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bennyboy Group: Members Posts: 177 Joined: July 2000 Posted: Sep. 02 2000, 06:47 One of the things I always look for when I'm listening to a Mike Oldfield album are the kickass guitar solos. The kind of guitar solos that have you miming playing a guitar when you are listening, and keep stirring around in your head afterwards. I would be interested to know if anyone else looks for these and what their favourites are too. These are his best guitar solos IMHO. Feel free to comment if you like: THE SONGS OF DISTANT EARTH: I love the eerie sadness that Mikey Boy's guitar conveys all throughout this record. I think it reaches it's peak though with the guitar solo we hear after the countdown in "Crystal Clear". Haunting stuff. VOYAGER There is a sudden pause in the middle of "Wild Goose Flaps It's Wings" before Mikey lets rip with another haunting, "eerily sad" guitar piece. I also love the "jig" that appears about two thirds of the way through "Mont St. Michel" AMAROK After that spastic dude has finished muttering "happy happy happy" for the first time and then goes "hmm". This wildly carthartic guitar solo comes in and jolts me awake. TUBULAR BELLS III "Far Above The Clouds". Here Mikey Boy milks those guitars for all they are worth, all the while bashing the living hell out of those bells. The tubocharged version of the bass line from the end of TB1 also kicks ass too. DISCOVERY The solo that starts off "Crystal Gazing" is simply magical. No other word for it. PLATINUM The solo that starts off "Punkadiddle", before it degenerate into an irish jig ("oi"!). FAR COUNTRY "She takes the raaaaaaain..." (pause followed by most incredibly brilliant Mike Oldfield guitar solo you've ever heard, bliss.) Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: Sep. 02 2000, 07:37 I agree with you on ALL of the above except the Wild Goose one...too sad for me... And I'll add two more: the incredibly dramatic and powerful solo of Pictures In The Dark [I have the extended version, I don't know if it's on the normal one...] and the whole of Out Of Mind from Guitars. -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

CarstenKuss Group: Musicians Posts: 362 Joined: Nov. 1999 Posted: Sep. 02 2000, 17:38 OMMADAWN - that very fast triolic bit really thrills doesn't it? -------------- -Carsten- Back to top

bennyboy Group: Members Posts: 177 Joined: July 2000 Posted: Sep. 02 2000, 23:22 Quote Originally posted by CarstenKuss: OMMADAWN - that very fast triolic bit really thrills doesn't it? Oh yes. It does. Back to top

rosko Group: Members Posts: 184 Joined: April 2000 Posted: Sep. 03 2000, 09:56 HEAVEN'S OPEN That really short high-pitched solo at about 3:40 (after Mike yells "let that blue sky in!!!!). Very brief, but enough to give you goosebumps. NOTE: Most of it is cut from the 12" version. DON ALFONSO A bit of an obscurity, but it sounds great. Especially at 3:05 when the other instruments drop out momentarily and the guitar slides down and then up again into a brilliant solo. SHADOW ON THE WALL THIS ROCKS!!! Another great solo. The extra one on the extended version is just as good also. OMMADAWN The guitar which builds up the dramatic exciting(no words are truly adequate) climax of part one. Back to top

Unregistered Posted: Sep. 03 2000, 20:51 Lunatics lament, early and raw but dammed neat I think. Back to top

tubularbills Group: Members Posts: 528 Joined: Aug. 2000 Posted: Sep. 04 2000, 13:52 THE SONGS OF DISTANT EARTH Yeah this album in itself is pretty cool. The guitar riffs used through-out the album are amazing. "Crystal Clear" is a good one, but i think "Ascension" has the best one of the album. TUBULAR BELLS III I personally like this album the best, and i think one of the main reasons why is "Far Above the Clouds" and "Outcast". "Outcast" just sounds so awesome, and mean!! Whenever i get mad at something, that piece always comes to mind. TUBULAR BELLS I The first major guitar riff (around 6:07) is pretty decent as well. I learned how to play it on the piano, but it just doesn't cut it. I've noticed that most of the examples people give of his Guitar solos are in most of his more "recent" work. Obviously Ommadawn isn't very current, but most of his best guitar stuff didn't really "arrive" until 80's and 90's. Anyone else notice that? -------------- Terrible, Wonderful, Crazy, Perfect. Back to top

