''Bird Noises'' is the first extended play by

Australian rock Rock music in Australia, also known as Oz rock, Australian rock and Aussie rock, is rock music from Australia. The nation has a rich history of rock music and an appreciation of the roots of various rock genres, usually originating in the United ...

group, Midnight Oil, which was released on 24 November 1980 under the band's own independent label,

Powderworks Records Powderworks Records as Powderworks Records & Tapes Pty Limited was an Australian record label established in 1977, head-quartered in Brisbane. It was owned by members of Midnight Oil and their talent manager, Gary Morris. Aside from recording, i ...

/ Sprint Music. It was produced by Leszek Karski and manufactured and distributed by CBS/Columbia. ''Bird Noises'' reached the Top 30 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart.

Background

On 24 November 1980, Australian rock music group, Midnight Oil, released their first four-track extended play, ''Bird Noises''. At the time Midnight Oil consisted of

Peter Garrett Peter Robert Garrett (born 16 April 1953) is an Australian musician, environmentalist, activist and former politician. In 1973, Garrett became the lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil. As a performer he is known for his signa ...

on lead vocals and harmonica;

Peter Gifford Peter Gifford (born 5 April 1955), sometimes known as "Giffo," is an Australian musician. From 1980 until 1987, he played bass guitar, Chapman Stick and sang backing vocals for Australian rock band Midnight Oil. Midnight Oil Gifford is credi ...

on bass guitar and backing vocals;

Rob Hirst Robert George Hirst (born 3 September 1955) is an Australian musician from Camden, New South Wales. He is a founding member of rock band Midnight Oil on drums, percussion and backing vocals (sometimes lead vocals) from the 1970s until the band ...

on drums and backing vocals;

Jim Moginie James Moginie (born 18 May 1956) is an Australian musician. He is best known for his work with Midnight Oil, of which he is a founding member, guitarist, keyboardist and leading songwriter. Career In addition to Midnight Oil, Moginie has work ...

on lead guitar and keyboards; and Martin Rotsey on lead guitar. It was the first recording by the band to feature Gifford who had replaced the band's earlier bass guitarist, Andrew James. It was produced by former Supercharge band member Leszek Karski for

and Sprint Music label at Music Farm Studios in

Byron Bay Byron Bay (Minjungbal: ''Cavvanbah)'' is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of the state of New South Wales, Australia on Bundjalung Country. It is located north of Sydney and south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a headla ...

and distributed internationally by the CBS/Columbia Records. The track, "Wedding Cake Island", refers to the island of the same name off

Coogee Beach Coogee Beach may refer to: *Coogee, New South Wales, beach in Sydney, NSW, Australia *Coogee, Western Australia Coogee is a southern coastal suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Cockburn. History The suburb takes its ...

, Sydney. In 1990 the EP was re-released, on CD, in the United States by Columbia Records.

Reception

''Bird Noises'' peaked at No. 28 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart. Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing ...

(ARIA) created their own

charts A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tab ...

in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974. According to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, ''Bird Noises'' "continued the development heard on ''Head Injuries'', with 'No Time for Games' and 'I'm the Cure' being particularly impressive. ''Bird Noises'' also boasted the anomalous, but delightful Shadows-like instrumental 'Wedding Cake Island'".

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

's William Ruhlman noted the group had tried "some musical variations after two albums of hard rock ... the music in fact was restrained, and the group tried acoustic instruments and a moody instrumental for an intriguing change of pace from their usual style".

Track listing

Charts

Certifications

Personnel

;Midnight Oil *

– lead vocals, harmonica *

– bass guitar, backing vocals *

– drums, backing vocals *

– lead guitar, keyboards * Martin Rotsey – lead guitar ;Production work * Producer – Leszek Karski (for Instant Relief) * Engineer – Ross Cockle * Mixer – Leszek Karski * Studio – Music Farm Studios,

; mixed at Studios 301, Sydney. Credits:

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1980 debut EPs Midnight Oil EPs Sprint Music albums