GUITARS

Guitars is a collection of great diversity in sounds as well as in quality. While some pieces are truly moving and complex, the others sound as if Mike wanted to find out just how many instruments he could play through his MIDI pickup instead of paying attention to the music itself. In my opinion the saxophone sounds completely wrong and synthetic.

Fans go for it, others avoid or at least take this opinion into account.

We all know that Mike Oldfield is a great and unique guitarist but Guitars is strictly for collectors and die hard fans only.The stunners are' Cochise', ' Summit day' and ' Enigmatism', sadly the album does lose it's way occasionally.

Bells or blues

No prizes then for guessing what the predominant instrument is here. What you may not realise though is that this is Oldfield's only album where he performs absolutely everything himself. Not only that, but ALL the sounds are made using guitars, midi guitar or individual guitar samples, including the drum sounds.

The tracks are however diverse, with various types of guitar and effects appearing throughout. It is worth detailing here Oldfield's own descriptions of the tracks (from his official website):

Muse' - A simple track played on two guitars that has an almost Elizabethan feel.

Cochise - This track is loosely based on the first two bars of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love."

Embers - The first track recorded for the album, using a custom made classical Spanish guitar. The instrument is one of my most treasured possessions.

Summit Day - Inspired by John Krakauer's best-seller Into Thin Air which dealt with a climbing tragedy on Mount Everest. I wrote the song as a tribute and attempted to put the emotion of the final push to the summit into music."

Out of Sight - A jazz, rocky riff marks an upturn in tempo for the album.

B. Blues - A homage to the legendary B B King.

Four Winds - "Four individual pieces of music in one, named after the four winds with the music taking their characteristics. Enigmatism - I played my guitar through a synth without a delay, using a midi converter, allowing me to produce a mysterious, spooky sound.

Out Of Mind - The penultimate track was borne out of my love of rock'n'roll. With the Rolling Stones' sound as a base, I set about recreating my own version of their style.

From the Ashes - A reprise of Embers but with an added Celtic ending.

The first few tracks are soft acoustic pieces, with occasional interruptions by lead guitar. They are of course well performed, but rather dull repetitive affairs. It strikes me as a general comment that much of the music here could have been more successfully used as sections on one of Oldfield's longer more complex pieces. They tend to lack sufficient substance to stand up in isolation. One of Oldfield's strengths is that he does not tend to labour a theme, moving on to another before it outstays its welcome. Here though, the tracks consist mainly of fairly basic themes which are played repeatedly, with perhaps changes of sound but not melody.

"Cochise" is a case in point. It's all very well using the opening notes of "Whole lotta love", but the track needs to go somewhere beyond that to avoid becoming tedious and dull.

As the album progresses, the diversity of sound increases, with "Out of sight" and "B Blues" having a much rougher feel. The latter may be based on a blues theme, but there is still far more "Bells" to it than "Blues".

In all, a good if slightly dull album by a very accomplished musician. I can't help but feel though that perhaps he has now been to the same well, or is that "bell", once too often.

Well, the album here is undervalued. The artist should not be the same in all his doings, so why shoudn't Mike Oldfield do something like "Guitars" if he wants? I was ready to give three stars, just because I listen to pure guitar music not very often... But the album is very good. For me it's not worse than Al Di Meola or Mahavishnu... So, it gets 4 :)

Since "Amarok" (1990), this is the most inspiring and unique Oldfield album. It has a theme that feels natural and crystal clear. I sense a slight resemblance to "Hergest Ridge" in its character. The new-age sound from "The Songs of Distant Earth" (and less apparent on "Voyager") is gone and replaced by a more down to earth sound. This sound, the mix of distorted, acoustic and clear guitar "riffs" is very typical and is impossible to mistake for any other artist, it's Mike Oldfield's trademark. In that way I find "Guitars" very pure and simple in its theme. However, it doesn't reach the level of "Amarok" and his astonishing 70's catalogue!

Surprisingly good.

