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Wanderer Group: Members Posts: 119 Joined: Aug. 2002 Posted: Mar. 20 2003, 21:44 I played some MO music for an unindoctrinated friend of mine. His response was to label my musical tastes "freaky". Now, normally, I would get a bit defensive at this. But having read some of the comments by MO fans on the net I'm on the verge of coming around to that conclusion myself. One of the fascinating things about Oldfield, I find, is the way that his music divides people: even his fans. I think the main reason for this is Oldfield's steadfast refusal to be held down to a specific genre. With each successive album Oldfield has tried to do something different, no two albums of his are alike in terms of style and presentation. Even the Tubular Bells sequels are far from being note for note fascimillies of the originals (and "Tubular Bells III" was criticized by many for being TOO MUCH of a departure from the first two). Oldfield has always been something of a musical dilettante, dabbling in folk, rock, classical, techno, heavy metal, new age, flamenco, pop, soundtracks, electronica, concept albums, computer games... I could go on endlessly... That's why I like him. He's so unpredictable, I can't guess what he'll do next. Each new Mike Oldfield album is a surprise. Couple that to the fact that I have pretty eclectic tastes in music myself (the only genres I really can't stand are rap, country and punk...and somehow I can't imagine Mike going that way, but as I said, with him you never know...) and I have only ever disliked two of Mike's albums (that would be "Heaven's Open" and "The Orchestral Tubular Bells"). Plus, I can't help but be impressed by his technical chops... the fact that he can play so many instruments etcetera etcetera... Still, it's easy to see why his eclecticism can piss a lot of people off. There's quite a large camp of people on the net, constantly bemoaning the new direction his music has taken of late. You'll often here from these people that he has "lost his way". It's quite understandable really, the gulf between the style of music he's making now and the syle of music he made even six years ago is very large indeed. Maybe this is an age thing, I dunno... I'm only 20 years old so I didn't grow up with stuff like "Ommadawn" or even "Crises". I like those albums... but they weren't my formative introductions to the music of Mike Oldfield... that was stuff like "Tubular Bells II" and "The Songs Of Distant Earth". So I didn't feel miffed in any way when Mike "suddenly" started to use synthesizers and sequencers in his music. I guess my point is that there are very few people who like a broad cross section of Mike's music. Who like his 70s, 80s and 90s output equally. My girlfriend can only stand to listen to the pop songs he made in the 90s. My brother loves all his instrumentals, especially the "crazy-shit" ones like "Amarok"... but he thinks most of the songs Mike tried to do in the eighties were mediocre at best, hilairiously inept at worst. Then there are people like my friend Simon, who only like his electra-heavy stuff like "Tubular Bells III" and "Tres Lunas". This is why I wonder, is there anyone else here who really likes the music from all three and a bit decades of Mike's music. Then again, maybe the simple fact is, I am a freak...   Back to top

MusicallyInspired Group: Musicians Posts: 1445 Joined: June 2001 Posted: Mar. 20 2003, 23:05 Well, brother, if you are a freak then I am also a freak! I also like his music from all decades. I don't really like how he stopped doing long instrumentals, but it's not the end of the world. I'm only 18. I was introduced to Mike Oldfield with Hergest Ridge, Platinum, Evacuation from Killing Fields, and the one that had the most effect: Tubular Bells II. I didn't mind him shifting to synth stuff either. In fact I think it gave his music more life (ie- TSODE my favo MO album). The only albums I didn't like were Earth Moving, Islands, and Heaven's Open so basically just his more 'pop' albums. I'm a big anti-popular music person. I can't stand the mainstream music of today. Like I said somewhere before, it's become a fashion and no longer an art and that drives me insane. Mike keeps true to the art side while doing all the new interesting modern parts without making it like fashion. Quite ingenious, really. -------------- BrandonBlume.com "The beauty in life is in the embracing of the variety of things. If all the world was blue there would be no colour blue." Back to top

