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Topic: Anyone feel like Taurus II is underated?, Or anyone feel some song is overated.< Next Oldest | Next Newest >
D Seph Offline




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Posted: Mar. 26 2007, 20:35

I know I do. I feel Taurus II is an AWESOME song which can compare right with Tubular Bells. It's a lengthy piece which is capable of evoking many different emotions. The second the song went from a rock style to (I think Ulean or however it is spelled) pipes, I fell in love. Then it changes again to something darker with what sounds like an odd organ or bag pipes. Then the deep deep sound, which I LOVED hearing (a beautiful vocal solo) from Taurus I. It revisits alot of old tunes, which I always loved.

I honestly feel Ommadawn is overated. Not bad, but not Mike's better works. Same thing applys to Amarok.
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ThisName Offline




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Posted: Mar. 27 2007, 05:53

lol, you had me on your side when you said about Taurus II, but lost me when you talked about Ommadawn and Amarok, shame on you! lol ;)

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Moz Offline




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Posted: Mar. 27 2007, 06:01

Taurus II is OK, but it's not what I'd call one of Mike's best.  It's a bit overdone.  The same can be said of The Wind Chimes Part 1.  A much better instrumental from the 1980s is Crises - I love it!

Since listening to the QE2 album a bit more, I prefer Taurus I over Taurus II.  In fact I think the whole of QE2 is really good and very underrated.  It definitely grows on you. :D


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Matt Offline




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Posted: Mar. 27 2007, 06:12

I do think it is a bit underrated, it is one of my favorite MO instrumentals.

However, Mikes music is very subjective. While most people like the original TB, likes and dislikes vary amoung the rest. I wouldn't agree that Ommadawn is overrated because many people do love it (even though I don't! ). Same goes for Amarok, it is highly rated by some (like me) and others don't get it at all.

So Taurus II might be considered underrated if it turns out lots of people like you and I love it even though it rarely gets a mention. Lets see how this thread progresses...


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nushky Offline




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Posted: Mar. 27 2007, 09:01

IMHO the strength of Taurus II lies mainly in his  dynamics and variety of moods (from heavy to quiet, ...). I think some tunes in it don't suffer too many repetitive listening (especially the heavy intro riff). But the way the tunes are connected and the arrangements done make it a very powerful song. One of my favorite passage is at 05:00 after the cascading solo.
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Sir Mustapha Offline




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Posted: Mar. 27 2007, 15:07

In this forum, I'd say Taurus II is pretty overrated. It's like a collection of Mike Oldfield's most average melodies, most average instrumentation and most damn irritating arrangements (yes, I'm looking at the distorted chants near the end, you betcha). It's very, very, very, very overblown, though, so I guess it had to have some fans. :)

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Chicular Offline




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Posted: Mar. 29 2007, 04:55

I prefer Taurus II to Crises.  Five Miles Out is a superior album to Crises in my opinion as well.  I defintely do not think Ommadawn or Amarok are overrated.
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moonchildhippy Offline




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Posted: Mar. 29 2007, 19:44

Quote (D Seph @ Mar. 27 2007, 00:35)
I know I do. I feel Taurus II is an AWESOME song which can compare right with Tubular Bells. It's a lengthy piece which is capable of evoking many different emotions. The second the song went from a rock style to (I think Ulean or however it is spelled) pipes, I fell in love. Then it changes again to something darker with what sounds like an odd organ or bag pipes. Then the deep deep sound, which I LOVED hearing (a beautiful vocal solo) from Taurus I. It revisits alot of old tunes, which I always loved.

I honestly feel Ommadawn is overated. Not bad, but not Mike's better works. Same thing applys to Amarok.

I agree that Taurus II is underrated, Five Miles Out would have to be Mike's best 80's album :) , it's just Family Man spoils the album fior me :O ,
Amarok,  as  I'm sure  I've said I just don't get it, however much I want to like/love it, no matter how many times I play it I can't make any sense of it.

Ommadawn overrated :O , no way, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on that one.  I love Ommadawn it's my favourite         :)  :D .


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ImAFoolAndImLaughing Offline




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Posted: April 03 2007, 17:53

Quote
It's very, very, very, very overblown, though, so I guess it had to have some fans. :)


Ooh - scathing, Mustapha!


