Mike Oldfield

 I actually didnt discover Mike Oldfield until the past year or so when I had been listening to Prog for about the past 15 give or take. I found out about him from Prog Brittannia the BBC documentary. I absolutely love the major works of his especially Tubular Bells (of course), though Im actually much more a fan of side 2 than side 1, Ommadawn for any number of reasons, Hergest Ridge to a lesser degree and even quite a bit of his later output. Thoughts?

I think Oldfield valued length and eclecticism more than consistency.

That said, Ommadawn is great.  Amarok, not so much.

Mike Oldfield music is boring.

moshkito wrote: Hi,   I don't think that Mike Oldfield is progressive, and does not need the honors from PA or Melody Maker or New Music Express to get his accolades and deserved credit for the great composer he is.   Very simply, Mike, Vangelis, Riuychi Sakamoto are probably the 3 greatest composers in the past 50 years, and there are not very many classical composers that can even rival the output and quality of the work they have. Maybe a Stravinsky or Benjamin Britten ... but not a whole lot of others with such an excellent output of music in the last 100 years.  I also believe Klaus Schulze and Edger Froese/Tangerine Dream deserve to be in this club!   I would also seriously reconsider why someone is thinking that something has to be "progressive" by our terms in order to be heard, or known!   It's not about being "progressive" at that point. It's about having the guts and balls to do what you see and feel and not fall victim to the masochistic and fanatical socialistic definitions of popular music that it all has become, strictly as a sale tool and an advertising emblem!

Navegador wrote: Mike Oldfield music is boring.

that gave me a real belly laugh. Thank you!

Been an Oldfield fan since I was a kid and think his early albums are of very high quality in it's content. His post-Incantations ones (up to Crises) are very good as well but after that it's far more up's and downs. Tubular Bells 2, Amarok and Songs From Distant Earth are excellent though.

The Hemulen wrote: timothy leary wrote: his guitarwork has an unique quality to it. Agreed. Next time you listen to one of Kevin Ayers' early albums* like Shooting at the Moon, Whatevershebringswesing, etc. listen out for Oldfield's guitar. It's unmistakable. *This is something everyone should do now and again, incidentally.

Bj-1 wrote: The Hemulen wrote: timothy leary wrote: his guitarwork has an unique quality to it. Agreed. Next time you listen to one of Kevin Ayers' early albums* like Shooting at the Moon, Whatevershebringswesing, etc. listen out for Oldfield's guitar. It's unmistakable. *This is something everyone should do now and again, incidentally.   Bought Joy of a Toy a while back, but have yet to listen to it. Maybe I'll give it a spin today!

 

richardh wrote: Hergest Ridge ,Ommadawn,Incantations,Amarok and Songs of Distant Earth are all amazing as far as I'm concerned

Add Tubular Bells and the Montreaux DVD and you have my list. I also like Tubular Bells 2.

I am also still looking for a copy of Exposed.


Edited by Nogbad_The_Bad - November 02 2011 at 19:32

TB2 at the Edinburgh Festival is one of my favourite live videos.