Tubular.net :: Mike Oldfield Forums Discussion, news, reviews, fan music, and more.
	Search :: Members :: Help :: Guidelines

Pages: (8) < [1] 2 3 4 5 6 ... > [ Track this topic :: Email this topic :: Print this topic ]

familyjules Group: Members Posts: 1190 Joined: May 2004 Posted: Aug. 12 2004, 06:01 So anyway I was sent Amarok for my birthday but I was out of the country when they tried to deliver it and there's been an absolute farce getting it redelivered (which I won't go into) but yesterday it finally made it to my house. And twice I sat down to listen to it and both times I was interrupted by all kinds of things.  It's going to be hard to get an hour of peace to hear this thing properly. So I'm holding off posting my thoughts until I've had the chance to hear it properly a couple of times (at least). So far it all sounds like a mass of unconnected sounds and experiments.  There's some pretty interludes and some great guitar playing, but I can't get a grasp on the work as a whole at all.  This is no surprise - the telephone kept ringing (mine, not the one of the CD!, and all sorts of other things, so I didn't stand a chance! I'll keep you posted.  This may take longer than waiting for the bloody thing to arrive! Jules -------------- I like beer and I like cheese Back to top

raven4x4x Group: Members Posts: 1535 Joined: Jan. 2002 Posted: Aug. 12 2004, 06:28 Excellent!! Amarok is one of the best birthday presents I can imagine, even if it arives late! It's good to know that you haven't dismissed it at first listen. When I first listened to Amarok I didn't quite get it either, but there was something that made me want to listen to it over again. This is quite common among first time listeners: I imagine that the number of people who loved it on first listen are very small. And yes, it is best listened to uninterrupted. I hope you enjoy!! (I'm sure you will) -------------- Thank-you for helping us help you help us all. Back to top

Sir Mustapha Group: Musicians Posts: 2802 Joined: April 2003 Posted: Aug. 12 2004, 07:14 It's going to be challenging, but definitely rewarding. You just have to hold on to the melodies and let the sounds and noises ornament them, not the other way around! There's almost always a melody going on. When there isn't, there is something else going on. But it's perfectly normal not to get an album like that on first or second listen. -------------- Check out http://ferniecanto.com.br for all my music, including my latest albums: Don't Stay in the City, Making Amends and Builders of Worlds. Also check my Bandcamp page: http://ferniecanto.bandcamp.com Back to top

familyjules Group: Members Posts: 1190 Joined: May 2004 Posted: Aug. 13 2004, 07:19 Yesterday I listened to the whole album.  Again, though, I was interrupted, which meant that I listened to the first 20 minutes and then had to FFWD through to the 20 minute mark and continue from there.  You know what would be neat?  On classical CDs in the old days there used to be sub-divisions for long works so that you could navigate to sections within a long track.  I guess listening on a pc is easier because you can move the cursor through to find your place, but then you lose your high fidelity.  Anyhoo.... The thing that's bothering me so far is how short each section is.  In many ways it's the opposite of Incantations.  On Incantations, some themes are repeated so often and for so long that they can outstay their welcome, but on Amarok nothing seems to stay static for very long at all.  It's almost like Mike Oldfield for the 'short attention span generation'!  Part of the appeal of TB, HR, Ommadawn and Incantations was Mike taking a musical motif and building it up in layers, but here the music jumps around like a skittish cat! But, this is still early days for me.  I'm not giving up yet!  I'll keep posting as my relationship with this unusual album develops. Your reporter in the Amarok trenches, Jules -------------- I like beer and I like cheese Back to top

Sir Mustapha Group: Musicians Posts: 2802 Joined: April 2003 Posted: Aug. 13 2004, 07:28 Personally, I think the reason why I liked this album from the very start was that I never treated it in "sections". It was always one thing to me (ok, maybe four or five larger "parts" of a whole), and I always tried to feel how the whole thing flows. And, believe me, it does flow. I think that, once you understand the overall picture, the album will mean much more. And it's not a matter of "short attention span": Mike wanted to make the "sections" as small as possible, so they couldn't be made into a single. It's un-commercialism! That's the reason why there are no divisions, too. It's all about annoying the record label. -------------- Check out http://ferniecanto.com.br for all my music, including my latest albums: Don't Stay in the City, Making Amends and Builders of Worlds. Also check my Bandcamp page: http://ferniecanto.bandcamp.com Back to top

familyjules Group: Members Posts: 1190 Joined: May 2004 Posted: Aug. 16 2004, 04:58 Glad to report that on Saturday I had my first wholly positive listening experience with Amarok.  I really enjoyed it without 'thinking' about it.  I was, I have to admit, somewhat slightly drunk on Guinness at the time, but maybe, just maybe, this allowed me to relax enough to enjoy the music in a non-critical way. I'm going to try it sober again this week.  I'll keep you posted. Your man in the trenches, Jules -------------- I like beer and I like cheese Back to top