Man In The Rain Group: Members Posts: 405 Joined: April 2002 Posted: Mar. 20 2003, 23:10 I am 19 and am *exactly* like you regarding Oldfield. It was Tubular Bells that made me curious but then The Songs Of Distant Earth was the album that turned me into a die-hard fan. He is always changing his sound and yet retains a distinctive style - whether it be his glorious guitar style or his beautiful melodies. I don't like his 80s stuff quite as much as the 70s or 90s (I feel his only classic eighties album was Five Miles Out) but I still love loads of the individual songs and instrumentals. I admit I have been a little dissapointed with Guitars, Millennium Bell and Tres Lunas - but the stuff left off the Tres Lunas album was as good as anything he's done, and we still get exquisite music like Lake Constance, Summit Day and Sirius. It does annoy me when people constantly exclaim his 70s stuff and then completely ignore something like Mont St Michel, and it frustrates me when people think Voyager is worse than Earth Moving. But that's just me. I also think Mike on the whole is hugely underrated, but I guess that's better than being so overrated like many other artists. Vive le Mike! -------------- Hergest Ridge 165 - Ommadawn 038 - Incantations 243 Back to top

Wanderer Group: Members Posts: 119 Joined: Aug. 2002 Posted: Mar. 21 2003, 00:53 MUSICALLY INSPIRED: I'm a big anti-popular music person. I can't stand the mainstream music of today. Like I said somewhere before, it's become a fashion and no longer an art and that drives me insane. Mike keeps true to the art side while doing all the new interesting modern parts without making it like fashion. Quite ingenious, really. WANDERER: A fashion and no longer an art? I presume you are referring to the Spears, Aguileras and Shakiras of the world whose music enters the public conciousness mainly through the looks of the performer? It's not anything new, granted. But what gets me is how much critical acclaim these people get. All of Britney's albums have been nominated for Grammy's, her one-time squeeze Justin Timberlake's solo album was awarded 4 out of 5 by Rolling Stone magazine... whilst more talented artists like, I dunno, Ben Harper and Peter Gabriel get less recognition for the better stuff they've pumped out over the last year. Still, things are looking up... the new crop of gorgeous young female singers: Vanessa Carlton, Michelle Branch and Norah Jones actually have some reasonably impressive musical chops as well. Plus, The Boss and David Bowie proved that they still had it IMHO, with "The Rising" and "Heathen" respectively... meanwhile the likes of Aguilera have to stoop even lower to get the spotlight - seen the videoclip for "Dirrty"? That wasn't a typo by the way, that's actually how the song "Dirrty" is meant to be spelt. Another fundamental irritant to me, the fact that none of these so called R&B artists know how to spell. Mind you Mike isn't that better, "Sirius" and all... Hmmm, sorry this post has degenerated into something of a disjointed rant against popular cultural trends... Still, it's worth thinking about. Maybe if Mike got a sex change and bought a mid-riff top his music would be more commercially successful. Still that's not what's important as you said. It's the quality of the music that counts and if the vast majority of the world don't "get it" then too bad for them. Now, I'm off to the tea room to sober up... Back to top

Wanderer Group: Members Posts: 119 Joined: Aug. 2002 Posted: Mar. 21 2003, 01:03 TO "MAN IN THE RAIN" : Funny, I too feel that "Five Miles Out" is quite an under-rated album. "Taurus II" has got to be one of his most accomplished and disciplined instrumentals... and I love the spooky song in the middle (commonly referred to by fans as "The Deep, Deep Sound") which makes for an eerie prelude to the title track... "Orabidoo" takes a while to get going, but emerges as one of Mike's most compellingly wacko compositions yet... "Mount Teide" has come in for flack elsewhere, but I believe it functions more as a finale to "Orabidoo" that anything else, rather like the first seven tracks of "TB II" are all part of one big track.... The title song... well, this is the kinda Mike Oldfield songwriting I like, deliriously bonkers but riotous fun all the same. My only real misgiving about the album is "Family Man" which sticks out like a sore thumb and probably shoulda been put last as something of a bonus track. I normally program my player to skip this. Still, it being under-rated was perhaps advantageous to me. I managed to pick it up in the bargain bin of the CD store for $9.95! Back to top

