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basify Group: Members Posts: 32 Joined: Sep. 2008 Posted: Mar. 11 2009, 10:52 I was listening to Nick Drake this morning and I wondered what it would have sounded like if he and Mike had worked together. Which artist, past or present, do you think would complement Mike's style of music? -------------- Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way... Back to top

The Caveman Group: Members Posts: 2178 Joined: Jan. 2008 Posted: Mar. 11 2009, 13:55 I love Nick Drake and there are paralleles between him and Mike.Both were blessed with an amazing ability on guitar (Nick Drake's tunings defy logic and as for his finger picking style, he was,IMHO,unmatched before or since),both were very insecure and suffered mental illness,both found it almost impossible to perform live (in Mike's case he overcame this.Poor Nick never did)and both found working with other people almost imposible.Listen to Pink Moon.The whole album barring the title track is solo guitar and voice. Nice idea basify but i don't think they could have worked together. However it would have been nice to hear Mike playing with some of his comtemporaries on the late 60's folk scene.The obvious ones would be Jansch or Renbourne who were his hero's.I'd love to hear what he could have come up with with Sandy Denny too.My favourite folk singer from that era. -------------- THE COMING OF THE GREAT WHITE HANDKERCHEIF IS NIGH. Back to top

Scatterplot Group: Members Posts: 1981 Joined: Dec. 2007 Posted: Mar. 11 2009, 14:01 Tony Banks. Jesus that would be a great combination. -------------- We raise our voices in the night Crying to heaven And will our voices be heard Or will they break Like the wind Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: Mar. 11 2009, 17:31 M.C. Escher. I've already mentioned him several times. Of course he wasn't a musician, but you asked for an artist who would complement Mike's music. Escher's pictures do...quite brilliantly, IMHO. -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

ex member 419 Group: Members Posts: 1177 Joined: April 2008 Posted: Mar. 11 2009, 22:54 How about mike and mick jagger or david bowie? or mike and jose carreras?   deb Back to top

3Wheeler Group: Members Posts: 828 Joined: Aug. 2007 Posted: Mar. 12 2009, 04:35 Depends what youre looking at     Folk , Pop , Instrumental,   Another Uplifting Popular Song with someone like Belinda Carlisle on the vocals might go down well ...   Or maybe Josh Groban if a Suitable Song with Guitar Backing Came Along..   I Agree Tony Banks from Genesis would be pretty Cool to .. -------------- We're Flying Aeroflot, We've Got Reservations. Back to top

Matt Group: Admins Posts: 1186 Joined: Nov. 2002 Posted: Mar. 12 2009, 05:30 I remember a discussion a while back about Kate Bush. I reckon that could be a great combination but the discussion at the time concluded it might be a bit too much of a clash of personalities. I can dream... -------------- "I say I say I say I say, what's got three bottles and five eyes and no legs and two wheels" Back to top

wiga Group: Members Posts: 2113 Joined: Sep. 2008 Posted: Mar. 12 2009, 06:17 I have wondered what Kate Bush and Mike Oldfield would come up with if  they were creating together - the genius of Hounds of Love and the genius of Amarok. Would their personalities clash - I don't know. -------------- Barn's burnt down - now I can see the moon. Back to top

Dirk Star Group: Members Posts: 1331 Joined: Sep. 2007 Posted: Mar. 13 2009, 05:37 Personaly I`d like to see Mike work with a "big name" producer again.It`s been a long time now since he worked with Trevor Horn,and although TB2 is by no means my favourite album of Mike`s.I think it`s maybe something he could do with at this stage of his career.You know someone to get Mike to work that little bit harder I suppose,or to move him into unchartered territories maybe.Brian Eno,Nigel Godrich,Rick Rubin,you know somebody with their kind of credentials I guess,if not exactly those people in particular. There has to be some top notch producer out there somewhere,who is a long time fan of Mike`s work.Whilst at the same time having enough of a musical pedigree himself to be able to tell Mike when he`s just not cutting it to put it pure and simply.It would be better still if it was someone who knew their way around an orchestra as well,and not just within a classical context either...And now I suddenly find myself thinking about Mike Batt,which is a bit strange.Is the Battster a fan of Mike Oldfield one can`t help but wonder??..Yeah well he damn well should be if he`s not.Aaah Mike in a Womble suit and knocking out riffs on his Gibson.If that ain`t enough to drag a 55 year old guy out of semi-retirement,I don`t know what is? Back to top

