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larstangmark Group: Members Posts: 1767 Joined: Mar. 2005 Posted: April 23 2006, 05:35 I hear these three artists being mentioned together a lot on these forums. What's the connection? I like early Jarre (and Vangelis less so), but to me it doesn't have a lot to do with Mike Oldfield musically or otherwise. Is it the "genius alone in his studio"-thing? -------------- "There are twelve people in the world, the rest are paste" Mark E Smith Back to top

hiawatha Group: Members Posts: 2391 Joined: Mar. 2004 Posted: April 23 2006, 08:01 Three successful, relatively popular, productive (with many albums) who are each known primarily for their progressive (sometimes some call it new age) instrumental albums. ... -------------- "In the land of the Dacotahs, Where the Falls of Minnehaha Flash and gleam among the oak-trees, Laugh and leap into the valley." - Song of Hiawatha Back to top

Marky Group: Members Posts: 390 Joined: Sep. 2005 Posted: April 23 2006, 11:01 Guess its the fact they are instrumentalists who have made a mark on the popular market, otherwise stylistically they're mainly different. Back to top

Alan D Group: Members Posts: 3670 Joined: Aug. 2004 Posted: April 23 2006, 11:32 I suppose it's about as meaningless as it would be to group together Enya, Madonna, and Kate Bush on the grounds that they're contemporary female vocalists. It seems more absurd to do that because there are so many more female vocalists than male 'long instrumentalists', but I think it's pretty much the same, really. Back to top

hiawatha Group: Members Posts: 2391 Joined: Mar. 2004 Posted: April 23 2006, 13:13 Except I'm having trouble thinking of anyone else of similar stature in their genre other than Jarre, Oldfield, and Vangelis. -------------- "In the land of the Dacotahs, Where the Falls of Minnehaha Flash and gleam among the oak-trees, Laugh and leap into the valley." - Song of Hiawatha Back to top

larstangmark Group: Members Posts: 1767 Joined: Mar. 2005 Posted: April 23 2006, 14:25 Quote (hiawatha @ April 23 2006, 13:13) Except I'm having trouble thinking of anyone else of similar stature in their genre other than Jarre, Oldfield, and Vangelis. Personally I feel that time hasn't been kind to the work of Jean Michel Jarre (or his laser harp or his pink plastic coat), and that Vangelis always has been more of a soundtrack artist. One theory I've been toying with is that it's the "bigness" of these artist that makes people group them together. I'm also thinking of the "geek culture" discussion a while ago...I seem to remember albums from the "big three" in many a boyroom where many hours were spent in fromt of a c64 or a Sinclar Spectrum. Some c64 games even had Jarre tunes in them, and there was a c64-version of Tubular Bells circulating (not sure about Vangelis??). Why isn't Tangerine Dream or Yes in the top 3? Could it be the "un-rockness" of Jarre, Oldfield and Vangelis? Lars T -------------- "There are twelve people in the world, the rest are paste" Mark E Smith Back to top

TOBY Group: Members Posts: 1562 Joined: May 2002 Posted: April 23 2006, 15:21 Truth be told though I'm not sure time has been particularly kind to Mike either. I agree completely that since about 1984 Jarre has been utterly naff to varying degrees with his silly concerts and his silly instruments or indeed his revolting 'elecro' pink jacket. But has Mike really fared any better over the same time period? He's packed in a fairly large amount of chedder himself including his revolting white leather suit, which incidentally he paraded about a lot more recently than Jarre did his lovely pink jacket. The connection between the three is fairly obvious if you like all three but a lot less obvious if you only like Mike. If you look beneath the surface you can a draw a ton of parallels between Jarre's career in music and Mike's. Vangelis I'm not so sure about, I've never been that in to him to be honest though in a strange way I'd be willing to believe those who say he has more in common with Mike than Jarre does, more use of acoustic instruments and a generally more diverse musical career. Back to top

hiawatha Group: Members Posts: 2391 Joined: Mar. 2004 Posted: April 23 2006, 15:54 Quote (larstangmark @ April 23 2006, 14:25) Quote (hiawatha @ April 23 2006, 13:13) Except I'm having trouble thinking of anyone else of similar stature in their genre other than Jarre, Oldfield, and Vangelis. Personally I feel that time hasn't been kind to the work of Jean Michel Jarre (or his laser harp or his pink plastic coat), and that Vangelis always has been more of a soundtrack artist. One theory I've been toying with is that it's the "bigness" of these artist that makes people group them together. I'm also thinking of the "geek culture" discussion a while ago...I seem to remember albums from the "big three" in many a boyroom where many hours were spent in fromt of a c64 or a Sinclar Spectrum. Some c64 games even had Jarre tunes in them, and there was a c64-version of Tubular Bells circulating (not sure about Vangelis??). Why isn't Tangerine Dream or Yes in the top 3? Could it be the "un-rockness" of Jarre, Oldfield and Vangelis? Lars T Tangerine Dream might be included as well. One criterion I used to lump them together is that they have been around a long time. Tangerine Dream has also been around a long time. I don't think that Yes, as a rock band, fits. They''re best mentioned in the same breath with King Crimson, Genesis, etc. -------------- "In the land of the Dacotahs, Where the Falls of Minnehaha Flash and gleam among the oak-trees, Laugh and leap into the valley." - Song of Hiawatha Back to top

