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Sir Mustapha Group: Musicians Posts: 2802 Joined: April 2003 Posted: Jan. 27 2004, 06:06 As all devoted Amarok listeners, you have all noticed the amount of instruments and objects listed on the liner notes (and in the Amarok page @ tubular.net ). But whenever I listen to the album, I get so engulfed by the music, I fail to grab any mininal details that should require attention to get - like, where the h3!! can you listen to all those instruments? So, I'm proposing here is to make a list of where on the album you can hear each instrument - only one appearance is enough, but if there are others, it's okay. Of course, obvious ones (electric guitar, Flamenco guitar, piano) need no effort. But the Spinet, Melodica, violin, highly-strung guitar, guitar tuner, etc etc... Where are they? Since I'm unable to listen here at work, I cannot contribute anything right now. But, does anyone want to contribute to the list? It may take a lot of effort, but... Well, it might be worth it. -------------- Check out http://ferniecanto.com.br for all my music, including my latest albums: Don't Stay in the City, Making Amends and Builders of Worlds. Also check my Bandcamp page: http://ferniecanto.bandcamp.com Back to top

Tati The Sentinel Group: Members Posts: 3360 Joined: Feb. 2002 Posted: Jan. 27 2004, 08:22 Me guessing about the guitar tuner...first seconds of Amarok... -------------- "But it's always the outsider, the black sheep, that becomes the blockbuster." - Mike Oldfield, 2014 "I remember feeling that I'd been judged unfairly and that I was going to prove them wrong." - Peter Davison, 2011 Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: Jan. 27 2004, 19:15 - Guitar tuner: I think Tati got it. - Bouzouki and Mandolin: during the Didlybom and Mandolin sections (especially Mandolin 1, 2, 3). - Melodica: that's AFAIK a small accordion fed on the player's own breath, so I guess it appears in Roses and Big Roses. - Toy dog: barking during Lion Reprise. - Psaltry (an harpsichord's plectrum, or an harpsichord's plucked string): wherever you hear a string pizzicato. - Punch ball: start of the Fast Waltz (22:04). The face slap is IMHO a duplication of this. - Highly-strung guitar: a 12-string guitar minus the six normal strings. Duplicating the main guitar in the Fast Riffs. - Spinet: a small harpsichord. You can hear it in various points, e.g. among the various stuff in the climax at 35:39. - Violin: playing in the background in the country/bluegrass sections, Didlybom and Mandolin. - Referee's whistle: end of Didlybom (15:00). - Glass of water: Russian (15:56) - Toothbrush and teeth: Hoover, from 16:45 onwards. I think this is fairly obvious. - Fake Radio: first section of TV-AM (from 38:46 onwards) - Contents of Aeromodeller's toolbox: noises during the Mad Bits. - Hammer and bucket: I have no idea. - Fake Firework: Mandolin, 25:07. - Shoes and Door: Intro Reprise 2, at 29:27 and 30:42 respectively. I think this is nearly all... if you want more, tell me. -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

Tati The Sentinel Group: Members Posts: 3360 Joined: Feb. 2002 Posted: Jan. 27 2004, 21:18 The punch ball is with also the hoover,and you can listen to Mike shouting out while punching it! -------------- "But it's always the outsider, the black sheep, that becomes the blockbuster." - Mike Oldfield, 2014 "I remember feeling that I'd been judged unfairly and that I was going to prove them wrong." - Peter Davison, 2011 Back to top

Sir Mustapha Group: Musicians Posts: 2802 Joined: April 2003 Posted: Jan. 28 2004, 05:23 Question: During one of the Mandolin reprises, around 37 minutes, there's a part with some really nutty percussion noises, a sound that goes "hrrrrg", and some *tink* *tonk* *tonk* *tink* *tonk* sounds... What is producing those cartoony noises? I was always puzzled about that. So the melodica makes the accordeon-like sound? I was always wondering what was it, since there's no accordeon on the list. I didn't want to believe it was a synthesizer. I suppose this has to do with the Vox Organ, too? Or not? -------------- Check out http://ferniecanto.com.br for all my music, including my latest albums: Don't Stay in the City, Making Amends and Builders of Worlds. Also check my Bandcamp page: http://ferniecanto.bandcamp.com Back to top