Holger Group: Members Posts: 1506 Joined: Feb. 2003 Posted: Aug. 17 2004, 07:14 That might not be the worst way to listen to it, after all (as long as you stick to Guinness!   ). Nice to hear you're enjoying the album. Yes, it's a funny album. It isn't much like Ommadawn at all. I do think it is a bit similar to Tubular Bells, though. Actually I find it to have more of the TB spirit than the actual Tubular Bells II. Then of course it isn't "another TB" either. It's like no other album ever made, really. There are more than enough "weird" albums out there of course but the thing with Amarok is that there is much more to it than just weirdness. I think (well, I hope) if you're beginning to like it now, you will come to like it more with each listen. Back to top

familyjules Group: Members Posts: 1190 Joined: May 2004 Posted: Aug. 18 2004, 04:36 I had another enjoyable listening experience last night.  Sober too!  And uninterrupted (except for leaving the room to get my cigarettes, which I did at the 30 minute stage, echoing Mike's footsteps with my own!. I've started recognising the tunes and thinking "ooh, I like this bit!", and nodding my head along to the music. All positive really.  Except for one big exception.  The 'Margaret Thatcher' voice.  I know this board is made up of people from all over the world, and that a lot of non-Brits may not realise this, but Thatcher divided my country in two, and those of us who disliked her, *really* disliked her.  Imagine hearing a facsimile of the voice of your least favourite politician during the climax of one of Mike Oldfield's albums, how would you like it?  I know it's done for amusement, but I really can't enjoy it myself, sorry. But apart from that, all positive. Your man in the trenches, Jules -------------- I like beer and I like cheese Back to top

hiawatha Group: Members Posts: 2391 Joined: Mar. 2004 Posted: Aug. 18 2004, 07:45 I think the Thatcher bit is part of the perfection of Amarok. It provides a humorous counterpoint to what would otherwise be an overlong "Africa" climax section. She does come off as kind of an idiot in it, too. -------------- "In the land of the Dacotahs, Where the Falls of Minnehaha Flash and gleam among the oak-trees, Laugh and leap into the valley." - Song of Hiawatha Back to top

Sir Mustapha Group: Musicians Posts: 2802 Joined: April 2003 Posted: Aug. 18 2004, 08:23 Quote (hiawatha @ Aug. 18 2004, 07:45) She does come off as kind of an idiot in it, too. "Kind of"? "Endings normally happen at the end." Yep, the speech sounds completely stupid and inane, but that's the point. If I, personally, were presented with a speech by an actual Brazilian politician that's totally loathsome, I'd laugh. I'd think of it as a reminder: "Remember this idiot? Well, he's not in charge anymore!" -------------- Check out http://ferniecanto.com.br for all my music, including my latest albums: Don't Stay in the City, Making Amends and Builders of Worlds. Also check my Bandcamp page: http://ferniecanto.bandcamp.com Back to top

hiawatha Group: Members Posts: 2391 Joined: Mar. 2004 Posted: Aug. 18 2004, 09:05 I heard some of Thatcher's speech at Ronald Reagan's funeral. She actually did go off on talking about endings, and at one point did sound similar to the bit in Amarok. I would think that the most likely people to be offended by this are those who love Thatcher. -------------- "In the land of the Dacotahs, Where the Falls of Minnehaha Flash and gleam among the oak-trees, Laugh and leap into the valley." - Song of Hiawatha Back to top

familyjules Group: Members Posts: 1190 Joined: May 2004 Posted: Aug. 18 2004, 10:09 Quote (hiawatha @ Aug. 18 2004, 09:05) I would think that the most likely people to be offended by this are those who love Thatcher. Yes, yes, I see your point there. I just have this Pavlovian response to her voice (or the impersonation of her voice) that makes me foam at the mouth with rage.  Heh. I also remember reading in the late 70s/early 80s that Mike was a Conservative Party supporter and voted for Thatcher's government to get in.  I wonder how he stood politically by the time of Amarok......? Jules -------------- I like beer and I like cheese Back to top

