Mike Oldfield, post Incantations

[GuitarGeek]

OK, so, noticing it was snowing last night, I decided to break out my Mike Oldfield CD's, since that's the perfect musict o listen to on a snowy day when you don't have to go to work or anything.

Thing is, I only have the first four albums. I don't know why, but for a long time, I always assumed that Oldfield's albums after Incantations dispensed with the long form compositions, in favor of out and out "songs". I don't know why I thought that, since I can remember seeing most of those records in the used record stores, and in fact, I remember when Islands was released. Why I didn't realize there were still some of the longer, more ambitious things on each of those records is a little baffling to me.

And I also note, earlier this year, Oldfield released something called Return To Ommadawn, which seems to be a "sequel" to the third album. THat certainly has my attention, since Ommadawn is just about my favorite of those first four albums.

So,what say ye about these later works?

[bRETT]

Later works fall into two categories: Amarok and everything else.

[JKL2000]

Always loved the sidelong track "Crises" on the album of the same name. Not a big fan of side two, but you get Jon Anderson doing vocals on "In High Places":

[stickman393]

You are missing Exposed, which is great - quite a different take on 'Bells and Incantations.
You are missing Platinum (Side 1) , which is Oldfield at his most rockiest and has some wonderfully aggressive guitar soloing on it - a personal favorite of mine.
You are missing some shorter but still great instrumentals in QE2 and Five Miles Out - the Taurus I and II are easily as good as anything else he's done, if you acknowledge that he's on a journey here, and isn't going to create Hergest Ridge II at this point in his career.
Then, possibly the high point before things go weird, Crises (Side 1). Yes there's some singing - but some great music and great drumming by Simon Philips.
I'd skip everything else until Amarok, at which point you'll either love it or hate it (I'm not a fan).
Personally I really enjoy Tubular Bells II as a concept, I think he did a great job painting the same vista with new brushes.
Also, Songs of Distant Earth are about where I check out of the Oldfield train, a wonderful stopping point and in my opinion, the last great thing he did.

[bill g]

Later works fall into two categories: Amarok and everything else.

Yep 'Amarok' blows the rest out of the water in my opinion. Although Tubular Bells 2, and especially the Tubular Bells 2003 are great (2003 is a re-recording of the original, which I find stunning. I personally prefer it, but I guess I'm in the minority for some reason) I wasn't strongly impressed with 'Return to Ommadawn', all the magic of the original pretty much gone in my opinion though I do appreciate the effort and the fact that it is instrumental, but it doesn't have the chords changes and melodies that abound on the first 3 albums. 'Voyager' and 'Songs From Distant Earth' are nice, and the Islands album has a 20-minute piece that is really good, but the rest of that album is vocal stuff, and with the exception of 'Northpoint' from that album, I've never really connected with his vocal stuff.

[GuitarGeek]

Well, I had to buy a new pair of shoes for work, so I went ahead and threw the deluxe editions of Platinum and QE2 into my AMazon order, so we'll see how I like those. I'm gonna hold off on Five Miles Out for the time being, as it seems the only copy of the deluxe available is going for $37, which is a little high in my opinion, but I'll keep me eyes open and see if it doesn't come down.

[Zaragon]

Plenty of great sides and pieces — both vocal and instrumental — on which Oldfield and crew cover vast amounts of territory. Follow the reds.

[NogbadTheBad]

Platinum, QE2, Five Miles Out & Crises have good long pieces but are rather let down by the weaker short tracks. Amarok is outstanding, easily his best after the first 4. Songs Of Distant Earth isn't bad, the same goes for the TB2 & TB 2003. I'd put Return To Ommadawn up there with the top 5.

[MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER]

The Lake is one of his top 5 pieces in my book... forgot what album it's on

also TBII and Return To Ommadawn are very solid

[Steve F.]

I haven’t heard it in 2 decades, but I also recall his soundtrack for ‘The Killing Fields’ as being very good (albeit ‘soundtracky’). Anyone here have comments on it?

[Scrotum Scissor]

I haven’t heard it in 2 decades, but I also recall his soundtrack for ‘The Killing Fields’ as being very good (albeit ‘soundtracky’). Anyone here have comments on it?

Fairly good on its own, which is rather ironic seeing as it's indeed very 'soundtracky'. Unfortunately it doesn't really work too well in the movie, which itself was seminal and had warranted a better disposition of the music. Something about the various passages not truly fitting in context of the given narrative points at which they occur etc.

Someone should give the whole fucking movie to Steven Wilson and perhaps let him 'displace' the use of the soundtrack there.

[ombasan]

As much as I hate that he always is revisiting Tubular Bells... I actually quite enjoy TB3! Maybe more so than TB2.

[the ferret]

Not sure if you like his songs, if so give the recent Man On The Rocks a go, It's chock full of great tunes sung by The Struts' Luke Spiller. Not sure if it's my favourite but it's certainly my go to Mike Oldfield record, currently.

[strawberrybrick]

Absolutely loved QE2. Dave Hentschel production, the percussion of Mike Frye, Morris Pert, Phil Collins along with Maggie Reilly on "wordless vocals". Great stuff.

Also had the chance to see four shows of the subsequent tour, on his European Adventure Tour 1981. The Montreaux video is from that tour, along with (I think) the bonus DVD to the deluxe QE2 reissue.

