Any Mike Oldfield Fans

[JF]

here is my chronicle about Tubular Bells :

https://textes-blog-rock-n-roll.fr/tubular-bells-de-mike-oldfield-a-50-ans/

[qjamesfloyd]

Thanks for your coverage JP, just a slight correction, Amarok was released in 1990 This is a unique album, and it will always hold a special place in my heart, for not only introducing me to Mike Oldfield, but to the prog genre, it also introduced me to a unique guitar player, and someone who I feel has a lot in common with Mark Knopfler. I have own every Mike Oldfield album, and I would say 90% of it is amazing, some of it like the obscure song Don Alfonso is always redeemed by Mike's wonderful guitar playing. I think Tubular Bells 2 is a very worthy follow up, and stands on it's own too, it is great we have the full live premier concert from Edinburgh available to watch, it shows how good a musician Mike is, with his playing varies instruments, and his wonderful guitar playing, as a side note, it also has a certain Ian Thomas playing drums!! I attended the live premier concert for Tubular Bells 3 in London in 1998 in the pouring rain.

[JF]

Thanks for your coverage JP, just a slight correction, Amarok was released in 1990 This is a unique album, and it will always hold a special place in my heart, for not only introducing me to Mike Oldfield, but to the prog genre, it also introduced me to a unique guitar player, and someone who I feel has a lot in common with Mark Knopfler. I have own every Mike Oldfield album, and I would say 90% of it is amazing, some of it like the obscure song Don Alfonso is always redeemed by Mike's wonderful guitar playing. I think Tubular Bells 2 is a very worthy follow up, and stands on it's own too, it is great we have the full live premier concert from Edinburgh available to watch, it shows how good a musician Mike is, with his playing varies instruments, and his wonderful guitar playing, as a side note, it also has a certain Ian Thomas playing drums!! I attended the live premier concert for Tubular Bells 3 in London in 1998 in the pouring rain.

thanks for the precision, I fixed it 

[JF]

Crises was released on May 27th 1983

here is my chronicle :

https://textes-blog-rock-n-roll.fr/mike-oldfield-sortait-crises-il-y-a-40-ans/

[Knopflerfan]

https://www.bournemouthpavilion.co.uk/events/tubular-bells-2023

[qjamesfloyd]

That's a great piece about Crises JP, it is a really good album, with really good production and top class performances, the track Crises is stunning, with Mike playing wonderful guitar and Simon Phillips displaying some really full on drumming. Moonlight Shadow is of course Mike's best known song with vocals, and has some very Knopfler like soloing, indeed, Mike even put in Mark's "twiddly bits"when playing the song live in the late 90's. That clip of Mike playing Taurus 3/Amarok Bits is some of the most impressing guitar playing I have ever seen!! Every time I watch it, I can't believe why Mike is not recognized more for his playing, it's real virtuoso stuff, it's from 2 different albums, but actually works well together.

[ds1984]

Mike is recognized as being a truly fantastic multi instrumentist, not only as a great guitarist.

[JF]

That's a great piece about Crises JP, it is a really good album, with really good production and top class performances, the track Crises is stunning, with Mike playing wonderful guitar and Simon Phillips displaying some really full on drumming. Moonlight Shadow is of course Mike's best known song with vocals, and has some very Knopfler like soloing, indeed, Mike even put in Mark's "twiddly bits"when playing the song live in the late 90's. That clip of Mike playing Taurus 3/Amarok Bits is some of the most impressing guitar playing I have ever seen!! Every time I watch it, I can't believe why Mike is not recognized more for his playing, it's real virtuoso stuff, it's from 2 different albums, but actually works well together.

I am JF not JP 

about Tarus 3, there is also this video, but I can't embed it on my blog :

[qjamesfloyd]

Sorry JF
That's a funny video.

This is a great one too.



On another note, according to the Official Charts people, Tubular Bells is looking like charting at number 9 in the album charts, which is an amazing thing for a 50 year old album, and instrumental one too, plus great for an artist like Mike Oldfield, which proves he is still popular.

[quizzaciously]

I'm certainly in the minority here, but I don't get "Tubular Bells" and hype around it at all. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm an absolute fan of classical music, film music, multi-instrumentalists and all, but this album can't possibly strike a chord with my heart. I find it repetitive, random, and over-analyse-friendly. Why I'm wrong?

[superval99]

I'm certainly in the minority here, but I don't get "Tubular Bells" and hype around it at all. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm an absolute fan of classical music, film music, multi-instrumentalists and all, but this album can't possibly strike a chord with my heart. I find it repetitive, random, and over-analyse-friendly. Why I'm wrong?

I'm like you, it does nothing for me, but we're not wrong, just different to those who love it.   It seems to me to be in the same vein as Benjamin Britten's "A Young Persons Guide To The Orchestra".

[quizzaciously]

I'm certainly in the minority here, but I don't get "Tubular Bells" and hype around it at all. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm an absolute fan of classical music, film music, multi-instrumentalists and all, but this album can't possibly strike a chord with my heart. I find it repetitive, random, and over-analyse-friendly. Why I'm wrong?

I'm like you, it does nothing for me, but we're not wrong, just different to those who love it.   It seems to me to be in the same vein as Benjamin Britten's "A Young Persons Guide To The Orchestra".

Yeah, exactly! But I absolutely LOVE "A Young Persons Guide To The Orchestra", and how it's appropriately named, and not named "Temple Blocks".

My main gripe with Tubular Bells is that all of a sudden I feel a sound you can build a song out of, but I know it will last for a few repetitions and will be gone.

In a way, it shows you how great things in life and opportunities are short, and you need to enjoy them while you can... There, I'm already overanalysing it.

[superval99]

I'm certainly in the minority here, but I don't get "Tubular Bells" and hype around it at all. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm an absolute fan of classical music, film music, multi-instrumentalists and all, but this album can't possibly strike a chord with my heart. I find it repetitive, random, and over-analyse-friendly. Why I'm wrong?

I'm like you, it does nothing for me, but we're not wrong, just different to those who love it.   It seems to me to be in the same vein as Benjamin Britten's "A Young Persons Guide To The Orchestra".

Yeah, exactly! But I absolutely LOVE "A Young Persons Guide To The Orchestra", and how it's appropriately named, and not named "Temple Blocks".

My main gripe with Tubular Bells is that all of a sudden I feel a sound you can build a song out of, but I know it will last for a few repetitions and will be gone.

In a way, it shows you how great things in life and opportunities are short, and you need to enjoy them while you can... There, I'm already overanalysing it.

I like "A Young Persons Guide" too.  I remember being taken from school to hear it played at the Liverpool Philharmonic and the constant interruptions to explain what instrument was being played really irritated me - I just wanted to hear the whole thing! 

[qjamesfloyd]

I think the reasons you give are some of the reasons why I, and others love it, the piece is a fusion of musical styles, incorporating classical, rock, blues, folk, the repetitive nature of the opening piano intro is because Mike was influenced by the music style of Minimalism, Terry Reilly in particular, and his album A Rainbow in Curved Air, Steve Reich, Phillip Glass and others, but Oldfield took these influences and made it into something unique to him, and developed his own style which fans call Oldfield Progressive. Some people will have only heard the piano part and assume the whole album is like that, which it is not, it is an album of changing moods and instruments. The other thing is about the making of the album, which in turn is the making of Mike Oldfield, it is a legendary tale. I know this music is not for everyone, but I find it beautiful, like most of Mike's diverse musical output.

[dustyvalentino]

Lots of people hate Dire Straits.