It is underrated, IMLTHO. (That's "in my less than humble opinion") Beautifully constructed, and such a variety of differing styles and moods all wrapped up in one package (I particularly like the Morris Dancing that bursts out of nowhere in the middle of it! )

However, as much as I love Taurus II, I have to express a preference for (and I know I'll be lynched for this...) the cut-down version of the same themes that you find in Orabidoo (or the "rehash", as my brother calls it)

:)


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backwoodsman Offline




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Posted: April 04 2007, 09:14

I also like Taurus II, but I like Taurus 1 even more. I think Taurus 1 is one of those underrated pieces. If we talk about overrated albums, I would say that Tubular bells is his most overrated album. Everybody (except his fans of course) seems to know Mike only as a man who made Tubular bells, but in my opinion Tubular bells is definitely not his best album. Ommadawn is not overrated, it is an ingenious album. Recently I have been listening to those live performances of Ommadawn and I have learnt to appreciate it even more than before.
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Sweetpea Offline




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Posted: May 11 2007, 17:05

I've only listened to "Taurus II" a few times, and I'm enjoying it more each time. My favorite section is between 20:00 and 22:53 (the subsequent tune was familiar to me since I knew "Five Miles Out" from my single-disc Elements cd). I recently came across a vid of this part from a live performance. I think it's fantastic.

ETA

Forgot to add that I have no idea if "Taurus II" is underrated or not, but I have a definite opinion on Ommadawn... it can not be rated highly enough. :)


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ImAFoolAndImLaughing Offline




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Posted: May 12 2007, 05:43

Quote (backwoodsman @ April 04 2007, 09:14)
I also like Taurus II, but I like Taurus 1 even more. I think Taurus 1 is one of those underrated pieces. If we talk about overrated albums, I would say that Tubular bells is his most overrated album. Everybody (except his fans of course) seems to know Mike only as a man who made Tubular bells, but in my opinion Tubular bells is definitely not his best album. Ommadawn is not overrated, it is an ingenious album. Recently I have been listening to those live performances of Ommadawn and I have learnt to appreciate it even more than before.

I agree that TB isn't Mike's greatest album, but I also think that it's easy for Mike's fans to fall into the trap of not giving TB the praise it deserves, either for fear of being seen as promoting Mike as "Mr. Tubular Bells", or because it's perceived as more "fan-ly" to talk about Mike's lesser known albums.

Personally, I think TB is still one of Mike's freshest-sounding works, along with Platinum and Amarok - an explosion of all the little musical ideas that had been bouncing around in Mike's head for years, trying desperately to find their way out, before finally emerging onto his guitar strings in Branson's recording studio. I think it's easy to forget what an amazing achievement TB is, especially when we see it being given away( ! ) by crappy little rags like the Daily Mail...


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larstangmark Offline




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Posted: May 12 2007, 06:14

I don't think Taurus II can be said to be underrated, at least not by fans. It's one of those pieces that (along with Amarok) that people here seem to go nuts about.
I think the first half is great. Not Ommadawn-great or Incantations-great, really good. The criticism I have is that the arrangements are a bit random at times, and that there are a few moments that sound too metronomic.
The second part I'm no big fan of. This was the first time I found the african chanting thing a bit irritating. Also, it's all a bit too happy for my taste.

I  also think Taurus II was Mike's last great long track. Wind Cimes and Music From the Balcony doesn't even come close.
There's a nice dark edge to the first part of Taurus II, a few really sinister "evil" bits that I really like.


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Sir Mustapha Offline




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Posted: May 12 2007, 12:41

Very interesting. I wouldn't call the arrangements of Taurus II "random", because it's basically the very same arrangement all the way through. The "metronomism" of it at least has something of a point, that is, to give the song that feeling of hovering in mid-air. What I think is that it lacks melodies direly. Many parts of it just roam around very basic and predictable noodles and chord changes. And the chanting bit disgusts me - sounds like an anthem for some political faction.

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larstangmark Offline




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Posted: May 13 2007, 10:52

Quote (Sir Mustapha @ May 12 2007, 12:41)
Very interesting. I wouldn't call the arrangements of Taurus II "random", because it's basically the very same arrangement all the way through. The "metronomism" of it at least has something of a point, that is, to give the song that feeling of hovering in mid-air. What I think is that it lacks melodies direly. Many parts of it just roam around very basic and predictable noodles and chord changes. And the chanting bit disgusts me - sounds like an anthem for some political faction.

