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Man In Rain Group: Members Posts: 84 Joined: Sep. 2000 Posted: Oct. 20 2000, 13:01 Crises is my favourite and I consider that it is Mike's best composition! It is better than any of his other compositions and I don't understand why doesn't people appreciate it. (Sorry for my bad English) Back to top

Korgscrew Group: Super Admins Posts: 3511 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: Oct. 30 2000, 18:33 I really like Crises as well. Most of the instrumentals he did with Simon Phillips on drums have great energy to them in a lot of places. Another one I enjoy a lot is 'The Lake' from Discovery. And oddly, I think the way Mike sings sort of suits the piece...when other singers have done it live, they may have sung it technically 'better' but the feel just isn't the same... Back to top

rosko Group: Members Posts: 184 Joined: April 2000 Posted: Oct. 31 2000, 00:30 No MITR! Not song!! Instrumentals aren't songs!!!!! Now that I've got that out of my system, I have to say that I also think that it's one of his best compositions. Not THE best but still one of the best. Some of those synthesiser melodies are some of the best Mike's ever written, and it also has one the best huge crescendoes (doesn't beat Ommadawn though). Mike's vocals are pretty good too, except for the way his voice cracks in the "crises, crises" section. The whole piece is great to turn up EXTREMELY LOUD!!!! Back to top

GMOVJ Group: Members Posts: 273 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: Oct. 31 2000, 05:23 Hmmmmm, good old time.... 'Crises', 'Taurus 2' and 'The Lake' were the first instrumentals I heard of MO (ok, a few time later i was listening TB...)... It may be in winter 84-85 i guess, I was 12... I certainly was reading 'The Lord of the Ring', because each time i listen one of these tracks or talk about it, I think about Frodo's departure or Gandalf's fight... Thanks to have remind me the strong connection 'The Lake' and 'Crises' have for me Korgscrew (I think I've got this kind of stupid happy smile on my face right now...) What a wonderfull track, each section is....great ! ... nothing more to be said ! GMOVJ -------------- Cheers, GMOVJ [URL=http://tubular.fodplanet.com]http://tubular.fodplanet.com[/URL] - The french speaking mailing list Back to top

Man In Rain Group: Members Posts: 84 Joined: Sep. 2000 Posted: Oct. 31 2000, 12:23 I am very glad because there are other people who like Crises. This composition is really great. I say it is PERFECT. I listen to it once a week, in the night, with headphones and rather loud. It is a unique experience! I also consider that, besides being the best (IMO), Crises is also the most interesting composition of Mike Oldfield. Think about what do the watcher and the tower, the crises, the walk in the winter rain and storm mean! And the album cover is the most interesting among all the covers. It isn't just a simple picture (e.g. a face, a man). What does that building in the middle of water want to mean? You also say that Crises is very good. Then why it isn't appreciated? Nobody talks or writes about it, there are no reviews, analyses, explanations. It is so neglected that even the lyrics (which can be CLEARLY heard) aren't recorded properly. I have found FOUR different lyrics for Crises, and the most stupid thing is on tubular.net: 'Make an appointment to the next dawn, Take a brain and saw'. Isn't there a difference between 'Take a walk until next dawn, In the winter rain and snow' and the previous line??? Or between 'a bridge in security' and 'a breech in security'??? Back to top

Korgscrew Group: Super Admins Posts: 3511 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: Oct. 31 2000, 20:54 I always liked that big moon on the cover. Who knows why. Especially on the LP, where the whole thing is nice and big (and you get a nice moon on the LP label as well...). The moon on the cover, I believe, is a clever reference to crises - there's an area of the moon known as the 'sea of crises' (which is visible on that cover picture). The cover obviously shows the watcher and the tower. I can't do anything much more than guess at what all that means, though. It looks sort of lonely and forbidden though...nicely mysterious... The lyrics...well, I suppose this should go into lyrics and language, but the first bit is "Take a walk until the next dawn, in the winter's rain and storms". The second is "There's a breech in security, a disturbance in tranquility" (although it does sound a bit like "bridge into seniority" or similar"). I wouldn't really have said they can clearly be heard...but they can be heard Back to top

