Black Rain Falls

On May 30th 1990, Midnight Oil interrupted their North American tour for a "special guerrilla action" outside of Exxon Oil headquarters on the crowded Avenue of the Americas in midtown Manhattan. The agitprop event from the back of a flat-bed truck drew more than 10,000 people out of the nearby office buildings and onto the street. The Oils were responding to one of the worst environmental disasters in US history when 11 million gallons of oil were spilled onto the pristine Alaskan coastline by the Exxon Valdez. Nearly twenty five years on the effects of the spill on the landscapes and wildlife of southern Alaska are still being felt. The long form concert features all six songs captured live that day: "Progress" (From the 1986 EP, Species Deceases); "sometimes" and "Dreamworld" (From 1987's Diesel and Dust); "Blue Sky Mine" and "River Runs Red" (From Blue Skly Mining, 1990); the apropos tribute to John Lennon, "Instant Karma" and the video clip for Midnight Oil's "King Of The Mountain" (Also from Blue Sky Mining), plus commentary on each track from the band.