Tati The Sentinel Group: Members Posts: 3360 Joined: Feb. 2002 Posted: Jan. 28 2004, 07:38 I've also noticed a telephone ring on Amarok! -------------- "But it's always the outsider, the black sheep, that becomes the blockbuster." - Mike Oldfield, 2014 "I remember feeling that I'd been judged unfairly and that I was going to prove them wrong." - Peter Davison, 2011 Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: Jan. 28 2004, 08:20 The tink-tonk in Mandolin 1, 2, 3 (which I'd rather describe as boing-boing) is a small instrument called Jew's harp - ask Korgscrew for a more precise description of it. . The percussion is the aeromodeller's kit, plus clay drums and sticks. Everything else is (I think) guitars through lots of effects. The melodica, as I said, is an instrument which produces a sound very like an accordion, but without the accordion's typical bellows. The Vox organ is similar to a Hammond - wherever you hear a sound like a Hammond organ, that's the Vox. -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

Sir Mustapha Group: Musicians Posts: 2802 Joined: April 2003 Posted: Jan. 28 2004, 08:47 So that is the Jew's harp? For what I remember reading the descriptions on the page, I always thought it was something else. That clears up quite some stuff. Thanks. Yeah, there are telephone rings on it! There is no "telephone" on the instrument list, is there? Or is it some other object? The reverse ring sounds particularly groovy. -------------- Check out http://ferniecanto.com.br for all my music, including my latest albums: Don't Stay in the City, Making Amends and Builders of Worlds. Also check my Bandcamp page: http://ferniecanto.bandcamp.com Back to top

Korgscrew Group: Super Admins Posts: 3511 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: Jan. 28 2004, 11:09 I hear only guitars at the beginning. Guitar tuners don't tend to make any noise, but when they do, it tends to be a 440Hz tone. Couldn't say off the top of my head where it might be though (it might be at 15:10 - that beeping is the right note). There is some bowed guitar in the intro though. I'd suggest listening at 2:24 for the shoes. The Vox (continental) organ sounds as similar to a hammond as it does to a Farfisa or Lowrey...listen out for a Vox organ I'd suspect the toy dog might be the clockwork toy which is at 7:20. The bazouki is at 8:42 on the right hand side. 9:02 is the melodica. The sitar guitar comes in at about 11:00 briefly. There are some highly strung guitars strumming at 13:34 (and an uncredited harp at 13:38...). At about 16:21 the hoover becomes really evident (starts at 16:11 though). There are some finger cymbals in that section too. 21:38 sounds a fair bit like a telephone being dialled, but I'd guess it's the contents of the aeromodeller's toolbox... There's a nice bit of triangle at 23:03. Some bowed guitar at 23:16. The shoes come back at 29:29, followed by the psaltery at 30:47 - not plucked but bowed (these are slightly different to the plucked psalteries, but the same zither-like principle, just triangle shaped so that the notes can be accessed easily with the bow). The bit at 37:48 consists of jew's harp (going boing boing boing), melodica, and other assorted things, some shoes, a piece of paper being screwed up (there's another not on the list...) and similar. The telephone sounds like it might be coming from a keyboard actually, it's a very low quality sample... The scary thing is, there's more. I'll leave it at that for now though! Back to top

c_haese Group: Members Posts: 83 Joined: Nov. 2003 Posted: Jan. 28 2004, 13:36 This comprehensive list leaves only one question open: Where's the "not much synth at all really"? Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: Jan. 28 2004, 18:12 Quote (c_haese @ Jan. 28 2004, 19:36) This comprehensive list leaves only one question open: Where's the "not much synth at all really"? A synth comes in at 2:33 for the first time. Then it comes to prominence (amongst other points) in the first Lion section, at 20:17. @ Richard: thanks a lot for sharing your expert knowledge with us ... but I think that a guitar tuner, if it's what I'm thinking of (a kind of an U-shaped metal rod) does not beep... it pings. -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