Archangel Foster Group: Members Posts: 215 Joined: Oct. 2000 Posted: Oct. 31 2000, 21:48 Rosko, you don't like the way Mike's voice creaks when he sings 'Crises, crises'? I always thought that was just the perfect way to sing it, and I'd think he either did in on purpose or he did it accidentally and then thought 'Oh, that's perfect!' The part where he sings 'The watcher and the tower, waiting hour by hour' awakens in me a mood of deep, fantastic melancholy, especially when I think of the cover at the same time, which has just the same feeling to it. The seemingly endless width of the sea, the lonely tower standing so sadly in it with no possibility for people to get out of it - and obviously there is just one person in it, because only in the top right window there is light. How incredibly lonely that person must be... like a fairytale princess captured in a tower by dark forces... and then the watcher, seemingly just as lonely although he is on 'this' side, where people live... dreaming of the princess in the tower... thinking that maybe she is also dreaming of him, that he will come and free her... but he cannot and she knows it... and then there is this moon over the whole scene, pouring its infinitely melancholy dark green light over the whole scene... there's not a cloud in sight, no wind ripples the ocean, and everything is silent and sad... 'The watcher and the tower, waiting hour by hour'... Forgive me... Back to top

Korgscrew Group: Super Admins Posts: 3511 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: Nov. 03 2000, 19:19 I have to admit that I hadn't thought about the picture that closely...it's quite interesting if you think about it (if only from the point of view of the amount of interpretation you can put into a picture). It probably all means something - it's just up to the viewer to decide what (although, maybe he just felt like painting some of those things like that...). While we're talking about the painting, it's incredibly neatly painted...the waves in the sea there look like they must have taken an age to paint...Another thought, seeing as we're talking about the cover - does anyone think there's a reason for the scene being green (or is it just like that because it looks nice?)? Now you've mentioned all this, I do wonder what Mike's lyrics might mean... whether the watcher and the tower represent anything in particular...who knows... Back to top

Man In Rain Group: Members Posts: 84 Joined: Sep. 2000 Posted: Nov. 15 2000, 11:04 About the picture: I think there are some other hidden meanings. For example the green colour (although a dark red would be more nice). The building has 37 levels (above sea level!). And it casts shadow (moonlight shadow?) only on the water and not on the shore (shadow on the wall?). About the music: if you look at the picture and hear the lyrics 'the watcher and the tower...' you might think of sadness and loneliness. But Crises is filled with energy and determination. I would say it is the most energic and powerful instrumental of Mike. (And the best, IMHO). Why is this contradiction? Back to top

Korgscrew Group: Super Admins Posts: 3511 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: Nov. 19 2000, 20:02 That 'watcher and the tower' bit sounds quite lonely, though... And the building wouldn't necessarily cast a shadow on that wall - it would look a bit odd if it did, perhaps, so that could easily be down to the artist's own preference. Who knows... Back to top

TimHighfield Group: Members Posts: 543 Joined: Oct. 2000 Posted: Nov. 20 2000, 02:43 On The Shadow On The Wall single cover, there is an image of the light from the moon on the Crises cover streaming in through one of the windows of the building, creating a shadow on the wall. The picture is set inside the building, so you can't see it on the Crises cover. (either that or the light is streaming out of the window, have a look and see for yourself) You can find a scan of this at: http://www.toucansolutions.com/oldfield/index.html -Tim- Back to top

bennyboy Group: Members Posts: 177 Joined: July 2000 Posted: Nov. 24 2000, 13:28 Interesting how the cover art relates to the album.... The best, not quite, but quite good all the same. My humble opinion: Crises: Easily the high point of the album this is a brilliant insrumental. Mikes singing may sound strained in places but it adds to the terrible feeling of desperation and loneliness during the "watcher and the tower" section. The end is one of the best "finales" of any Mike Oldfield instrumental, up there with "Far Above The Clouds", "Asencion" and "Ommadawn Part I". Moonlight Shadow: A good song, an enjoyable song but very overrated. This is no pop classic and Mike has done better, in my view "Crime Of Passion" and "Man In The Rain" are superior to this. In High Places: Takes a while to warm up to but the abstract lyrics combined with Jon Anderson's bizarre speaksing delivery create a very mysterious ambience. Foreign Affair: Possibly the worst song Mike has ever done. It is just so repetitive and so boring. If Mike had been bothered to write another verse instead of getting Maggie to redo the chorus over and over and over again it could have been good. Taurus 3: Excellent guitaring from Mikey Boy, but should have been longer. Shadow On The Wall: I'm not a big fan of Roger Chapman or heavy metal, but for what it is this is a good song. Back to top

