Mike Oldfield albums discussion

It does seem that some fans are downright rude about Oldfield making pop songs. Why don’t they realize this ‘pop music’ veneer has his trademarks all over it? Songs like To France and Family Man are downright infectious and I’m not ashamed or embarrassed by the fact that I enjoy the music for what it is.

 

Or listen to the layers of arrangement in Moonlight Shadow and ask if that's what they find in their average pop.

 

Exactly!

 

Essential Mike:
Tubular Bells
Hergest Ridge
Ommadawn
Five Miles Out
Crises
Amarok
Songs Of Distant Earth

I would include Incantations in my essential list, but it may be too minimal and repetitive for n00bs.

Honourable Mentions Mike:
QE2
Guitars
Voyager
Music Of The Spheres
Exposed
Light + Shade

Meh Mike:
Platinum
Discovery
The Killing Fields
Islands
Tubular Bells 2 ... infinity
Millenium Bell
Tubular Beats
Orchestral Tubular Bells
Tr3s Lunas

Toxic Mike:
Earth Moving
Heaven's Open
Man On The Rocks

I haven't heard Return To Ommadawn yet.

--Geoff

 

I understand why you excluded it, but I would put Discovery as essential as well, because that album is the template for many of his songs to come so it's highly representative of one side of his production. Plus, To France and The Lake!

 

Those are the only two songs I like on the album, hence the album is in the meh column.

--Geoff

 

Can I be the first to speak fondly of Islands in this thread? It may be my weak spot for Kevin Ayers and "Flying Start," but the album's instrumental first side is a lot of fun to my ears (I happen to be a weirdo and like those synth tones), the title track is great, and "North Point" is haunting.

It may not be what most people think of or reach for when they think "Mike Oldfield," but it's a great album on its own merits as far as I'm concerned.

 

Yes, The Wind Chimes, Parts I & II is great fun indeed. Islands is not a ‘bad’ album and it’s certainly better than Earth Moving.

 

I've been a fan for 35 years and been fortunate enough to see Mike perform live three times. I don't have an issue with his lighter, pop/soft rock songs and I'm aware it takes a special talent to write, arrange and play a catchy pop tune. I like Crime of Passion, Talk About Your Life, Shadow on the Wall, Family Man and Moonlight Shadow and a few others. In fact, I prefer Mike's better songs to the totally unmemorable chill out music he did on albums such as Light and Shade and Tr3s Lunas. These albums were either lazy knock offs or perhaps Mike had genuinely lost his Mojo for a period. Listening to those is like watching The Outsiders and being baffled as to how the man who made Apocalypse Now could make such s$!&%. Listening to the elevator music on Tr3s Lunas makes it so difficult to believe that this is the man who gave us masterpieces such as Ommadawn and Amarok. But hey, we all have our off days. When it comes to the songs, Mike is no lyricist and as a consequence his less than catchy stuff (the song sides of Islands and Heaven's Open, and all of Earth Moving and MotR ) is made all the weaker by very poor lyrics. His choice of singers doesn't always help, either. So I'm not one of those fans that beats up on the lighter stuff and I do think the run of 3 albums from 82-4 produced some good music.

 

I would say FMO is his best album of that decade.

 

His choice of singers doesn’t always help indeed. Like picking Roger Chapman as a vocalist for Shadows on the Wall. A complete head-scratching choice if there ever was one. I absolutely loathe Amarok and never understood the high praise it receives, especially when albums like Five Miles Out, Crises, and Discovery get less praise because they contain ‘pop’ songs. I’ve actually grown quite fond of Tubular Bells II & III over the past few weeks as well. I actually like Light & Shade believe it or not. Is it one of his best albums? Obviously not, but, still, it has some good music on it. Islands and Earth Moving are most definitely weaker efforts, but I do like Islands much better (mainly for The Wind Chimes and North Point).

 

It's not even top two for the decade. I think Crises and QE2 both have a much higher ratio of enjoyable tracks on them vs "meh" or "skip" tracks. I also definitely feel that the high points those two albums have reach much higher than what Taurus II is able to muster (being the one real high point to FMO for me). I used to like Five Miles Out more than I do now when I first got it, but it didn't age well for me at all. Those other two albums I loved right away, and this many years later I love them even more.

 

Now I'm 10+ min. into Hergest Ridge - do you really like this??? - This is very borring, there is no "wow feeling"
All I hear is klim klim klim and guitar sound like cat close to dying.

Guitars is so much better.

 

Compared to the two albums either side of it HR is quite subtle and understated but it is a fine work and contains some very beautiful passages. It's probably a more mature piece than TB in that it feels more like a complete symphonic piece rather than a collage of bits on one side and several pieces stitched together on the other (TB). Next to the mighty Ommadawn it might sound as if not very much is happening but I still think it's an essential listen for anyone wishing to explore Mike's back catalogue.

 

Killing Fields soundtrack deserves to be essential, as does QE2. That said, I can't listen to any of the Tubular Bells sequels, they just sound like radeing a book wehre all the wdors are racdelpd with tehir aaagmnrs.

 

After only ten minutes? Guitars??

 

been slowly getting into Mike over the past year collecting the deluxe editions when I can find em for decent prices. anyone know if Islands will be getting a deluxe edition soon? I actually have that one on vinyl and rather enjoy it but it has been over a year since the last one.

 

It's Mozart compared with today's so called pop. Anyway all Oldfield 'pop' albums are at least still 50% prog and instrumental. Just interspersed with some well crafted 'commercial' tunes.

 

Me too.
Actually, you know what ? Remember when Gwen Stefani had a big hit covering "It's My Life" ? I think she missed out on a second smash hit cover. I can totally picture her singing "Family Man" in the same kind of arrangement as "It's My Life". It would have worked.

I used to own "Amarok" on CD, and I sold it when I was 16 (you know, going through a typical stupid phase of "I listen to alt-rock, therefore I can't listen to Mike Oldfield anymore"). I saw it yesterday used, in a store, for 7€, and am considering buying it again.

 

Is there prog on Earth Moving? Other than the Storm Thorgson cover, I mean.

 

I have a pretty beat up UK original of Hergest Ridge. I like to listen to it when it's raining. Fits the mood and crackles don't bother that much.

Wonderful album for relaxing.

 

Sounds like a good scenario to me
I never got to hear the original mix. I had no idea there were two mixes when I bought the album (on cassette) in 1990. Shame the first one is actually superior but not as available.

 

It is available in the deluxe set.

 

Right, but not widely as a standalone release. I wish it was!
I don't know what the deal is with these artists.
I just found out Richard Carpenter remixed some of the Carpenters songs three times. I would have never thought that (not too familiar with the Carpenters). It's crazy!

 

Fair point.