[NogbadTheBad]

The Montreaux video is superb, one of my most played over the last decade.

[Tom]

Yep 'Amarok' blows the rest out of the water in my opinion. Although Tubular Bells 2, and especially the Tubular Bells 2003 are great (2003 is a re-recording of the original, which I find stunning. I personally prefer it, but I guess I'm in the minority for some reason) I wasn't strongly impressed with 'Return to Ommadawn', all the magic of the original pretty much gone in my opinion though I do appreciate the effort and the fact that it is instrumental, but it doesn't have the chords changes and melodies that abound on the first 3 albums. 'Voyager' and 'Songs From Distant Earth' are nice, and the Islands album has a 20-minute piece that is really good, but the rest of that album is vocal stuff, and with the exception of 'Northpoint' from that album, I've never really connected with his vocal stuff.

This is about where I am, as well. Ommadawn was great because it had everything, and would segue oh-so-smoothly into a totally different texture. Return to Ommadawn loses the rhythms, loses the transitions, loses the harmonies and the wildness, and just gives some nice instrumental melody. Pretty, but soporific. Amarok is compositionally (even) looser than the great early albums, but much more audiophile and full of joy. Besides those two, it's all ear candy really, and Islands is the sweetest. "North Point" is lovely, the other singles are very listenable. "Mont St Michel" from Voyager is strong.

[Steve F.]

Fairly good on its own, which is rather ironic seeing as it's indeed very 'soundtracky'.

Glad my memory was right.

Unfortunately it doesn't really work too well in the movie, which itself was seminal and had warranted a better disposition of the music. Something about the various passages not truly fitting in context of the given narrative points at which they occur etc.

There's no way I want to see a movie about Pol Pot's massacres....

It's an important subject, but reading history is horrifying enough.

[miamiscot]

Later works fall into two categories: Amarok and everything else.

I agree with this statement although Return To Ommadawn, TB2 and TB3 are all excellent records. Just not on par with the first four...

Amarok might be my favorite of them all though.

[Birdy]

Glad my memory was right.



There's no way I want to see a movie about Pol Pot's massacres....

It's an important subject, but reading history is horrifying enough.

It really is a VERY good film Steve!

[GuitarGeek]

There's no way I want to see a movie about Pol Pot's massacres....

It's an important subject, but reading history is horrifying enough.

I'm kinda in the same boat. I'm not crazy about the idea of watching movies about one of the absolute worst events in human history. Same reason I didn't see Schindler's List.

[ProgArtist]

Another vote for Amarok as one of his very best. I also really love TB2 and Five Miles Out, and like Return to Ommadawn quite a bit, although it doesn't touch the original. Sorry to say that I find Platinum quite a dud. It sounds like "Oldfield Goes Disco" to me.

[bill g]

Another vote for Amarok as one of his very best. I also really love TB2 and Five Miles Out, and like Return to Ommadawn quite a bit, although it doesn't touch the original. Sorry to say that I find Platinum quite a dud. It sounds like "Oldfield Goes Disco" to me.

Yeah 'Amarok' could be his magnum opus. With you on Platinum, which I thought pretty much sucked.

[bRETT]

Yeah 'Amarok' could be his magnum opus. With you on Platinum, which I thought pretty much sucked.

Parts of it did, but the first ten minutes are pure jubilation, some of the most joyful music I know (along with the start of side three of Incantations).

[MudShark22]

I got off the boat at TB2 which I enjoyed quite a lot.

But all this talk about Amarok has me intrigued. I know it came out before TB2 but never picked it up.

[Scrotum Scissor]

I'm not crazy about the idea of watching movies about one of the absolute worst events in human history. Same reason I didn't see Schindler's List.

To both Geek and Steve; interesting analogy, as both The Killing Fields and Schindler's List (along with Hotel Rwanda and The Year of Living Dangerously, about the genocides in Rwanda and Indonesia respectively) have been subject to the same overall critique among hardcore academics accusing the narratives of attemptively 'familiarizing' the sufferings through cheap individualization of the contexts in question. To put it like this; they are personal dramas primarily, not social or historical ones. So the challenge of seeing them mostly depends on your effort to identify with the private terror of the characters.

The Killing Fields is particularly horrific, however, not only because of the story itself and its various cultural biases (the Khmer Rouge "liberation" of Phnom Penh went pretty much unnoticed in the west next to what was happening in their neighbouring Vietnam at almost the exact same timeframe), but due to the circumstance of the leading role-actor Haing S. Ngor (who plays the main character Dith Pran), himself a survivor of the genocide - who was later murdered in a holdup by a Cambodian streetgang in L.A. when he refused to hand over a locket which was the only remaining asset of his wife, who perished during a complicated childbirth. Haing, himself a doctor but unable to disclose this alas the Khmer Rouge would have killed him (for having been educated in a "western" and "modern" craft), could not perform a caesarian as this would have resulted in the deaths of both his wife, their baby and himself.

During my years living in Kristiansand (on the South coast of Norway), I was working with a foundation dealing in disseminations of long-term cultural consequences of genocides and war - and I got to meet Youk Chhang, the director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, the main organization for research and study on the Khmer Rouge genocide. He had met them both personally, Haing S. Ngor and Dith Pran, and would go on about how the movie had actually made twin souls of the two; apparently Dith Pran was completely devastated by Haing's murder in 1996. It's an incredibly tragic tale.