10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Content

Contrary to the hard rock of Midnight Oil's previous albums, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 has been described as new wave and art rock, with difficult time signatures. Drummer Rob Hirst added, "With that album, we were one of the first Australian bands to get into sequencers and synthesisers. It was quite a landmark album at the time, and still stands up really well, because it managed to combine all the aggression and frustration of Midnight Oil with some amazing studio stuff courtesy of Nick."

The album's closing track "Somebody's Trying to Tell Me Something" contains a note held by the group which continues into the album's runout groove, and emulated on the CD version for just over 40 seconds. This is an approximation of a locked groove, a method used a number of times on vinyl albums (such as Diamond Dogs and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band) wherein the ending sound continues into the runout groove indefinitely until the turntable arm is lifted or the automatic return, present on some turntables, kicks in.

Singer Peter Garrett noted: "We wanted, as a band, to make this album lyrically stronger, because these are fucking desperate times. It's very important for us to get immediate, because we can't go on making records like this for years and years and people can't go on ignoring it."

Reception

Mark Deming at AllMusic wrote: "It's remarkably listenable and catchy, offering up one passionate anthem after another. The band's politics are both well considered and unapologetically upfront throughout ... 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 was [Midnight Oil's] first undeniably great album and still ranks with their very best." David Fricke said the album "sounds like the end of the world turned up to 10".

The Sun-Herald added: "This extraordinary collection of songs marked the evolution of Midnight Oil from explosive live band to studio act capable of great invention without ever sounding poxy."

Track listing

Charts

Weekly

Year-end

Certifications

Personnel

Midnight Oil

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

Additional personnel

• Gary Barnacle, Peter Thoms & Luke Tunney – brass (on "Power and the Passion")

References

References

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2. "Australian Music Awards". Ron Jeff.
3. "Final episode of Countdown".
4. (October 2010). "[[100 Best Australian Albums]]". Hardie Grant Books.
5. (Jan 28, 2011). "Countdown #7 | Hottest 100 Australian Albums Of All Time | triple j".
6. [https://au.rollingstone.com/rolling-stones-200-greatest-australian-albums-of-all-time Rolling Stone’s 200 Greatest Australian Albums of All Time]. Rolling Stone Australia, ''Rolling Stone Australia'', 06 December 2021. Retrieved 06 December 2021.
7. de Visé, Daniel. (May 4, 2023). "Thirteen New Wave Album Classics".
8. (May 19, 2017). "It’s like Midnight Oil never left".
9. (Winter 1998). "A Studio Tour".
10. Toby Creswell and Martin Fabinyi. (2000). "The Real Thing". Random House.
11. Deming, Mark. "''10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1'' – Midnight Oil".
12. Puterbaugh, Parke. (27 October 1983). "Midnight Oil: ''10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1''".
13. Fricke, David. (2004). "[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide". [[Simon & Schuster]].
14. Hull, Tom. "Grade List: Midnight Oil".
15. Christgau, Robert. (21 February 1984). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". [[The Village Voice]].
16. Peter Holmes. (1 November 1998). "Rock of Ages". [[The Sun-Herald]].
17. Kent, David. (1993). "[[Kent Music Report". Australian Chart Book.
18. RPM]]'', March 3, 1984.
19. "Top Selling Albums of 1984 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". [[Recorded Music New Zealand]].
20. (10 June 1984). "Official Top 40 Albums".