That was just after that questionable Tubular Bells III and just before questionable Millennium Bell. Mike Oldfield heard some desperate voice of old fans (for the last time I fear) and wrote spectacular instrumental album.

Yes, all the sounds are just guitars. Just as some Adrian Belew's solo works, only much more listenable.

Album is diverse and even unpredictable, switching from acoustic minimalism to thundering distortion (okay, thundering by Oldfield's scale) and to soft warm 80s sounds. Highly melodic, very accessible, very good.

Highlight: B.Blues with wonderful guitar work. Nostalgic highlight: last theme in Four Winds, clearly reminiscent of Crises era, mellow warm south wind from nineteen eighty three.

Highly recommended. Even if a little of true prog to be honest.

Guitars! 5/5 for Concept (Make an album with full instrumentation. The twist being, every sound, to include drums, percussion, and keyboards, are really being played on guitars with Midi effects) Execution: 5/5 (He really gets some amazing sounds from his collection of guitars and computers) Effort: 5/5 (Like TB, TB2, TB3, well, all of his albums really, it took many, many hours of painstaking precision playinig and overdubbing to achieve this result. Songs: 2/5 (They're just not here. Except for "Embers", "B.Blues", and "Out of mind" - a standout. Even the good songs are incredibly repetative. All of the other songs are imaginative, but ultimatley un-melodic and un-interesting) Final Result: 3/5 (This album, while once again showcasing Oldfield's incredible talent, does not hang together well. A bit of a let down. WALK, don't RUN to buy this CD)

Some of the songs on this generally tedious album work well, but the others tend to repeat themselves. Well, I suppose that is to be expected on an album of exclusively guitars. But guess what - it's not just an album of guitars. In fact, it has bass, keyboards, and all sorts of percussion. Mike managed to create the sounds of all these other instruments using only guitars and MIDI effects. And indeed he did a great job at that! Unfortunately, it repeats itself and grows boring over time, but when it works well, it works very well. The melodies click, everything makes sense. I wouldn't recommend this as a start to Oldfield, as this album is radically different than his classics, "Tubular Bells", "Hergest Ridge", "Ommadawn". Once you've discovered and understood his roots and early works, I suggest getting this album if you'd like to see a different side of this fantastic prog guitarist.

One of the most underrated releases from Mike! "Guitars" is my favorite and the most original of Oldfield's album from the 90's. As its title may suggest, Music, sounds and rhythms here are mostly made with guitars. The record alternates inspired rock, blues, floating and melancholic passages, all instrumental and all in his own style.

It opens with "Muse", a short but nonetheless beautiful song, to go on with one of the highlights of the disc, "Cochise", displaying Mike Olfield's well known musical signature with various kinds of guitars, featuring floating, soft and energetic moments. This tune rocks! In contrast, "Embers" is much more calm and spacey, whereas the little magic "Summit Day" could have well escaped from "The Songs of Distant Earth". Then come the rock parts of the album with the hard bluesy "Out of Sight" and its catchy melody. Very refreshing and efficient! Electric guitars stay for the melancholic rock of "B. Blues", another powerful highlight of the record. Oldfield re-discover his 70's spirit with the mini-epic "Four Winds", changing from rock to enchanting and far-west ambiances! It even has sitar on it. You fell like riding a horse in a desert at the end of the song. The next track, "Enigmatism", is another little gem of acoustic guitar, very floating and mysterious. The flaws here are undoubtedly the two final tracks, "Out of Mind" and "From the Ashes", which are respectively repetitive and lazy...

Behind its audacious concept, "Guitars" truly contains great passages and shows that Mike has always something new to offer without losing his touch and his identity at any moment. Not very progressive, but nevertheless a surprising and enchanting album!

A guitar album.

The album is not particular bad, but even a guitar lover like me wants a little more variety than constant guitarwork. This album represents a departure from his quest with the bells and also highlights Oldfield's craftsmanship with the instrument.

As can be guessed, there's lots of layering here, and a bit too much repetition. The melodies can be captivating, but at times they are overdrawn. There are enough stylistic elements, from hard rockers to blues to jazz, but the riffs are repeated too much.