Wanderer Group: Members Posts: 119 Joined: Aug. 2002 Posted: Mar. 21 2003, 01:09 Oh, at this point I should clarify something. Just because I said I like the majority of Mike's work in the 70s, 80s and 90s does not mean I think his work in each decade was absolutely flawless....as I anticipate some criticism from some of the old school fans I mentioned earlier....whose views as I said above I respect even if I don't agree with them... I guess I mainly meant that I don't have a specific "favourite style" of Mike, am not disappointed that when he abandons a specific style and does something else cause that's what I like... Later guys. Back to top

raven4x4x Group: Members Posts: 1535 Joined: Jan. 2002 Posted: Mar. 21 2003, 05:37 I also like the way Mike has shifted to different genres. I suppose I'm more a fan of his recent stuff than the 70s mega tracks, but I still love Ommadawn, Incantations Part III and IV, and Tubular Bells. Like many fans, Tubular Bells was the first MO I heard, and I found it very good, even though I was born 15 years after it was made. The bad point about Mike's 70s stuff is, for me, the lack of a real beat, but that is made up for by the Ommadawn ending and the Incantations solos. Some of his pieces here really needs more life, I especially mean Hergest Ridge, my least favourite 70s album. The best part for me was his ability to write music so different from much of the 'popular' stuff, music with real skill at all of his instruments, but especially the guitar. This is especially true on Ommadawn, his 70s classic, and rightfully so. Platinum was his first departure from his usual style, fixing the lack of energy problem with a rocking first side and with Punkadiddle, but the best is I got Rhythm, a song made great with an uplifting climax with the bells and a classic Oldfield guitar. His early 80s albums Five Miles Out, Crises and Discovery, are all some of my favourite albums. His ventures into songwriting were, for me, quite successful. Songs such as Moonlight Shadow, To France and Tricks of the Light all had great instrumental backing, and this is a great time for Mikes guitar, with the short, high solos on Five Miles Out (the song) being absloutely amazing. With Taurus II, Crises and The Lake he also kept his long instrumentals going, these being my favourites. Simon Phillip's drumming gives all his pieces the energy his 80s stuff was missing. I also love the was his short instrumentals developed from catchy but simple pieces such as Portsmouth to guitar pieces such as In the Pool. His late eighties, however, was dissapointing to me. Islands is one of my least favourite albums, the songs have got a bit too pop for my liking, and The Wind Chimes also doesn't grab me. Earth Moving is a bit of a funny album, definately not a classic, but with some amazing and emotional guitar, particularly on Holy and Far Country. The 90s are difinately his most eclectic decade. He returned to the long instrumentals with Amarok and Tubular Bells II, two pieces which I love in completely different ways. In between was the dodgey Heaven's Open, with some emotional but not quite well written songs, still, in the case of No Dream and the title track, with great guitar. Music from the Balcony is one of his more radical departures, and is quite interesting to listen to, I very much enhoy the jazz set in the middle. Songs of Distant Earth is his last real epic album, which truthfully lifts you into another world. Again, the guitar in Let there Be light and Crystal Clear is the highlight, but this is one of the best sounding electronic albums ever. However talented and emotional, I don't like Voyager, mostly because I don't like Celtic music. I do, however, love Tubular Bells III, which is probably my favourite album of all time. This by itself sums up all Mike's different styles, staring the best of Mike's guitar in Outcast, Serpent Dream, Man in the Rain and Far Above the Clouds, the most rocking ending ever. Guitars is a strange one, Muse is a beautiful guitar duet, but the album falls short of its potential by a long way. So does Millennium Bell, which I don't find as indescribably awful as so many proble do, but it definately is not a highlight. Tres Lunas is another one which cound have been better, but I quite like most of it. Return to the Origin proves that he still has it in him, which the pieces which were left out, only to re-appear on the Tres Lunas II mix, are even better. In summary, every single MO album has at least one song that I really like, and in this respect I feel I an unusual. So many describe an album as 'awful', 'a waste of a good CD' or 'absolute rubbish'. The only albums I really dislike are Hergest Ridge, Islands and Voyager, but even then they have their highlights. This is probably my longest ever post, but it pretty much sums up my opinion of Mike's whole career. I am very much looking forward to the new Tubular Bells, and wondering what will come next! -------------- Thank-you for helping us help you help us all. Back to top

