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Question: Favourite Islands era track :: Total Votes:10
Poll choices Votes Statistics
The Wind Chimes (Part One) 0  [0.00%]
The Wind Chimes (Part Two) 2  [20.00%]
Islands 0  [0.00%]
Flying Start 0  [0.00%]
North Point 1  [10.00%]
Magic Touch 1  [10.00%]
The Time Has Come 1  [10.00%]
When The Night's On Fire 2  [20.00%]
Shine 0  [0.00%]
The Path 1  [10.00%]
Pictures In The Dark 2  [20.00%]
Legend 0  [0.00%]
The Trap 0  [0.00%]
Music For The Video Wall 0  [0.00%]
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Topic: Favourite Islands era track, votes and comments< Next Oldest | Next Newest >
dazzler Offline




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Posts: 103
Joined: June 2009
Posted: May 23 2018, 19:54

I've made the poll list long to make it possible to talk through a lot of tracks
that are still waiting to be re-released in some kind of deluxe package.

We know b-side The Path originates from 1979,
but it wasn't included on one of the previous deluxe sets.

And in my opinion the Pictures In The Dark single
with Legend and The Trap as accompanying bonus tracks
sounds more like afterburners from the Discovery / Killing Fields era.
But because they weren't included on those reissues, I picked them up.

And finally the instrumental collage Music For The Video Wall
(German B-side to Magic Touch) wasn't released in most countries.

Please vote and talk us through the album.
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dazzler Offline




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Posts: 103
Joined: June 2009
Posted: May 23 2018, 20:20

It wasn't very hard to vote for The Wind Chimes (Part Two).

It stills sound fresh today as one side long instrumental.
A lot of interesting things are going on in the arrangement.
Mike manages to play with the "wind" element in a brilliant way,
like he did with the "water" element on The Lake and In The Pool.

I'm a huge fan of Mike's collaborations with Simon Phillips.
The Wind Chimes and Music From The Balcony are apart from Amarok
and in my opinion his best pieces of music between 1985 and 1991.

I'm very fond of the Wind Chimes Theme
that Mike isolated from the longer part two
in a short part one (being the B-side of Islands).

Was the B-side idea the main reason why he made a part one?

I like the single Islands, especially in its full length 12" appearence.
And I think When The Night's On Fire works very well as a counterpiece.
In fact being a kind of elaborated work in progress version of Islands.

My favourite song on the album though,
is the only one that wasn't released as a single.
I think North Point captures the Celctic atmosphere
of his early 80's output more than the other tracks.

Flying Start and Shine are song I enjoy.
The first one because of its lazy summer mood
and the second one because of its clever guitar solo.

Has anyone an idea why Oldfield decided to withdraw Shine
from the final album tracklist? Was it because the single flopped?

I'm not a huge fan of Magic Touch or The Time Has Come.
Both tracks reveal painfully Mike's achilles heal in my opinion.
And that's when he has to program the drum tracks by himself.
One of the main reasons why I dont like the Earht Moving album.

Legend is a very appealing instrumental in two movements,
remind us of the great B-sides he wrote in the first half of the 80's.

The Trap has a same kind of threatening atmosphere
as some of the synthesizer based tracks on The Killing Fields.
Comparing it with Evacuation, Capture or Execution for example.
Even the title could easily fit in the tracklist of the soundtrack.

And finally Music For The Video Wall indeed sounds
like a collage of some withdrawn soundtrack bits.

A remastered reissue of Islands with an extra disc
of hard to find bonus material including all the 12" versions
and with a DVD release of The Wind Chimes would be welcome.

If I'm correct Music For The Video Wall and the 7" version
of Shine never saw the light of day on compact disc.
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larstangmark Offline




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Posts: 1759
Joined: Mar. 2005
Posted: May 24 2018, 12:34

The Path has no competition for me in that list, because it has that 70s Oldfield magic. For obvious reasons.
North Point IS a very, very good song. Perhaps one of Mike's best pop songs. Legend and The Trap are good, but a bit like incidental music. Like snippets put aside for later use.
I would love to like the Wind Chimes, but sorry. I like the Bjorn J:son Lindh bit and some of of the first "chants", but then I just lose interest. I remember thinking that Mike could just as well concentrate on the short songs, because he was basically getting better at that.


--------------
"There are twelve people in the world, the rest are paste"
Mark E Smith
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omgmo Offline




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Posts: 148
Joined: Mar. 2018
Posted: May 24 2018, 14:03

Hello everyone!

So,

The Wind Chimes (Part Two) is strange, but the more you listen to it the more you like it. Part One is OK for me, as well.

I never liked Islands (this is not real Mike IMO).

On the contrary, I view When The Night's On Fire as a great great lovesong (what a wonderful relationship he had with Anita... how really happy and calm he must have been at the time...)

North Point is really haunting and I love the screaming guitar on it. One of Anita's best performances.

Magic Touch again is not Mike for me.

But... I so much love The Time Has Come! It brings so much light in my soul...

And I think Shine is a genius (OK, and funny also) composition (including the vocals and the percussion and the synth backgorund sound and the guitar of course, everything in one word). (A great song to play to a child as an introduction to his music!;)

I have expressed my HUGE admiration for Pictures In The Dark recently.

Currently, I don't have something to say for the other songs.

(Haven't voted yet)

God bless Mike! :laugh:  :laugh:
He continuously feeds our minds, our souls, he gives us energy and fun, and makes us laugh.
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larstangmark Offline




Group: Members
Posts: 1759
Joined: Mar. 2005
Posted: May 25 2018, 11:55

Quote (omgmo @ May 24 2018, 14:03)
I have expressed my HUGE admiration for Pictures In The Dark recently.

I'm not sure I think Pictures in the Dark has aged that well, but the guitar solo is one of Mike's best ever. Very short, but just stunning!

The song is full of nostalgia for me though. I remember running to the store and buying it when it was released, being just a little kid with very little pocket money! I remember thinking the b-sides were kind of weird.


--------------
"There are twelve people in the world, the rest are paste"
Mark E Smith
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omgmo Offline




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Posts: 148
Joined: Mar. 2018
Posted: May 26 2018, 10:35

Quote
I'm not sure I think Pictures in the Dark has aged that well


I must inform you, my friend, that I first listened to this song just 2 years ago!! And I was amazed...
(To the extended version, if that matters.)

So, maybe you're a little unfair with your nostalgia. :)
And thank you for sharing your memories. It is nice to learn about what a song means or reminds of to other people.

Perhaps it sounds somewhat special, but, I don't know, I still (or hence??) love it infinitely.
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nightspore Offline




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Posts: 4759
Joined: Mar. 2008
Posted: May 26 2018, 20:11

I always think Mike's male voice songs sound better. That's why I like Man on the Rocks so much.
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6 replies since May 23 2018, 19:54 < Next Oldest | Next Newest >

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