bennyboy Group: Members Posts: 177 Joined: July 2000 Posted: Sep. 04 2000, 21:31 In reply to Tubular Bills: Yes, I too have noticed that his best guitaring has occured in his more recent albums. Actually all of my fave albums of his come from the 80's and 90's and I think that many people seriously undervalue his more recent work. I've enjoyed all of his work during the so called "WEA era" (thats right, even "The Millennium Bell", pretentious as it was it still had some lovely tunes-and guitar solos-in it). I think his musical style has matured with time. His work may be more simplistic now, but I prefer it too some of his "complicated for the sake of being complicated" work in the 70's. I find as a result of this his work in the 90's brings his skills as a guitarist (as opposed to multi-instrumentalist) more to the fore. Does anyone else think this? I see so called fans on the net trashing Mikes new work saying how "he's lost it" and "why don't you give us another masterpiece like Amarok Mike?" The mainstream music press (at least here in Australia) have already written him off as a has-been. I was beginning to think I was the only one who actually LIKED his more recent music. Quote Originally posted by tubularbills: THE SONGS OF DISTANT EARTH Yeah this album in itself is pretty cool. The guitar riffs used through-out the album are amazing. "Crystal Clear" is a good one, but i think "Ascension" has the best one of the album. TUBULAR BELLS III I personally like this album the best, and i think one of the main reasons why is "Far Above the Clouds" and "Outcast". "Outcast" just sounds so awesome, and mean!! Whenever i get mad at something, that piece always comes to mind. TUBULAR BELLS I The first major guitar riff (around 6:07) is pretty decent as well. I learned how to play it on the piano, but it just doesn't cut it. I've noticed that most of the examples people give of his Guitar solos are in most of his more "recent" work. Obviously Ommadawn isn't very current, but most of his best guitar stuff didn't really "arrive" until 80's and 90's. Anyone else notice that? Back to top

GMOVJ Group: Members Posts: 273 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: Sep. 05 2000, 08:13 All Those examples are great you all are right ! TB3 : 'Serpend Dream' is BIG ! GUITARS : I like Blues Solo in 'BBlues', 'Cochise' solo's are simply great. HEAVEN'S OPEN : 'Gimme Back' (or Fed up Fed up demo) - very very good solo ! AMAROK : everything !!!!! - even the slightest isolated guitar note can be considered IMHO as a good solo ! OMMADAWN : 'Part 2' - Great great great long solo just before 'on horseback 'Bodhran III' !!! HR and ORCHESTRAL HR : Some very good work IMHO and a wonderful 'Thunderstorm' solo. TUBULAR BELLS : 'Southern Silver' - or about 16:30 to the end : cool, dramatic and wonderful piece of music, this is trying to be an end, but it can't stop, going up and down, I don't know if you consider this as a solo but IMHO, it's one of the most beautiful ! You see, I can find some old stuff and newer ones !!! Can I go a little off topic and talk about some great riff ? OK, just one : PLATINUM : "Part 4" - This palm muting riff is incredible in the live version (The Complete and/or Musical Express 81) -------------- Cheers, GMOVJ [URL=http://tubular.fodplanet.com]http://tubular.fodplanet.com[/URL] - The french speaking mailing list Back to top

Korgscrew Group: Super Admins Posts: 3511 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: Sep. 12 2000, 18:50 AMAROK I love the solo that comes at around 50:00...that really sings EXPOSED There's a cool one in Tubular Bells part 2, in the 'caveman' section, although I suspect that this may be someone else playing...it certainly isn't too characteristic of Mike... while we're on that subject... ORCHESTRAL HERGEST RIDGE I agree with GMOVJ that there's a great solo in that part...but...it is in fact not Mike but Steve Hillage who plays on OHR. If you don't believe me, get hold of one of Steve's albums like 'L', 'Rainbow dome musick' or 'Live Herald' and compare tone, note choice and that little vibrato he has...(also look in the OHR topic in the HR forum, where we argued over this for ages ). Bringing other guitarists into this is going a bit off topic though (it could also start a fight...I bet Ugo will kill me for bringing up Hillage again )... FIRST EXCURSION Ok, not exactly kickass, but I love the way he uses feedback there, and very atmospheric QE2 I guess less of a solo and more of a melody, but that a little way into it when the fast guitar comes into it...that's cool... Then there are those solos on Tubular Bells, where you get that really biting guitar sound that makes you shiver (well, it makes me shiver...well, not exactly...but maybe you know what I mean.) That one at the end of 'The Millennium Bell' has quite a kickass feel to it (well, does to me...I'm sure some people hate it). Oh, and there was a 'live' version of Mount Teide someone sent me (I'm not totally convinced it was live, and nobody had any idea where it came from...the quality was pretty bad) which had some brilliant sounding guitar work on it. And...and...hmm...there are a lot of good ones...and a few not so good, I suppose...luckily, I think there are more good than bad, but I bet there'll be someone out there who thinks otherwise (there always is, isn't there?) Back to top

Unregistered Posted: Sep. 12 2000, 20:07 Why hasn’t anybody mentioned MOONLIGHT SHADOW? Come on it’s definitely the most famous one he’s done by a mile. The live HGP version is even better with extra at the end. Back to top

bennyboy Group: Members Posts: 177 Joined: July 2000 Posted: Sep. 13 2000, 01:08 Having just listened to "Islands" again I would add the guitar solo from "North Point" to my "kickass" list. Hmmmmm, "Moonlight Shadow" always struck me as an overated song, but the guitar solo is cool. The version on "Man In The Rain" is better though IMHO. Quote Originally posted by cloth ears: Why hasn’t anybody mentioned MOONLIGHT SHADOW? Come on it’s definitely the most famous one he’s done by a mile. The live HGP version is even better with extra at the end. Back to top