3Wheeler Group: Members Posts: 828 Joined: Aug. 2007 Posted: Mar. 13 2009, 06:39 Mike Batt has worked with Maggie reilly and got her to sing on one of his Albums... So he obviously likes the Pop Stuff she did with MO...       Hes retired from singing himself and is working with people like Katie Melua ..   Deff got the Ability.. But from reading his Blogs not sure the "Time" .  Seems to be Very Busy with his record Label Projects.. -------------- We're Flying Aeroflot, We've Got Reservations. Back to top

Dirk Star Group: Members Posts: 1331 Joined: Sep. 2007 Posted: Mar. 13 2009, 07:21 Yeah I`ve heard Katie wants to go off and do her own thing now though,without Mike`s guiding hand so`s to speak.Anyway he`s a very talented guy no question,I`m sure he`s still very much in demand.He did an amazing job orchestrating an XTC album a few years ago now.That whole band and orchestra thing he seems to makes it sound so effortless imo.I don`t think there are too many people around who can do that anymore.Or maybe there`s still quite a few of them out there,it`s just that no one has the inclination or the expense account to put it all together I guess.Much easier to patch it all in on the P.C. sadly...Yeah get Mike in Abbey Road studios with a great big orchestra,a band and Mike Batt behind the glass window there and go nuts..Next album`s good as sorted guv`nor.Guess now he`s just got to write the thing.       Back to top

Olivier Group: Super Admins Posts: 1868 Joined: Nov. 1999 Posted: Mar. 13 2009, 14:15 Is duet one of the weakest musical composition? If we consider concertos not duets (solo + orchestra), I'd say so. It very rarely works for me. I think you need at least a trio, no idea why. The last James Bond tune for example is an horrible duet, would have worked better with only one singer in my opinion. I think duos are made more for marketing reasons, to reach 2 different fan bases at the same time, than for artistic reasons. Any good duos you experienced? Back to top

ex member 419 Group: Members Posts: 1177 Joined: April 2008 Posted: Mar. 13 2009, 19:24 Quote (3Wheeler @ Mar. 13 2009, 06:39) Mike Batt has worked with Maggie reilly and got her to sing on one of his Albums... So he obviously likes the Pop Stuff she did with MO... Hes retired from singing himself and is working with people like Katie Melua .. Deff got the Ability.. But from read Mike batt is well known for his flair with many genres, he also was david essex producer, tim rice is another lyricist mike could work with, deb Back to top

Dirk Star Group: Members Posts: 1331 Joined: Sep. 2007 Posted: Mar. 13 2009, 22:02 Quote (Olivier @ Mar. 13 2009, 19:15) Is duet one of the weakest musical composition? If we consider concertos not duets (solo + orchestra), I'd say so. It very rarely works for me. I think you need at least a trio, no idea why. The last James Bond tune for example is an horrible duet, would have worked better with only one singer in my opinion. I think duos are made more for marketing reasons, to reach 2 different fan bases at the same time, than for artistic reasons. Any good duos you experienced? Yeah I get what your saying Olivier,most of them are rather contrived I guess.If we`re talking about "duets" in the strictest sense of the word that is.On the other hand Mike Oldfield with Maggie Reilly is kind of a duet really.You know if Mike was to record a duet with someone like Kate Bush for instance(mentioned here earlier)..I wouldn`t suppose for one moment many of us would expect to hear the pair of them sharing vocal duties on it.Which has just reminded me of one example of a good duet imo..Don`t Give Up by Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush..I`m sure there are others,although I`m struggling to think of any at the moment I must admit. @Deb:I did`nt know Mike Batt used to produce David Essex.Did he do Rock On? That was a fantastic production job imo.My mother had one of his very early solo albums,and I can remember thinking it was pretty cool as a kid.I think it had Stardust on it,and a track called "Window" which I remember being slightly disturbed by as a youngster.There was certainly a lot more to it than you`d maybe give credit for going off his chirpy cockney barrow boy single releases.Which to be honest I quite like as well anyway,so there you go. Back to top

