartford Courant reviewer
Janice Coleman
jec_coleman@hotmail.com
Fri, 05 Apr 2002 15:46:42 -0500
BRAVO!
>From: "Laura Wolfe" <casalobo@lightspeed.net>
>Reply-To: "Laura Wolfe" <casalobo@lightspeed.net>
>To: "Powderworks" <powderworks@cs.colorado.edu>
>Subject: [Powderworks] My letter to Hartford Courant reviewer
>Date: Fri, 5 Apr 2002 08:50:08 -0800
>
>Here is the letter I just emailed to the editor at the Hartford Courant
>regarding Eric Danton's moronic review of "Capricornia." Hope y'all like
>it.
>
>Bill Wolfe
>
>
>
>
>May I suggest that Eric Danton get his facts straight before he presumes to
>review an album? His review of Midnight Oil's excellent return to form,
>"Capricornia," contains numerous errors of fact; it also suggests that he
>did not listen to the album closely or often enough to form a valid
>critical opinion.
>
>Mr. Danton states that Midnight Oil's 1987 breakthrough album, "Diesel and
>Dust," sold "reasonably well." In fact, it sold approximately 2 million
>copies in the U.S. alone and spent a fair amount of time in the Billboard
>top 20.
>
>He then states that, in the 15 years since then, the band has released
>eight albums which "have gone nowhere on the charts or...in the American
>musical consciousness." Wrong again. Their 1990 release, "Blue Sky
>Mining," sold over a million copies and made the top 20. Oil did a
>worldwide tour of large venues for most of 1990. In the southern
>California region where I live, they played three shows in four days to a
>total of nearly 30,000 people. They returned in 1993 with "Earth and Sun
>and Moon," which sold well and was the basis for a US tour that ran from
>June through October of that year. The last figure I saw indicated that
>Midnight Oil has sold more than 4 million albums in the U.S. alone.
>
>Midnight Oil's low profile since 1994 was a conscious choice by the band to
>remain in Australia with their families. Nevertheless, they released three
>excellent albums, none of which Mr. Danton has apparently ever heard:
>1996's "Breathe," 1998's "Redneck Wonderland," and 2000's "The Real Thing"
>(a collection of unplugged performances and four new songs that was
>released only in Australia).
>
>As for his comments about "Capricornia," it seems that Mr. Danton has a
>different CD in his possession than I do. In fact, the band's "political
>screeds" have not become "increasingly humorless and shrill." On the new
>album, I would venture to say there is not a single song that could fairly
>be called either a "screed" or "shrill." I wonder what songs Mr. Danton is
>referring to. Midnight Oil has become much less political and far more
>spiritual in their approach to issues. In this regard, I would draw Mr.
>Danton's attention to "Golden Age," "Under the Overpass," "Tone Poem," and
>the title track. Other than "Say Your Prayers," a track about East Timor
>from a 2000 benefit album, I'm willing to bet that Mr. Danton can't tell me
>what specific political issue any other song on the CD addresses. That is
>the band's intention. They have matured and mellowed, and they are,
>objectively speaking, neither humorless nor shrill.
>
>Finally, although Mr. Danton states that the CD feels like an album "even
>the musicians didn't put their hearts into," "Capricornia" was a labor of
>love for Midnight Oil during the past two years. They believe it is their
>best album since at least 1993, if not 1987. The fact that radio is
>embracing the album -- and that Midnight Oil is about to launch a long
>North American tour (from late April through July)-- shows that this
>comeback album is resonating with their fans. I believe "Capricornia" will
>be discovered by many new fans as well.
>
>Perhaps Mr. Danton needs to listen to it a few more times, paying close
>attention to both the music and the lyrics. Should I send him my copy, so
>we can be sure he's listening to an actual copy of "Capricornia"? Or
>perhaps he'd rather listen to the wonderful musical contributions from the
>likes of Creed, Pink, or Alien Ant Farm? At the very least, he should see
>Midnight Oil when they perform in Hartford; he obviously needs to
>experience one of the greatest, most passionate live acts ever if he is to
>appreciate their music and message.
>
>Bill Wolfe
>
>The thought manifests as the word;
>the word manifests as the deed;
>the deed develops into the habit;
>and habit hardens into character.
>So watch the thought and its ways with care,
>and let it spring from love
>born out of concern for all things.
>-- The Buddha
>
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