raven4x4x Group: Members Posts: 1535 Joined: Jan. 2002 Posted: Feb. 22 2002, 21:51 Yes,yes,yes!!! It is a very underrated album. I anly have it on record though (Can't find the CD ) Crises has to be one of his best instrumentals: energetic but at the same time moody and secretive. Moonlight Shadow has one of his best guitar solos, and i feel it deserved the success it got. In High Places and Foriegn Affair I don't like Taurus III is also one of his best guitar solos. Very nice. Shadow on the Wall is rocky, but it isn't my favourite. Also, the cover rocks!! -------------- Thank-you for helping us help you help us all. Back to top

natertb Group: Members Posts: 53 Joined: April 2004 Posted: Oct. 04 2005, 14:15 This is one of my favorite albums, partly because of Crises, and also because I got it on one of my favorite vacations. I got the CD version of Crises from a store in Santa Barbera called Morning Glory Music. I had found it before in a San Diego Music Trader store, but it was missing the booklet. When I got it, I went back to the hotel where I was staying with my band, listened to it, and was blown away! I put it on as I was going to bed (which I have been found to do with a lot of the new CDs that I get) and passed out in the middle of Shadow On The Wall. It was so good, I listened to it again the following night (which I never do). This time, I heard a little more of Shadow On The Wall. Anyway, this is one of Mike's best albums, IMO. -------------- Waiting hour by hour... Back to top

natertb Group: Members Posts: 53 Joined: April 2004 Posted: Oct. 04 2005, 14:16 Oh, and did I mention that Mike sings without a vocoder on this album?   -------------- Waiting hour by hour... Back to top

Inkanta Group: Admins Posts: 1453 Joined: Feb. 2000 Posted: Oct. 08 2005, 11:04 Quote (natertb @ Oct. 04 2005, 13:15) This is one of my favorite albums, partly because of Crises, and also because I got it on one of my favorite vacations. Guess this topic gets discussed every few years. Yesterday I was on the road and found myself listening to Crises three times. Hadn't listened in awhile-- must have been pretty hungry for it! You mention picking it up on one of your favorite vacations. It takes me back to one of my favorite outings, too...an expedition to Peru with the Astronomical League. The CD includes the astronomical, from cover to music, so there is that association, but...after so many intervening years since being there, even yesterday, though driving in western Illinois, I am still mentally and emotionally transported to Machu Picchu. "In High Places" is also a favorite. I love Jon Anderson, the lyrics, the imagery, the hopefulness, and spirit of the piece. "The stars so close we touch them."  Sometimes the sky is like that. -------------- "No such thing as destiny; only choices exist." From:  Moongarden's "Solaris." Back to top

Piltdownboy on horseback 22 Group: Members Posts: 1545 Joined: Sep. 2005 Posted: Oct. 08 2005, 14:47 I listened to the Crises track on my headphones one summer evening, while on holiday, by the sea, with a full moon above me . The feeling I had was so thrilling! Crises and Incantations are really the albums to be listening to while sitting on the beach! -------------- "And now we're going to play Platinum!" Back to top

Robbie Group: Members Posts: 68 Joined: Jan. 2006 Posted: Jan. 22 2006, 11:37 I have Crises and i like this album very much! Mostly the Crises track and "In high places" with Jon Anderson. Back to top

jonnyw Group: Members Posts: 522 Joined: Oct. 2005 Posted: Jan. 23 2006, 06:27 Quote (rosko @ Oct. 31 2000, 05:30) No MITR! Not song!! Instrumentals aren't songs!!!!! I disagree.... -------------- Grand piano. Reed and pipe organ. Glockenspeil. Bass guitar. Vocal chords. Two slightly sampled electric guitars. The venitian effect. Digital sound processor. And Tubular bells. Solo music - http://-terrapin-.bebo.com Band music - http://www.rsimusic.com Back to top

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