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Topic: Good\Bad guitarist< Next Oldest | Next Newest >
raven4x4x Offline




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Posted: Mar. 17 2003, 06:07

Yeah, his acoustic playing on stuff such as In the Pool is really amazing, but for me his best acoustic playing is Taurus III, Serpent Dream and Muse. I haven't heard many of the famous acoustic guitarists, so I really woudn't know, but I feel that Mke would kick John Williams if they had a competition. :) Without a doubt, the best acoustic guitarist in the world is Steve Howe, from Yes. I know his electric stuff is probably more well known, but from what I have heard, pieces like Clap and Mood for a Day, he is amazingly skilled.

Talking of showcasing his guitaring, I would say Amarok was one of Mikes best albums for guitar fitting in amazingly well with the music. TSODE is another one, in completely different style, but pieces like Crystal Clear are just amazing. Definately he is right up there with more famous guitarist. I just heard Stevie Ray Vaughn's cover of Little Wing, which is an amazing 6 minute piece, but I still prefer Mike's Berlin 2000 light show piece. Amazing.


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Chris-Llawen
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Posted: April 15 2003, 16:34

Mike Oldfield is a virtuoso guitarist.

so there  :)
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Chris-Llawen
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Posted: April 15 2003, 16:40

...although he does stick his fretting hand little finger out lol
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DarkenedEdo Offline




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Posted: June 10 2003, 13:46

My guitar teacher told me Mike Oldfield is one of the greatest guitar player, the first time he listened the "Moonlight shadow" solo he thought he was Mark Knopfler. He teach me "Shine on you crazy diamond" as the first song, but he decide to bring me at the students session with "Women of Ireland". It was very proud of me, and i never stop to thank him, cause he was so smart to add the normal music study with my greatest passion, Mile Oldfield.

But, i have to say but...Mike doesn't play guitar as his maximum, he can play like all the greatest guitar players but it seems to me he doesn't care about it. He doesn't care about technique, he only wants the perfect music, often made with few notes, a great sound a deep atmosphere!
The greatest musicians don't try to do virtuosism, they only want to play one..single...note...but it will be the perfect note.


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BOOsTER Offline




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Posted: June 10 2003, 13:58

Quote (DarkenedEdo @ June 10 2003, 13:46)
The greatest musicians don't try to do virtuosism, they only want to play one..single...note...but it will be the perfect note.

Argh I wanted to say something to this...but ...damn it got lost somewhere in the depth of my mind ;)

well Amen to this...


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DarkenedEdo Offline




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Posted: June 10 2003, 15:13

Amen... :D

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bugular tell Offline




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Posted: June 10 2003, 16:45

i think that mike is a fantastic guitar player for this reason - mant guitarists sound identical, but a few like mike, bryan may, slash from guns and roses, have a style that is recognisable as there own, this is what makes them special, being able to know what artist is playing the instrument in a sea of wannabe's, so for me mike is one of the best because he has taken the guitar and made it his own. :)

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Afgyhi Offline




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Posted: July 27 2003, 08:26

I love Mike's guitarplaying. He has his own amazing style!!!!! :D

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MusicallyInspired Offline




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Posted: July 30 2003, 19:28

I really appreciate the way Mike plays guitar. It's very clean and polished and professional sounding. Unlike how everyone else plays with a pic and sounds all messy and noisy. My favourite quote is still what Mike said once "A guitar can be as expressive and beautiful, if not more beautiful, than a violin or viola if it's used properly. It doesn't have to be rock and mad screaming. It can be very beatiful." I couldn't agree more. I love the way he plays like that. I think it will (if it already hasn't) or should inspire a whole new breed of guitarists that play guitar for that reason and not to be cool or to sound messy or rocky. I am a true follower of Mike Oldfield just for that. And for the whole 'one-note' thing being better musically than a bunch of non-heartfelt notes. And beautiful music.

I am one of those guitarists that have spawned from his technique. I started playing a lot like him and I still do, but I'm edging away into my own sort of style though I still play with nails and the whammy bar (probably always will). But I still play a little differently. I would love to get into some classical and folk guitar stuff and learn those technques as that helps a lot in terms of fluid playing and coordination and even composition sometimes.

Thank you for your style, Mike!


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qjamesfloyd Offline




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Posted: July 31 2003, 10:15

well said MusicallyInspired,Mike has influenced me a lot too,as well as Mark Knopfler,in as much as i play with my fingers all the time now,i feel it gives you so much more control over the strings,and you can play a lot quicker if that's your thing,Mike has got such a wonderful style and touch to his playing,which is why i am still amazed that he is never in any of the guitar maga more often,or never really mentioned as one of the best players ever,i mean,when you look who they put in those lists,you have to question why Mike is not among them,i mean Kurt Cobain!!?do me a favour.
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TheManIsBack Offline




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Posted: Oct. 06 2003, 14:26

Hi everyone,

isn't it a bit weird to have the words 'bad' and 'guitarist'
connected together on a Mike Oldfield site ... ? It should be
rather clear to everyone by now that Mike must be one of the best ever on the electric guitar.

