Place without a Postcard

Place Without a Postcard is the third studio album by Australian alternative rockers Midnight Oil, released in November 1981 under Sprint Music and the Columbia Records label. It peaked at No. 12 on the Kent Music Report albums chart and the related singles "Don't Wanna Be the One" and "Armistice Day" reached the associated Top 40 chart.

Place without a Postcard
Studio album by
Midnight Oil
ReleasedNovember 1981 (1981-11)
RecordedJune–July 1981
Sussex
Genre
Length40:57
LabelSprint Music / CBS
ProducerGlyn Johns
Midnight Oil chronology
Bird Noises
(1980)		 Place without a Postcard
(1981)		 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
(1982)
Singles from Place without a Postcard
  1. "Don't Wanna Be the One"
    Released: October 1981
  2. "Armistice Day"
    Released: May 1982

Background

The band's third LP Place Without a Postcard, released by CBS Records in November 1981, was recorded in Sussex with English producer Glyn Johns (The Rolling Stones, The Who) at a studio/barn on Johns' property.[2][3] Creative tensions between the band and Johns plagued the recording and the group were not totally happy with the outcome. Johns had an arrangement with A&M Records and they asked Midnight Oil to return to the studio to record material suitable for an American single release – the group refused and returned to Australia.[3] Place without a Postcard peaked at No. 12 on the albums charts and related singles "Don't Wanna Be the One" (No. 40) and "Armistice Day" reached the Top 40 in Australia.[4] Cover and other photography by Robert Butcher.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]

The Rolling Stone Album Guide praised the "fatter sound and more focused songs."[6] Trouser Press wrote that "the experimentation yielded valuable lessons, and James Moginie, the group's most prolific composer, also began to jell his distinctive guitar sound, as well as creatively exploring keyboards."[7]

AllMusic's William Ruhlmann wrote:

"Midnight Oil went to England to record and turned to a major label (CBS Records) and a name producer (Glyn Johns) for its third full-length album. You might have expected this to make for a sonic breakthrough, but you'd be wrong. The band was experiencing growing pains, trying to stretch musically, and, at least at first, this made for a dilution of their hard rock focus moving toward a pop style they hadn't fully developed. Place Without a Postcard had its share of powerfully performed songs, but its sound was light compared to the band's first two albums, the stylistic experiments were not yet bearing fruit, and, with an emphasis placed on the vocals, Peter Garrett sounded overly strident."[5]

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Don't Wanna Be the One"Garrett, Hirst, Moginie, Rotsey3:04
2."Brave Faces"Garrett, Moginie4:48
3."Armistice Day"Hirst, Moginie, Rotsey4:31
4."Someone Else to Blame"Gifford, Hirst, Moginie2:49
5."Basement Flat"Garrett, Moginie, Rotsey4:37
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Written in the Heart"Hirst, Moginie, Rotsey3:15
7."Burnie"Garrett, Moginie4:50
8."Quinella Holiday"Garrett, Moginie2:35
9."Loves on Sale"Garrett, Rotsey2:22
10."If Ned Kelly Was King"Garrett, Moginie3:41
11."Lucky Country"Garrett, Hirst, Moginie, Rotsey4:55

Charts
Chart (1981/82) Position
Australian Kent Music Report[8] 12

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[9] 2× Platinum 140,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Personnel
Midnight Oil
Production
  • Glyn Johns - production, engineering
  • Sean Fullen - assistant engineer
Design
  • Robert Butcher - design, album cover photo

References
  1. Ruhlmann, William. "Midnight Oil - Place Without a Postcard Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". allmusic. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  2. Holmgren, Magnus; Stenerlöv, Carl-Johan. "Midnight Oil". Australian Rock Database. Passagen.se (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  3. Ed Nimmervoll (ed.). "Midnight Oil". Howlspace. Archived from the original on 26 July 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  4. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  5. Ruhlmann, William. Place without a Postcard review. AllMusic. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  6. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 473.
  7. "Midnight Oil". Trouser Press. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  8. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988.
  9. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2014 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
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