Alan D Group: Members Posts: 3670 Joined: Aug. 2004 Posted: April 23 2006, 16:17 Quote (hiawatha @ April 23 2006, 18:13) Except I'm having trouble thinking of anyone else of similar stature in their genre other than Jarre, Oldfield, and Vangelis. That's what I meant, really. What they have in common is that there are only the three of them (more or less). If there were as many 'long instrumentalists' as there are female vocalists, no one would probably think of bracketing them together. Back to top

hiawatha Group: Members Posts: 2391 Joined: Mar. 2004 Posted: April 23 2006, 20:06 Actually, I don't know much about Tangerine Dream, such as whether or not it is a band, or just a one guy with a nickname (like the real Synergy). If it is band, I'd exclude them from the list on further thought. The other three are not known as bands/groups. -------------- "In the land of the Dacotahs, Where the Falls of Minnehaha Flash and gleam among the oak-trees, Laugh and leap into the valley." - Song of Hiawatha Back to top

larstangmark Group: Members Posts: 1767 Joined: Mar. 2005 Posted: April 24 2006, 14:43 Quote (TOBY @ April 23 2006, 15:21) Truth be told though I'm not sure time has been particularly kind to Mike either. I agree completely that since about 1984 Jarre has been utterly naff to varying degrees with his silly concerts and his silly instruments or indeed his revolting 'elecro' pink jacket. But has Mike really fared any better over the same time period? He's packed in a fairly large amount of chedder himself including his revolting white leather suit, which incidentally he paraded about a lot more recently than Jarre did his lovely pink jacket. The connection between the three is fairly obvious if you like all three but a lot less obvious if you only like Mike. If you look beneath the surface you can a draw a ton of parallels between Jarre's career in music and Mike's. Vangelis I'm not so sure about, I've never been that in to him to be honest though in a strange way I'd be willing to believe those who say he has more in common with Mike than Jarre does, more use of acoustic instruments and a generally more diverse musical career. Agreed that Mike hasn't been up to much since 1984 either, but I think that early Jarre sounds less impressive to my ears now than it did 20 years ago. Early Mike Oldfield (up until ca -84), on the other hand, sounds more complex and daring now than it ever did. I really like Oxygene and Equinoxe, but listening to these albums it becomes more obvious that they are more or less a few easy-breezy synth tunes strung together with synths going "swooosh" and "piouuuu" to cover up the (otherwise) abrupt transitions. Nothing wrong with that, but Mike Oldfield didn't make it that easy for himself in 1978. But on the other hand, I think I prefer Jarre's 90s album over the stuff Mike has been putting out since TSODE. Not my cup of tea at all. And I still think it's unfair to lump the unspeakable three together - mostly because it's a doing Mike a disservice. He's an original and accomplished musician, composer and producer whose music doesn't have all the superficial gloss to cover up that both messrs Jarre and Vangelis has. -------------- "There are twelve people in the world, the rest are paste" Mark E Smith Back to top

Sir Mustapha Group: Musicians Posts: 2802 Joined: April 2003 Posted: April 24 2006, 15:15 Vangelis and Jarre, in my opinion, can be comparable to Mike in at least one aspect: they're FANTASTIC melodists. I like Mike primarily for the intelligent and gorgeous melodies he has written for all this time, and with every listen, I get convinced that both Jarre (who I'm a relatively old fan of) and Vangelis (who I'm a brand new fan of) are up to par. Jarre tends to write shorter, simple melodies (check out 'Equinoxe V', 'Les Chants Magnètiques IV', 'Zoolook', '4th Rendez-Vous', 'Calypso', etc.), and Vangelis has pretty much a style of his own ('Alpha', 'Pulstar', 'For The Unknown Man', 'Dervish D', 'Chariots Of Fire', 'Theme Of Antarctica', that first melody of 'Ignacio', etc.). Aside from that, they have unusually elaborate ways of designing and constructing their music. Mike Oldfield made wonders with self-played acoustic instruments primarily, Vangelis combined them very well with synthesizers and keyboards, and Jarre is the all-synths man. They form an interesting trio, in that aspect. And I think it's exactly that kind of construction that keeps them apart from primarily-ambient or primarily-new-age artists like Tangerine Dream (it's a band), Brian Eno, Kitaro, etc.. -------------- 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