Lately, from time to time, I have had a feeling that Mike isn't practising much anymore. I was very disappointed with Guitars, and (to be honest) the playing on TresLunas is not very spectacular (even though very nice on a few track).
I was a bit worried ... until recently! Then, I first bought TB2003 (very good playing!;), and then (last week) the TBIII Premiere Concert on DVD and the DVD Millenium Bell Concert in Berlin!!!!!!! Wow!!!

I have to tell you: even though I always had very high thoughts on Mike's technique, I never realised how TRULY GREAT and COOL Mike is LIVE! The playing is f-----g great!!!He has this amazing charisma... Whenever he touches the guitar there is magic. Very impressive indeed! He is actually a very underrated live artist, you never hear anything in the media about his concerts ... really sad.

I have to tell you: I think Mike's playing generally is better live than in the studio. Not always, but very often. There is not one solo in the MB Berlin Concerto which is better in the studio. I also realised that Mike is a lot more ROCKIER now than I thought. I mean, in light of his 90's records where there is elaborate playing, and certainly, from time to time, some kick-ass solos, but ... but not that much? In contrast, the live playing 1999-2000 is generally quite heavy, spectaculare, ... those solos on ShadowOnTheWall or MoonlightShadow, SerpentDream, FATC, ... crazy!

I was pleased to see how focused Mike was in Berlin. Never
wrong, ... there were moments in the past when Mike played rather sloppy (like Knebworth, for instance).

Continue this path Mike, play like hell in the studio as well!!!

A few complaints though:

* what is the bass player up to in the TB intro? Terrible.

* Why is everyone so happy with the ArtInHeaven track?
   No substance, terribly boring if you ask me.

Otherwise, brilliant!
The Man

ps. Is Mike better now than 1992, the Edinburgh concerto ?
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TOBY Offline




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Posted: Oct. 07 2003, 08:18

The thing that gets me about the MO live experience is that it's a very hit or miss affair. This is primarily due to the fact that Mike is not and never has been a confident live performer, he's said so himself to varying degrees over the years, and it certainly comes across as such. He does have tons of charisma in his playing style (I mean obviously he does, its one of the things that makes him so good) but his on stage charisma is not really like other rock stars, he just doesn't look particularly comfortable with live performing. Some of Mike's stuff works brilliantly live and other stuff, always the more complex stuff like TB, Ommadawn etc, works much less well. Take the track Summit Day for example, its a superb example of a great MO short instrumental but the album version lacked power because of Mike's stupid idea of compromising it by using only sounds and textures that originated from guitar midi triggering. Live however it had a chance to breath and it sounded much more dynamic and grand and all the better for it. However I have 3 different MP3's of Mike playing Summit Day live and on 2 of them he really hits some obvious and inexcusablely duff notes which does make you cringe a bit. This all comes back round to Mike just not being a particularly comfortable and confident live performer, if he played live on a more regular basis it would certainly help but I just don't think its in his character.

But like I said above there have been some amazing live versions of his music over the years. Some good examples for me would include any of the tracks from the Guitars album, Shadow on the Wall (1999) Sheba always worked better live, Orabidoo (1993) the best guitar solo I've ever heard him play. FATC from the Jools Holland show in 1998 was very impressive too. These are a few of my favourites but there's obviously more.
Pieces like TB have never really worked live, I've got the Knebworth video and its very good fun and if you look at as more of a 'live' jam session loosely based around TB and Ommadawn then you kind of apreciate it a bit more I think.

As for the Thou Art in Heaven track, I view this and Berlin 2000 as 2 completely seperate pieces of music. Berlin 2000 is rather good, I personaly don't think its as good as some fans think it is, there is a very, very nice guitar part in it once its got going but the percussion work, like a lot of Mike's recent percussion work, is not particularly imaginative. It's one of those Mike tracks which you annoyingly know could be very, very good. The Thou Art in Heaven track as featured on the TresLunas album is however so worringly awful you do wonder how it could have slipped through Mike's quality control system, this is the sort of thing I would expect from Enigma (sorry in advance Enigma fans) and not one of the worlds most original living musicians and composers. It does make me worry. And yes that bass sound on the TB2003 intro makes me worry too.
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TheManIsBack Offline




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Posted: Oct. 09 2003, 13:50

Quote (TheManIsBack @ Oct. 06 2003, 14:26)
* what is the bass player up to in the TB intro? Terrible.

Hi Toby,

well, I was actually refering to the spice girl who played the
bass in the Berlin concert ... Her playing in the intro is   insulting to Mike (however, compared to the wind player in the Knebworth version of Ommadawn, she is fantastic! ).