hiawatha Group: Members Posts: 2391 Joined: Mar. 2004 Posted: Aug. 18 2004, 10:52 Maybe he wasn't h-h-h-happy with them by then. -------------- "In the land of the Dacotahs, Where the Falls of Minnehaha Flash and gleam among the oak-trees, Laugh and leap into the valley." - Song of Hiawatha Back to top

familyjules Group: Members Posts: 1190 Joined: May 2004 Posted: Aug. 18 2004, 11:37 Oh and one other thing that's been puzzling me (and this time amusing the heck out of me) - are those ladies chanting the word "arsehole" (or "asshole") over and over, or am I hearing things? Jules -------------- I like beer and I like cheese Back to top

Korgscrew Group: Super Admins Posts: 3511 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: Aug. 18 2004, 12:14 I think it's far-so, but considering the nature of Mike's morse message to Richard Branson, I wouldn't like to say for sure Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: Aug. 18 2004, 15:06 Double reply... @ Jules: I perfectly understand how you Brits feel about Thatcher, and I would love to hear OlracUK's voice about this (which up to now has been weirdly absent from this topic...), but I myself find it very, very comical. Maybe because I used to love Spitting Image when it was aired down here... isn't she the same voice who did Thatcher in that show? @ Richard: I don't think it's even 'far'. I always interpreted it as so-fa-so, but here we go again with English not being, of course, my mother tongue. -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

Korgscrew Group: Super Admins Posts: 3511 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: Aug. 18 2004, 19:48 Fa/far/fah/faa...same difference (but let's not start on this one) I think with Thatcher, Mike is trying to undermine her. I was never annoyed by it (and I certainly can't say I ever liked her much! ), though I never found it laugh-out-loud funny either. Amusing, though. Back to top

olracUK Group: Members Posts: 1683 Joined: June 2003 Posted: Aug. 18 2004, 20:09 Right then..I go with familyjules on the Thatcher voice. funny -  a bit, annoying - a lot. Yes there is humour there, but to my ears it's misplaced. Without hearing from Mike on the thinking behind it's inclusion, I'll assume it is just what it seems - a deliberate attempt to add humour and also to break up the rythm of the album. That would be in keeping with his desire to create a "piss-off" factor to Virgin. To my ears it just seems border line unfunny. Like an old uncle telling a bad joke at a wedding. Until Mr Perma-smile Blair arrived with his Thatcher in a suit impression, old Maggie was the one politician to create the most intense emotions negative in the British public, so an easy target. Anyway, Amarok is still the most original, demanding, joyous album after TB, and given the bells, the crescendo's, the silly vocal speech, the intense themes, it really is the one true "Son of Tubular Bells". He just didn't want Virgin to have the automatic sales that the TB2 title would have had. Oh, the female vocals - "far-so" to my ears, and if he wanted dodgy lyrics, he's been far outdone by The Darkness in recent years. -------------- The answer is 42 - but what is the question? Back to top

Holger Group: Members Posts: 1506 Joined: Feb. 2003 Posted: Sep. 23 2004, 18:52 So... how's it going?   Back to top

familyjules Group: Members Posts: 1190 Joined: May 2004 Posted: Sep. 24 2004, 04:32 Quote (Holger @ Sep. 23 2004, 18:52) So... how's it going?   I played it again two nights ago.  I don't think I'm going to become a fan in the same way as yourself, Sir M and some of the others here, but I enjoy it well enough.  Ultimately though I find the 70s albums much more beautiful and warm, so I think they will remain my favourite Mike albums. Not that I'm giving up on Amarok, you understand.... Jules -------------- I like beer and I like cheese Back to top

[ Track this topic :: Email this topic :: Print this topic ] Pages: (8) < [1] 2 3 4 5 6 ... >

Forums | Links | Instruments | Discography | Tours | Articles | FAQ | Artwork | Wallpapers
Biography | Gallery | Videos | MIDI / Ringtones | Tabs | Lyrics | Books | Sitemap | Contact


Mike Oldfield Tubular.net