Dirk Star Group: Members Posts: 1331 Joined: Sep. 2007 Posted: Mar. 13 2009, 22:19 Oh I`ve just remembered David Essex sings a duet with Sarah Cracknell on the last Sint Etienne album.Relocate it`s called,another good duet imo.Kind of similar to the Gabriel &Bush duet in the sense that it`s a couple talking to each other/expressing their feelings etc.You know it would`nt work quite the same sung by one person is what I`m saying I suppose. Back to top

Scatterplot Group: Members Posts: 1981 Joined: Dec. 2007 Posted: Mar. 14 2009, 02:01 "Is duet one of the weakest musical compositions?"     In a sense, yes. In the pop/country world I think of such nightmarish memories as Kenny Rogers. I think "Islands in the Stream" could be used instead of syrup of ipecac to induce vomiting. Play it for me if I ever accidentally ingest poison. A "duo" is a whole different thing. Steely Dan was a duo, Fagen and Becker. Everyone else was their backing band, even greats like Larry Carlton, Mike McDonald, etc. Take Pat Metheny. I like him with Lyle Mays(the Pat Metheny Group), but on his own.....too random horn type jazz. But together, god they were brilliant. In a lot of other cases you have 2 people who "competed" but "completed" a synergistic idea. Lennon/McCartney or Hayward/Lodge or Davies/Hodgson. But those were magic pairings. The commercial ones Olivier refers to...ugggghhh. Pairings made in the short term to bring "two fan bases together". Keep it away.     You're talking Mike Oldfield. He would need a cohort. Someone from the same art-rock era(like the aforementioned Tony Banks) to compete with but also rely upon. I always wondered who, if any of the other English art rock bands/members did MO interact with? It wasn't Justin Hayward, I would have heard about it. Jon Anderson he did, I heard about it. It was Phil Collins, I heard about it. But Phil....doesn't have anything left in him, I think he can be written off, but jeez he will never be forgotten, not by me anyway. It was not Bryan Ferry, I would have heard about it. Bad pairing anyway. No, I've watched this guy MO for too long. He has a huge ego and the need to control the project at hand. After getting into this thread, and then thinking and smoking on this matter, I've come to the conclusion that "duet" is the wrong word here. Ain't gonna happen. Not like Plant/Krause. Different ballpark. Different planet! If this father of the Tubularian sector does anything, he'll instigate it himself and execute it himself, or instigate it and then delegate it to a few lucky "participants". This has been his style and I like it. My 2 cents worth. Jim -------------- We raise our voices in the night Crying to heaven And will our voices be heard Or will they break Like the wind Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: Mar. 14 2009, 05:54 Quote (Scatterplot @ Mar. 14 2009, 08:01) If this father of the Tubularian sector does anything, he'll instigate it himself and execute it himself, or instigate it and then delegate it to a few lucky "participants". This has been his style and I like it. I agree completely. I guess the closest thing to a duet that Mike will ever be involved in shall be having a collaborator, like Karl Jenkins on MotS. However, not all duets are bad. The Robert Plant + Alison Krauss pairing is great, I think, and some time ago Peter Gabriel did something very, very, very good with Kate Bush.  In general, to me, most of the male-female duets sound good, and, although I agree with Olivier on the latest Bond song being pure crap, I often find myself playing Roy Orbison's two duets, with Emmylou Harris and k.d. lang, which I don't think were made 'to reach 2 different fan bases' as both artists, at the time, belonged to the same genre (or sort-of... the Big O never belonged to one genre! ). Both of those duets are very nice. To my ears. @ Dirk: "Moonlight Shadow" and all the other songs sung by other people than Mike aren't really duets, but more like a "featuring" thing - i.e. songs by Mike Oldfield featuring vocals by someone else. That's what my original 45-rpm copy of "Moonlight Shadow" says, and I've always seen it that way. -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