I can really only recommend this to guitar lovers. Fans of Mike will also probably enjoy it, but in truth you must love the instrument in question, or this album probably won't be for you.

"Guitars" is a real treat for those of us who appreciate Mike's large all-consuming projects but always yearn for a little more of his guitar and less of the big production. Well here it is and I think it's a little better than it gets credit for.

Just over half of this album is excellent. These six songs (Muse, Cochise, Embers, Summit Day, Enigmatism, From the Ashes) are as melodically perfect as anything in Mike's canon. Muse especially is just gorgeous. These tracks deliver delightful acoustic melodic backgrounds with very tasteful and expressive lead guitar, occasionally layered even more with additional rhythms and effects. Were these six songs released as an EP cd alone I'd give the thing 4.5 stars.

But then we have the other 4 songs on "Guitars." The worst offender in my book would be "Out of Sight" with its laughably amateur sound in the power chord sections, proving that metal is one style Mike hasn't conquered. I've heard more believable stuff coming from the garage band practices of 13-14 year olds. These heavier riffs and power chords appear on other tracks as well and are completely against the grain of the better material. Rocking the boat is all well and good if the material is solid but in these instances it is not. The other three songs are just OK and sound like tired filler with a few good moments.

But "Guitars" is surely an album that most Oldfield fans will enjoy a good portion of. Others may want to proceed with caution but know that the first 6 songs I mention will deliver the beautiful melodic Oldfield sound in a unique guitar-centric context, some will find the deal worth it and others will not.

This is a very competent album. But when did we ever buy MIKE OLDFIELD to listen to competency?

Here's the clever trick: everything on this album is either a guitar sound or triggered by a guitar. But I'm not sure that impresses anyone. It's what the album sounds like, not how it was made, that matters. OLDFIELD could have created these sounds by filing the heads off Barbie dolls or beating trees with sticks, for all I care. What does it sound like?

Well, almost exactly like 'Voyager', actually. The celtic themes are muted here, but the same high degree of attention has been lavished on the production, taking out all the interesting sharp edges, leaving a slick, smooth product that sits blandly on the palate. It doesn't deserve three stars, but it's not really an album for OLDFIELD fans either. 'Guitars' is worth listening to if you're a guitar aficianado, though OLDFIELD'S virtuosity is well and truly tempered here. The bigger hole, of course, is the absence of compositional excellence, due to the restrictions the choice of format has imposed.

So what's the explanation for this album? By this time MIKE OLDFIELD had become domiciled in Spain, and remains popular there. This album seems to have been issued to appeal to Spanish guitar lovers, of whom there are many. As nice as this is, as perfectly executed, I find it more muzak than music, especially when considering what this gifted man is capable of. And there is nothing remotely progressive here.

This is another guitar-oriented album from Steve Hackett. This time he is full in command and develops both acoustic and electric pieces.

When you listen to "Cochise", this album sounds almost as an old Oldfield work. Reminiscent of his great and early works. But moments like this one are scarce on this offering. The problem being that this is a too synthetic music to be true and emotional. Cold, properly played of course, but soulless I'm afraid.

Neither fans of the early days or from the latter ones could be really enthusiastic about such an album. The relative dull and repetitive mood prevails during "B. Blues" for instance.

This album is not a bad one (as "Heaven's Open" was) but there are very few (one?) brilliant pieces of music. I totally agree with Easy Livin' when he mentions that some tracks could have been integrated in some more elaborate of his works like "Four Winds" which is another fave of mine here.

All in all, it a decent work from Mike. At least, it changes from the bells theme, right? But I can hardly be concentrate from start to finish with this offering. Most of the times, ambient music is what you'll get. None of the tracks are bad, but none will bring you to heaven, for sure.

Like Steve, Mike is extremely gifted but won't always deliver. Five out of ten probably. OK, I'll round it up to three stars. But only because I like his work more than the average fan.