About the "randomness"; The first time the fast "oarbidoo"-theme appears (a couple of minutes in?) it sounds really uncomfortable. Then after that there is a "slow down" (to the melodic part with lots of synth brass) that strikes me as sounding very strained. Also, towards the end of the piece, after the dreaded "afro" piece, there is a section that doesn't fit very well. I bet it took a lot of rehearsing to make it gel...or maby not! I think/guess that Taurus II was the first piece Mike did using the Fairlight sequencer as a base for the whole thing. Working with sequencers/workstations opens up for the possibility of "forcing" pieces of music together. If one would have worked the whole piece up in rehersal someone present would propably have commented that it doesn't work. With a computer or sequencer, there is no room for such discussion. You just draw out the piece on the computer and then overdub from there. And if it doesn't work, overdub some more!

I have no complaints about the melodies though. The above mentioned section with the synth brass and the ascending guitar scales - that's a great melody that sticks in your mind immediately. "The Deep Deep Sound" is a also a great melody, even if it uses the same method as Incantations - using one short melody and transposing it endlessly.

Another thing: Crises is very, very similiar to Taurus II. It's the same structure with lots of "action" in the beginning, a neat vocal piece in the middle and a major-key repetitive ending.


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Sir Mustapha Offline




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Posted: May 13 2007, 13:52

It's true,Taurus II and Crises do seem to share fairly similar structures. The latter, though, instead of trying to make one section "gel" with the other, it separates them nicely into movements of a suite. And for me, at least, the difference in terms of musical content is quite dramatic. There isn't one lousy second when it seems like there is nothing going on; there's dynamics, build-up, and every note eventually leads us into something. And I like the open ending. :)

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larstangmark Offline




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Posted: May 14 2007, 01:13

Quote (Sir Mustapha @ May 13 2007, 13:52)
It's true,Taurus II and Crises do seem to share fairly similar structures. The latter, though, instead of trying to make one section "gel" with the other, it separates them nicely into movements of a suite. And for me, at least, the difference in terms of musical content is quite dramatic. There isn't one lousy second when it seems like there is nothing going on; there's dynamics, build-up, and every note eventually leads us into something. And I like the open ending. :)

My overall impression of Crises is that it's very well done and arranged (propably better than Taurus II), but I prefer the atmosphere of Taurus II. The whole Crises album is kind of cold and 80s sounding (propably due to that expensive reverb gadget mentioned in the credits!).

The ending of Crises is OK though apart from the section where it sounds like a Simon Philips drum clinic.


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Marky Offline




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Posted: May 14 2007, 07:52

Mmmm...one cant settle by logical argument the merits of any two pieces with Mike O... its very much fueled by where you start your appreciation. As he often points out it has little to do with musical complexity or merit as to how his music is received. That seems to go for us the fans as well as the others, critics and public alike (and some of us may feel like all three maybe?).

Taurus II was my breakthrough to Mike's music. For that reason I have always liked it. I knew he was different when I heard it. I knew I had discovered something special. I could not understand why most others could not see or hear it like me. And yet Taurus II isn't unaccessible. Its got heavy rock and folk written through it. Its fairly driven and doesn't over-repeat. I have some minor criticisms but none worth articulating. I can hear it in my head easily enough. It wasn't badly received as an album.

If Mike had cut out classical music and had stitched rock and folk only, then this could have basically been his Tubular Bells!
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Posted: Jan. 22 2008, 07:50

Just bought the CD after having sold the LP many years ago.  I had forgotten how good Taurus II was  - soon found myself toe-tapping and humming along.  One of my favourite pieces.
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The Caveman Offline




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Posted: Jan. 22 2008, 11:59

Absolutely!The first LP i ever bought at the tender age of 7 was FMO.I loved TB and had a copy of Ommadawn and i think Hergest Ridge and QE2 and got FMO while on holiday.I was an odd kid (still am)and Taurus II i just fell in love with.251/2 years on and,barring some slightly suspect synth sounds,it still sounds good.As for the 80's albums it beats Earth Moving  :D

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