Tellur Group: Members Posts: 74 Joined: Oct. 2002 Posted: Mar. 22 2003, 05:49 OK, it goes like this: I'm 17, and I venerate both the oldest (Ommadawn! and the newest (SODE!!! albums, but I only like Five Miles Out and his Taurus tracks from his "middle" collection of works. Maybe I'm the freak? Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: Mar. 22 2003, 06:49 Quote (Wanderer @ Mar. 21 2003, 03:44) [...] the only genres I really can't stand are rap, country and punk...and somehow I can't imagine Mike going that way, but as I said, with him you never know... [...] I think Mike did both country ['Moonshine'] and punk [If 'Outcast' were a vocal tune, it'd be very close to what it's now called 'nu metal' ]. Anyway, back on topic: I also am a very peculiar Oldfield fan because I find something very very beautiful in everything he's ever done. True, some of his albums may not be 100% excellent all the way through (for example, the banality of some TMB tracks just doesn't match the wonderful musical invention of a piece like Taurus II, and maybe something like 'B.Blues' and 'Embers', on Guitars, is too experimental even for a pioneer in experimentation like he is), but, on the whole, there is not a single thing he has released that I completely dislike. My least-favourite MO album is The Killing Fields, but my opinion about it has changed a lot (after a re-listening of the CD) since I wrote somewhere else that Mike failed miserably in creating a soundtrack. Yes, sure, most tracks on TKF don't exactly drive me crazy with excitement , but 'Good news', 'Pran's theme' and 'Etude' are very very very beautiful and so typically Oldfieldish tracks, even if 'Etude' is not really Mike's composition. My favourite Mike album is Amarok. IMHO it's one of the best music compositions EVER. -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

Holger Group: Members Posts: 1506 Joined: Feb. 2003 Posted: April 05 2003, 15:54 Quote (Ugo @ Mar. 22 2003, 06:49) and maybe something like 'B.Blues' and 'Embers', on Guitars, is too experimental even for a pioneer in experimentation like he is ???! Could you please explain that, as I completely fail to grasp the meaning of this. Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: April 05 2003, 19:26 Holger: what I meant (and sorry for being somewhat unclear for you), is that Mike has always been experimenting with things, in his music, and he often used things a great deal of time before other people used them. Just to give an example of this, now 'Ommadawn' is often referred to as a 'world music' album, but the term 'world music' was only coined in the 1990s, and Mike in 1975 was already using Gaelic (or pseudo-Gaelic) language, African drums and Irish bagpipes. He made some sort of 'ethnic' album before anyone else knew what 'ethnic' music was. But I think that on some tracks on the 'Guitars' album he just went too far with experimenting new sounds and new ways of playing... it's IMHO an album way too far ahead of its proper time... it may sound like a masterpiece 20 years from now. P.S.: Please don't flame me for what I wrote above. It is just what I think and it's not meant as universal truths. -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

Holger Group: Members Posts: 1506 Joined: Feb. 2003 Posted: April 06 2003, 01:55 Quote (Ugo @ April 05 2003, 19:26) P.S.: Please don't flame me for what I wrote above. It is just what I think and it's not meant as universal truths. No problem, no flaming or anything of that sort was intended. If it sounds like it, I apologize. It's just that I find it very odd that with all the experimentation Mike has done in the past, someone would call Guitars, of all his albums, too experimental. As I hear nothing in Guitars that I would refer to as being experimental. Back to top

theweightless Group: Members Posts: 604 Joined: April 2001 Posted: April 06 2003, 03:30 i like mike's past, present and future music   -------------- ASMK Back to top

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