Dirk Star Group: Members Posts: 1331 Joined: Sep. 2007 Posted: Mar. 14 2009, 11:27 @Ugo..I agree with you completely on Moonlight Shadow,but I refer back to the original post here from Basify asking us what if Mike Oldfield worked with? Maybe I`ve mis-read that but I took it to mean we were`nt looking for "duets" in the strictest sense of the term is what I`m saying.And funnily enough Islands In The Stream was the first song that popped into my head as well after reading Olivier`s post last night.I can`t for the life of me ever imagine seeing Mike doing a duet in that kind of cornball style I suppose..Although that said there is the Speak Thou You Only Say Farewell song with David Bedford..."It`s a duet Jim,but not as we know it"..       @Jim it`s difficult to argue with you on the basis of Mike Oldfield`s working mindset.He`s a multi-instrumentalist for a number of reasons imo,one of them being he likes to be in control.There`s nothing wrong with that though,and of course as you say it`s probably part of why we all admire him so much.What I would say is though,is that he has often made some of his best work when he was being pushed/helped by other people.Unfortunatly in the case of Mike Oldfield the only ever person to have found himself in that position really would appear to be Tom Newman.Although you could argue a pretty good case for Karl Jenkins in reference to his latest album.Diffrent kind of scenario though,with the orchestra involved.Imo Mike needs a person akin to Tom Newman if he is ever to make another album of significant quality.Yes Mike`s ego is pretty huge it has to be said.But he does listen to people,otherwise he would never have practicaly re-recorded albums such as Voyager,Songs Of Distant Earth,Millenium Bell.Maybe if he had this advice and better during the actual recording process itself,he might actualy come up with something better first time around instead of fiddling about with it later. Oh and to answer my own question earlier Jeff Wayne produced all those early David Essex records,including Rock On.So there`s another kind of random name into the hat I guess.What about Alan Parsons maybe???.Or a couple of more suggestions from an orchestral standpoint and with a slightly more contemporary flavour I would love to see him work with someone like Joby Talbot or Anne Dudley. Back to top

ex member 419 Group: Members Posts: 1177 Joined: April 2008 Posted: Mar. 14 2009, 19:39 Apologies to all, have not posted due to heavy work load, but back to the thread, i think mike is the only one who  decides where his musical preferences lie, he is a very stubborn man with a quick temper, hard to work with, deb Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: Mar. 14 2009, 20:08 @ Dirk: well, yes, there are various meanings that may be given to the word "duet", but I always tend to stick to the original one, which is the same as in the duetto of Italian opera, i.e. two people singing with each other, not necessarily to each other. Of course it doesn't have to be strictly vocal - especially for a musician, it may very well be an instrumental duet. But when a piece of music is performed by two people on two different instruments, in my own mind it's not as much a duet as a collaboration. So I guess we shouldn't take any of the musical terms that are used here in its strictest meaning. What do you mean "re-recorded" ? As far as I know, Mike never did a re-recording of Voyager (although IMHO it would be cool if he did! ) or of TSoDE or of MB. Maybe you meant just "recorded" ? About Alan Parsons, I'm not convinced. Parsons, apart from being even a worse loner, I-do-it-all-by-myself guy, than Mike (i.e. he only works with his own people and with almost no one else... I've never heard a guitar solo on a Parsons-produced record which wasn't played by Ian Bairnson! ), he's a musician, and quite a powerful one. To have him collaborating with Mike would result, IMHO, in a tremendous ego clash which, obviously, would lead to no good. Karl Jenkins is a musician as well, sure, but his classical style worked well within MotS mainly because it didn't clash at all with what Mike wanted to do, with what he aimed to. If Mike does really need a producer, then it should be a producer-producer... a guy who is a producer and nothing else. Someone like Rick Rubin. Or maybe, if he wants to actualize himself a bit more, Timbaland. -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

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