Moonlight Shadow - Progressive Rock Music Forum

It's pretty much a perfect pop song without any of the cheese that's rampant on his longer pieces, so I would say yes.

Prefer 'Northern Lights' by Renaissance - that's close to pop/prog perfection.

Don't mind 'Moonlight Shadow' but still prefer 'On Horseback', 'In Dulce Jubilo' or even 'Portsmouth' of his shorter pieces - although I draw the line with the 'Blue Peter' Theme!

Edited by Squonk19 - November 11 2017 at 15:42

“Living in their pools, they soon forget about the sea.”

It's a great song, but To France is better, as is Family Man (though he didn't write that on his own), Shadow on the Wall and Heaven's Open.

Personally, I think Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge and Ommadawn are far inferior to the period from QE2 to Discovery.

A TVR is not a car. It's a way of life.

On the issue of great Mike Oldfield songs, while I love all the tunes and albums that have been mentioned, there are three really interesting songs you should check out if you don't know them. These aren't necessarily his best songs, but there are up there among a special list of really moving pieces, and I think provide a window on Oldfield's own psyche.

The first is "No Dream" from Oldfield's album 'Heaven's Open'. The album is actually quite poor, but the interesting thing about this album is that Mike Oldfield sings all the songs, unlike other albums in which he brings in other singers. This particular song is really interesting, in that Oldfield is talking about himself, and it is really awesome musically. The other two are from his more recent album 'Man on the Rocks'. While again, this is not an album that most will write home about, the tunes "Castaway" and "Nuclear" are really awesome, really emotional, and speak to his feelings from his marital breakup (Castaway is also a double-entendre, in that he was cast away, but also he moved to the Bahamas and so is like an island castaway in that sense). Really from-the-heart gut-wrenching tracks.

Most people say yes??????

Definitely not Oldfield's best piece although I'd say it's his best pop song.

I never liked it but I must admit I enjoy listening to it right now. Bandwagon bias? Maybe.

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Walkscore wrote:

On the issue of great Mike Oldfield songs, while I love all the tunes and albums that have been mentioned, there are three really interesting songs you should check out if you don't know them. These aren't necessarily his best songs, but there are up there among a special list of really moving pieces, and I think provide a window on Oldfield's own psyche.

The first is "No Dream" from Oldfield's album 'Heaven's Open'. The album is actually quite poor, but the interesting thing about this album is that Mike Oldfield sings all the songs, unlike other albums in which he brings in other singers. This particular song is really interesting, in that Oldfield is talking about himself, and it is really awesome musically. The other two are from his more recent album 'Man on the Rocks'. While again, this is not an album that most will write home about, the tunes "Castaway" and "Nuclear" are really awesome, really emotional, and speak to his feelings from his marital breakup (Castaway is also a double-entendre, in that he was cast away, but also he moved to the Bahamas and so is like an island castaway in that sense). Really from-the-heart gut-wrenching tracks.

I haven't heard the album Heaven's Open, except for the title track (which was at least good for me), however, I did like "Man on the Rocks"... however, for me the stand out tracks from it are Nuclear and the title track. The best shorter more traditional songs he has done.

Are you joking? Nice song, but his best....

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Dellinger wrote:

It's an OK song, I guess... even a good one. But not much more than that.

Indeed. Good song, but that's about it.

Perfect pop song but not his best piece by any means.

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I prefer the stunning Nikki Bentley vocals on Earth Moving on the album of the same name. Foreign Affair is also cool though not poppy.

I never post anything anywhere without doing more than basic research, often in depth.

Poll Question: Is it unironically the best piece of music Mike Oldfield ever wrote?
Poll Choice	Votes	Poll Statistics
Yes	9	[27.27%]
No	24	[72.73%]
This topic is closed, no new votes accepted

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