Korgscrew Group: Super Admins Posts: 3511 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: Jan. 28 2004, 18:22 That's a tuning fork. He could possibly mean one of those. He could also possibly mean a pitch pipe, which would sound a tiny bit like a harmonica. But if it's electronic then it would beep. The synths are all over the place, he uses the Roland D50 strings a lot, amongst other things. Back to top

Holger Group: Members Posts: 1506 Joined: Feb. 2003 Posted: Jan. 28 2004, 19:42 Yes, I never believed that "not much synth at all" thing.   Back to top

Sir Mustapha Group: Musicians Posts: 2802 Joined: April 2003 Posted: Jan. 29 2004, 05:26 The "telephone" sound might be a keyboard, alright. But yesterday, when I thought of it, it could be very well a *ring ring* slowed down - which might produce that "low quality" sample. But I'm suspicious at the reversed ring on the TV-AM solo... -------------- Check out http://ferniecanto.com.br for all my music, including my latest albums: Don't Stay in the City, Making Amends and Builders of Worlds. Also check my Bandcamp page: http://ferniecanto.bandcamp.com Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: Jan. 29 2004, 17:57 The reversed ring sounds to me just like... well... a reversed version (made on a tape?) of the previous ring. -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

Jammer Group: Members Posts: 643 Joined: April 2000 Posted: Mar. 11 2004, 14:18 (I have no timings to hand) The 'triangle' sound during the water glass section before the glass smashing sounds more like an antique cymbal. This is a small round brass disc that produces a very bright ringing sound but can be pitched Also there are rototoms during the section with the Jew's Harp. Quite conspicuous Is the toy dog just the repeated mechanical noises in the Lion reprise I can't be entirely sure, but the reversed ring could be coming from a different source. As TV-AM itself was a morning TV program, this is supposed to sound more like an alarm clock What is the instrument that plays a filtered organ-type sound, just before the punchball sound? I always thought this was the Vox Organ Back to top

Korgscrew Group: Super Admins Posts: 3511 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: Mar. 11 2004, 19:38 A quick answer on the TV-AM aspect - if I remember right, that section was something he played during an interview on TV-AM before he recorded Amarok, so any 'morning' atmosphere to the section may be coincidental...or maybe not! I'll check up on the rest if I get a moment... Back to top

Ben Group: Members Posts: 35 Joined: Mar. 2004 Posted: April 06 2004, 18:40 Sorry for this reply being long after the last but... i just got Amarok today (yay) and after reading this post i was kinda shocked to read about a Sitar and a jews harp in it lol. I use to own a jews harp but i gave it away almost a year ago... been meaning to get a new one for ages. I'm also planning on buying a sitar because they are one of the best instruments i've ever had the pleasure of listening to lol. Shame its not very noticable or as "Indian" as it normally would be on the Amarok :-(. -------------- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ~ Ben -=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Back to top

Korgscrew Group: Super Admins Posts: 3511 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: April 07 2004, 04:09 What Mike uses is in fact one of these - an electric sitar-guitar (Mike's is one of the original Coral models rather than a Jerry Jones replica). They were designed during the 1960s to allow guitarists to have easy access to the then popular sound of the sitar, without having to learn a new instrument. He plays it on 'Four Winds' as well, and at the beginning of Flying Start. Back to top

Jammer Group: Members Posts: 643 Joined: April 2000 Posted: April 07 2004, 18:21 Looks Cool. I thought Mike wouldn't have used a real sitar in 'Flying Start' On Amarok it sounds very close to the real thing though Back to top

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