GMOVJ Group: Members Posts: 273 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: Sep. 13 2000, 10:38 Please Korgscrew, don't come again like that, it isn't funny.... with Steve Hillage ... Well in fact, I agree w/ Ugo, but this is another topic ! Well, CRISES got some ones too, and INCANTATIONS !!! Gosh, some solos are really good ! Not very loud, but sooo melodic -------------- Cheers, GMOVJ [URL=http://tubular.fodplanet.com]http://tubular.fodplanet.com[/URL] - The french speaking mailing list Back to top

tubularbills Group: Members Posts: 528 Joined: Aug. 2000 Posted: Sep. 16 2000, 02:01 Quote Originally posted by bennyboy: "Moonlight Shadow" always struck me as an overated song, but the guitar solo is cool. The version on "Man In The Rain" is better Yeah, i like Man in the Rain better, however there is a [dance remix] of "Moonlight Shadow" that is really even better than the original. I downloaded it off of napster, so i'm not really sure if it was already released awhile ago, or if this was just a fan-remix. Either way, it's really good. -------------- Terrible, Wonderful, Crazy, Perfect. Back to top

s-e-grin Group: Members Posts: 2 Joined: Sep. 2000 Posted: Sep. 20 2000, 00:34 What about Shine? This solo was so completely unlike what one would normally expect from him. It's brilliantly played, and amazes me every time I hear it. And (sorry - I'm one who prefers the old stuff) Incantations is filled with incredible guitar work. -------------- "The trouble with real life is there's no reset button" Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: Sep. 21 2000, 19:04 I'll add another three bits from Amarok that I've fallen in love with: the first climax [I agree with you, Bennyboy...but the "hmm" does not come from the Happy sample. It's the man himself ]...the solo that starts at 50:00 [agree with Korgskrew...it sings. I can actually sing along with it... ]...and the incredibly fast flamenco solo...this last one is probably speeded up, but who cares? I just love it! -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

Unregistered Posted: Sep. 24 2000, 05:13 The GREATEST sound was defintively at the beginning of "Hergest Ridge"! What an emotional melody... Back to top

Allan_N Group: Musicians Posts: 29 Joined: Oct. 2000 Posted: Oct. 18 2000, 10:52 He really is that fast. Have you seen the Knebworth video? The Sailor's Hornpipe and Ommadawn blow me away everytime. Back to top

CarstenKuss Group: Musicians Posts: 362 Joined: Nov. 1999 Posted: Jan. 21 2001, 16:05 Kickass guitar solos? Discovery !!! (The song.) Isn't that solo really brilliant? -------------- -Carsten- Back to top

Delfín Group: Members Posts: 667 Joined: Nov. 2000 Posted: Jan. 22 2001, 18:06 Best Once?: INCANTATIONS part 3: in the middle... what a breathtaking solo! And very, very long... for me maybe the best...contemplative but dynamic... changing but constant... really worthy from Mike. All this side looks like a small electric guitar concert. Really superb. MAN IN THE RAIN: incredibly characteristic, expressive and imaginative three-sounds solo. Really cool. QE2: no words. Amazing. Full of energy, joy and color. 2x-sounded but still one of his best. OMMADAWN: oh I prefer the cloudy, dramatic, epic Spanish Guitar introduction on side 2 with the company of 60 guitars... really sublime. And also the great one just before the starting of the Complete extract. THE LAKE: From one of my favourites, here we have a wonderful, heavenly though very simple solo... the one just in the middle, with soul-rising electric and then a brilliant amplified Spanish, and a clean electric then. It´s for me one of the highest points in Mike´s music. TAURUS II: one that looks so much like one on Ommadawn. AIRBORNE: couldn't be forgotten MOUNT SAINT MICHEL: the soundtrack-tasting jig is so beautiful MAGIC TOUCH: I don´t know if it's tricky or naturally played... I got kind of suspicion... On the video it looks so real... AMAROK: The wildly catartic guitar on side one MUSIC FROM THE BALCONY: I don't know the time... I think on the middle... one very short but energic... a little like the wildly catartic guitar from Amarok FAR COUNTRY: Mike and Adrian Belew show a perfect rapport and a sublime sensibility THE PHAECIAN GAMES: Superb and very underrated as well! I think the highest point in Mike's playing technique goes between Ommadawn and Collaborations. And nothing more... again a cool topic, Bennyboy! Delfín. -------------- The most precious thing I possess, is knowing the answer's yes Back to top

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