Blue Sky Mining is the sound of a band that want to save the planet. The 1990 follow-up to Diesel and Dust, Midnight Oil’s international breakthrough, is an expertly crafted, pop-informed album that’s still very much focused on Australian social issues but reveals a global mindset reflective of the group’s newfound status as alt-rock superstars. One of the biggest hits of the Oils’ career, opener “Blue Sky Mine” sets the tone, serving as both a fiery commentary on the exploitation of West Australian miners and a universal anthem addressing ecology, workers’ rights, and corporate greed. As the album progresses through a succession of driving rockers and darkly epic ballads, it becomes clear that singer Peter Garrett fully understands his artist/activist role to now extend far beyond national boundaries. On deeply evocative songs like “Mountains of Burma” and “River Runs Red,” the singer communicates capitalism’s plundering of nature as if he’s personally bearing witness to every fallen tree and each oil-slicked beach.