After the (well deserved) success of Tubular Bells III, Oldfield came up with this little, beautiful, and experimental piece of work!

The original fact of this album is that it's made completely by guitars... Even the percussions are samples of guitar sounds. This is a truly original concept and Oldfield made it decently. You will not miss any other instrument through the songs... All is well developed and the sound is great, like almost every Oldfield's work. But what about the quality of the music itself? Ok, it's a bit irregular in my humble opinion...

Some good tracks like Cochise, Summit Day and Four Winds are mixed up with other mediocre songs like B. Blues and Enigmatism... The sensation I have after hearing the whole album is that it could have been better. The idea is great, but some uninspired songs make the album just a good and pleasant listening, but nothing really special. Oldfield is a great and personal guitar player, and an album completely made with his favourite instrument could have been really, really better. It's a pity...

Best tracks: Cochise, Summit Day (one of the most beautiful short songs Oldfield have ever made...), Four Winds (a diverse and variated track... The most progressive act of a not progressive album) and Out of Mind (just funny).

Conclusion: this album gives me a bitter sensation... It has some great moments, like the incredibly beautiful Summit Day, but it fails in offering a really worthy experience due to some boring and not really inspired moments. The concept could have been really better accomplished... But the originality of the idea and the good moments make this album a good purchase anyway, specially for Oldfield's die hard fans. The other people will not find anything really special here...

My rating: ***

Somebody should give this man a guitar!

If you are a person who can't get enough of the guitar sound, in all its different shapes and forms, then Mike Oldfield's Guitars might just be the record for you! Personally, I've always been on the on/off terms with this particular instrument and that's exactly how I also feel about this album. Yes, it's a pretty decent effort, but my main question is --- Why? It's not like Oldfield's previous efforts lacked the gentle caress of this fine instrument but taking it to the extreme just might seem a bit too... extreme.

Most of these tunes are pretty decent and the only real complaint of mine is that they lack a focus that was so well depicted on Mike Oldfield's earlier albums. Guitars is nonetheless a very nice little record that does a great job of, if anything, making a guitar sound like a decent New Age instrument. If you though that most of Oldfield's work felt pretty accessible then this record should probably be filed under the easy listening section of your record collection.

This is definitely not a record for everyone and I would not recommend it as an introduction to Oldfield's work but other than that, this is a fairly decent album from his discography that is well worth picking up after you've experienced at least 3-4 other of Oldfield's albums. Therefore good, but non-essential.

***** star songs: Muse (2:09) From The Ashes (2:28)

**** star songs: Cochise (5:13) Embers (3:49) Summit Day (3:46) Out Of Sight (3:46) B. Blues (4:27) Enigmatism (3:29) Out Of Mind (3:44)

*** star songs: Four Winds (9:31)

After the heady excitement, Ibiza grooves and all, of Tubular Bells III, Oldfield decided to indulge himself, and absolutely nobody else, for this, his follow up album.

Actually, that is such a misleading description. This is a follow up to nothing except, perhaps, a need by him to simply pit down some licks and ideas on the instrument which, quite clearly, he is most adept at.

Thus, we have a veritable smorgasbord of ideas here, ranging from identifiable prog, to virtuoso acoustic, misplaced metal chords, to even country and western, via Celtic folk and easily recognisable Bells sequences.

There is virtually no structure to this album at all, but, as those of us who love and appreciate Anthony Phillips' noodlings will appreciate, that is not necessarily a bad thing. There are occasions when you wish to sit down, with a good set of headphones, and simply lie back and let the sound of a class musician, playing his instrument of choice, wash over you. It is, actually, worth buying for Muse alone which is an exceptionally beautiful composition, and one of his finest.

Three stars for this, a very good and satisfying work, without being remotely essential or crucially important. It was, though, somewhat brave after the commercial success that Bells III brought.

Most of MIKE OLDFIELD's classic albums, not to mention live clips, leave little doubt as to which instrument would accompany him across the desert should he find himself in the middle of the Passover story. If he is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, it's really only on the guitars, and maybe those bells, those bells, that he established a singular style that permeated even his most commercial and vocal oriented work. So dedicating an album exclusively to guitar sounds doesn't seem much less exploitative than "Tubular Bells XIV" or whatever. So of course he has done so!

