''Blue Sky Mining'' is the seventh

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by Australian

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

Midnight Oil Midnight Oil (known informally as "The Oils") are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett (vocals, harmonica), Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie (guitar, keyboard) and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The group was formed in Sydney in 1972 by ...

, released on 9 February 1990 under the

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

label. It received high ratings from critics. In March of that year, the album peaked at number one on the

ARIA Albums Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

for two weeks. A limited release of the record featured clear blue

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

Background

''Blue Sky Mining'', produced by

Warne Livesey Warne Livesey (born 12 February 1959) is an English/Canadian music producer, mixing engineer, songwriter and musician. He has produced Midnight Oil, The The, Matthew Good Band and Deacon Blue. Life and career Warne Livesey started his career in ...

, was released by CBS/Columbia on 9 February 1990. It peaked at number one on the

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 th ...

(ARIA) albums chart. It stayed at number one for two weeks in Australia and had Top 5 chart success in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. It peaked at number 20 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number 28 on the UK charts. The album was "more defiant and outspoken" than their previous work; the single "

Blue Sky Mine "Blue Sky Mine" is a song by Australian rock band Midnight Oil, released in February 1990 as the first single from their seventh studio album, '' Blue Sky Mining'' (1990). The song was inspired by the experiences of workers at the Wittenoom asb ...

" describes asbestos exposure in the Wittenoom mine tragedy. The lead single peaked at number eight on the ARIA singles charts, top 15 in Norway and Switzerland, number 47 on ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number one on both their Mainstream and Modern Rock Tracks charts, and appeared on the UK charts. The second single, "Forgotten Years", was more moderately successful, reaching number 26 on the ARIA singles chart, number 97 in the UK, number 11 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks, and number one on the Modern Rock Tracks. At the

ARIA Music Awards of 1991 The Fifth Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as the ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAS) was held on 25 March 1991 at the Darling Harbour Convention Centre in Sydney. International host Bob Geldof was ...

, Midnight Oil won 'Best Group' and an 'Outstanding Achievement Award', and were awarded 'Best Cover Art', 'Best Video' and 'Album of the Year' for ''Blue Sky Mining''. Manager Gary Morris, accepting awards for Midnight Oil, was criticised for a speech lasting 20 minutes.

Track listing

** Some early Australian copies included the track "You May Not Be Released" - it was the B-side to a 12-inch issue of "Forgotten Years," and it is believed that this only appeared on the first 1,000 LP copies. It also appeared on early cassette copies and CDs.Physical CD media from 1990 release

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Personnel

Midnight Oil *

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 sign ...

- lead vocals, harmonica *

Bones Hillman Wayne Stevens (May 1958 – 7 November 2020), known by the stage name Bones Hillman, was a New Zealand musician best known as the bass guitarist for the Australian alternative rock band Midnight Oil, which he joined in 1987 and remained with un ...

- bass, vocals * Robert Hirst - drums, 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 ...

- guitars, keyboards, vocals * Martin Rotsey - guitars Additional personnel *

- additional keyboards *

Jeremy Smith Jeremy Smith may refer to: *Jeremy Theron Smith a man charged with aggravated assault for wounding three women in Koreatown Dallas on 17 May 2022 *Jeremy Smith (Royal Navy officer) (fl. 1660s), British sailor * Jeremy C. Smith (born 1959), British b ...

- French horn * Phillip Hartl - String Leader * Glad and Carl - Horn Swells

References

External links

Midnight Oil
{{Authority control 1990 albums Midnight Oil albums Columbia Records albums Albums produced by Warne Livesey ARIA Award-winning albums