bee Group: Members Posts: 1227 Joined: Jan. 2004 Posted: May 17 2006, 19:00 I like all three, though I am not yet familiar with all the music of Vangelis, what I've heard I do want to hear more. It'll probably sound very strange, but the music by these three composers is particularly good in the dark. I love listening to it in the dark. I like the way they play with ideas, layers and layers of sound, harmonies, the sounds between sounds and how the music folds in on itself and turns and changes direction over and over again. Jarre is very good at this, esp Oxygene & Equinoxe. And the first time I heard Chariots of Fire I sensed this great landscape of exploration. His music goes up into the sky and beyond somehow. I do like, and always will like, Mike's music for it's timeless & earthy feel. To someone who is not that interested in what music can do, from the outside, the music can sound repetitive, 'that bit again, haven't we heard that before', but to those that know, it's just simply so clever and absolutely irresistible, strong and necessary! Can't live without it. -------------- ....second to the right and straight on till morning.... You heard me before Yet you hear me again Then I die Till I call me again Back to top

ImAFoolAndImLaughing Group: Members Posts: 536 Joined: Feb. 2006 Posted: May 17 2006, 19:20 Agreed, Sir M.  Although my favourite pieces of Vangelis' are his less melodic pieces - I loved Hypothesis, and The City... and even Beauburg can be quite moving (after a couple of drinks...) Tony -------------- "I was in this prematurely air conditioned supermarket and there were these bathing caps you could buy that had these kind of Fourth of July plumes on them that were red and yellow and blue and I wasn't tempted to buy one but I was reminded of the fact that I had been avoiding the beach." Back to top

arron11196 Group: Members Posts: 826 Joined: April 2005 Posted: May 18 2006, 02:28 The City is BEAUTIFUL! Put it on and listen to the first 3 tracks... have it as loud as possible... and then when the end of Nerve Centre comes on... oh those shivers up the spine!!! -------------- Arron J Eagling Everyone's interpretation is different, and everyone has a right to that opinion. There is no "right" one, I am adding this post to communicate my thoughts to share them with like-minded souls who will be able to comment in good nature. (insert the last 5 mins of Crises here) Back to top

Tubularman Group: Awaiting Authorisation Posts: 2304 Joined: June 2004 Posted: May 18 2006, 09:01 His solo album Earth is my cup of tea. The ending song "A song" is a very good song i never get tired of. They who knows me, knows that i love Vangelis very much. He and mike share the first place in my heart. They are not vey like, but they have theyre own music scenes. You can hear it is Mike Oldfield and you can hear it is Vangelis. Other albums i love of Vangelis is Opera Sauvage, L'Apocalypse Des Animaux, Heaven and hell, Albedo 0,39, Voices, Oceanic, Direct, The City and 1492. He's magic and will allways be!! (and one more thing! He's greek   -------------- Mike Oldfield M i x e s https://soundcloud.com/tubularman Back to top

Old Mikefield Group: Members Posts: 34 Joined: June 2006 Posted: June 21 2006, 15:04 I wouldnt mind seeing Steve Hackett added for consideration, maybe not as universally well known as the 'big three' but as a virtuoso guitarist I'd easily put him up there along with Mike. -------------- Live each day as if it were your last, for one day you're sure to be right. My Music Projects > HTTP://www.morehuman-thanhuman.com Back to top

Tati The Sentinel Group: Members Posts: 3360 Joined: Feb. 2002 Posted: June 21 2006, 17:50 Quote (Old Mikefield @ June 21 2006, 17:04) I wouldnt mind seeing Steve Hackett added for consideration, maybe not as universally well known as the 'big three' but as a virtuoso guitarist I'd easily put him up there along with Mike. ...and I add Robert Fripp to join my personal top3 guitarists ever. -------------- "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

Guru Meditation Group: Members Posts: 55 Joined: May 2003 Posted: Aug. 07 2006, 17:05 MIke, Jarre and Vangelis because they are the three most famous and most inventive composers of their's generation. Back to top

larstangmark Group: Members Posts: 1767 Joined: Mar. 2005 Posted: Aug. 08 2006, 15:18 Quote (Guru Meditation @ Aug. 07 2006, 17:05) MIke, Jarre and Vangelis because they are the three most famous and most inventive composers of their's generation. I think that only applies if you think fame and originality goes hand in hand. I don't think it does. The thing with Jarre and Vangelis (IMO) is that they're mildly talented composers who apply thick layers of aural gloss/fairy dust onto their compositions, which makes it more accesible for mass consumption. Also, the idea of the "big three" corresponds so well with the genius cult in general (which is big with people whose fathers are doctors and who grow up with classical music). -------------- "There are twelve people in the world, the rest are paste" Mark E Smith Back to top

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