The album opens with the pretty "Muse", which bears resemblance to the material on the weak "Voyager", but "Cochise" resolutely dispels the notion of yet another new age album. A riff reminiscent of LED ZEPPELIN's "Whole Lotta Love" dominates, while lead guitars sear the pungent upper atmosphere of the piece. I can't say I had noticed Oldfield's idolatry of JIMMY PAGE before, but in case you somehow missed it, the riff from Led Zep's "Heartbreaker" is compressed into service by "Out of Sight". While I'm grateful to learn something new about his influences, by the time more early metal riffs appear in "B Blues" I've had quite enough, but even that's not the last time. Luckily "Four Winds" morphs from a beginning reminiscent of the storm sequence of "Hergest Ridge" to a decent epic with several distinct parts, including an almost surfer rock later theme. The main highlight here is the well named "Enigmatism", adopting the gravitas of the best Oldfield instrumentals of that time. "Out of Mind" is an infectious rock piece which I think would work well with lyrics, in a "Heaven's Open" kind of way but heavier.

While certainly not revolutionary or even a worthy introduction to this influential musician, "Guitars" includes more than enough dynamic playing to keep it from being stored in the attic along with other unwanted toys, musical or otherwise.

Let me spell it out for you once more: every single sound comes from a guitar or guitar synthesizer/MIDI. Rhythm section included. It's advised you actually LIKE guitars enough to buy into an album going overboard with its use. Granted, many rock records are dominated with guitar riffs, responsible for up to 70% of played music. But here it's 100%, and it's all Oldfield. Although the idea itself isn't entirely new, I deem it a pretty bold move for a musician known primarily as a multi-instrumentalist, skillfully incorporating bagpipes, glockenspiels, spinets, organs, bells and Farfisas into rock environment.

Admittedly I was happy to replay this album a couple of times. There is enough variety to appease even casual listeners. For starters, we have a bunch of well-executed, melancholic madrigals, beginning with charming "Muse". Similar moods are invoked with beautiful "Embers", though this time additional sounds come into play and give it more artificial, slightly futuristic feel. "Four Winds" is the longest track here and I really recommend it; avid Oldfield fans will feel at home with its middle section, very mellow and dreamlike. The part around 4:00 minute mark is lovely, too, and so refreshing. The latter half, although far from flamenco, turns out to be heavily influenced by Iberian music. "Enigmatic" and "From the Ashes" may feel generic once you come across them, but they're solid on their own.

Aside from these softer etudes, Mike composed couple hard rocking songs. "Out of Sight" comes around with a heavily distorted guitar, almost as sharp as Frippian crooky nightmares. Similar effects are employed in "B Blues" and "Out of Mind". While all these tracks are fun, I sense too much repetition there, and I wish they formed together a longer, more progressive piece, or at least a foundation of one.

As it is, "Guitars" is a very entertaining, colorful journey. And I haven't even mentioned my favorites: "Cochise" and "Summit Day". The former strikes us with an elegant, fingerpicked melody; and then, clouds fill the skies and the scenery gets more dreary and engaging. Distorted riffs in the chorus are beautifully intertwined with yearning lead guitar. Such an emotional piece. The latter follows its steps, capably contrasting acoustic romanticism with electric despair and bitterness - such a wide range is covered, and it's all a SINGLE melody, but exposed from dramatically different angles.

Yes, I enjoyed "Guitars" despite its cheap album cover and risky premises. Of course I'd love if it was more progressive; most of featured compostions could be lumped together to create something greater than the sum of its parts. I'm sure Mike was perfectly able to make such rearrangements. But I still recommend you to give it a try. Even if you're sceptical of instrumental self- indulgence, you won't deny the beauty of "Cochise", "Summit Day" and even "Four Winds".

In my book it's enough to warrant three stars