Actually, Toby, I have never been able to detect any lack of confidence in Mike's playing. Certainly not in the 99' and 2000 concerts, where I think Mike kicks ass like never before.
But I think Mike can occasionaly be unfocused, he can suddenly play completely weird notes like in Knebworth.
It is definetely not a limited techniqual ability, far from it!

Anyway, I loved to see the playing in Berlin and London 99. I forgot to mention the lovely playing in JewelInTheCrown where he bends the strings lovely, in order to make the guitar to really 'sing' ... very mature, just great. And the ShadowOnTheWall, just great.

Now, even though I loved Mikes playing, and the impression I got from him, I have great difficulties in listening to the Millenium Bell songs ... Imagine the Millenium Bells songs being played without Mike at all ... how f-----g boring!

And why play Porthsmouth ??? Can ANYONE explain that! God.
Completely insignificant, why not play e.g., LetThereBeLigth instead.

TheMan
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TOBY Offline




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Posted: Oct. 09 2003, 14:41

'The Spice girl at the Berlin concert' Are you referring to Carrie Melbourne? She's actualy one of the UK's top session bassists and one of the very few who is also accomplished on the Chapmen Stick, all in all a very, very good bassist. The fact that she's a complete babe and also rediculously talented just makes me want to weep, why can't I meet a girl like that?????? I can't say I especialy noticed her bass playing as being sub- standard, why do you think it is? The live Tubular Bells experience has always sounded a little awkward to me, I don't think it has anything to do with the quality of the musicians, I just think its hard, no matter what, to make TB live sound musicaly 'tight'.

I certainly agree that some of the live performances Mike gave 1999/2000 kicked ass, from what I've heard of them anyway, but I would underline the word SOME. I've got quite a few bootleg MP3's of the 99 tour and there are a few duff notes (from Mike) here and there, which is possibly excusable given how 'involved' some of Mike's music is but it's also down to him just not being confident as a live performer. I can put this in reletive terms if you want because I've also heard quite a bit of Pink Floyd live and I've never heard any really obvious 'clangers' coming from Dave Gilmour's guitar. Mike quite often just doesn't look relaxed on stage, to my eye anyway, I think if he played live more often he would feel more comfortable but the fact that he rarely plays live is quite telling to how he feels about the whole experience.

On the upside I would totally agree that TB3 improved massively as a live piece of music, there was a lot more energy to it than Mike captured with his studio production, notably with Serpents Dream - brilliant live (try and get hold of the footage from the Jools Holland show from Nov 1998, an amazing performance)

And yes what was he thinking performing Portsmouth at Berlin the Horse Song would have been so much better.  ;)
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TheManIsBack Offline




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Posted: Oct. 11 2003, 07:21

Yes I think her playing is subnormal during the first 3 minutes. But she plays OK in London.

Nice to see Richard Branson in the audience, by the way ..

TheMan
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raven4x4x Offline




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Posted: Oct. 13 2003, 06:36

In what way is the bass 'sub-normal'? She's just playing the riff exactly as it was on the album. She isn't doing anything different or fancy to make it terrible at all. I know that this is a subjective thing based on personal opinion, but it just baffles me as to what is so wrong with it.

Back to the topic, and the only live MO performances I have heard are the three DVDs. The music on them is vastly better than on the album: the added energy of the live performance really helps. Now that I come to think of it he dosen't look overly comfortable on stage, but there are moments when he's obviously carried away by the music. I suppose that's why he dosen't tour often, but he won't get better if he never tours, and a few successful concerts would be great for his self confidence and probably improve the music as well. Personally I'd love to see more of Mike live playing some different songs from TSODE, Guitars, his 70s and 80s work etc, which is why I'd love Knewborth or similar to come out on DVD. I'd love to hear that Orabidoo performance that Toby keeps talking about, is there an mp3 around anywhere.

About Portsmouth and Art in Heaven from the Berlin concert: I really like them. Portsmouth isn't insignificant to me at all: it's totally different live with the guitar and really rocks. The Art in Heaven track does take a while to get going, and probably the percussion isn't all that innovative, but it wasn't designed for listening to like a regular song. It was that backing to the light show, and just adds a nice backing at the beginning. The solo to the piece is amazing and I just love the sound he gets, especially the 'chorus' sounding bit. His soaring guitar on the Tubular Bells piece is simply wonderful. TB2003 also sees him in top form on Ambient Guitars especially, and all through on the acoustic guitar. If he keeps this up his next album should sound amazing. Let's hope so!


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TOBY Offline




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Posted: Oct. 13 2003, 13:07

I would love for everybody to hear an MP3 of Orabidoo from the 93 tour, I do have it but it is an MP3 of a bootleg which is technicaly illegal and I know we're not suposed to discuss such matters openly on this site. I'm suprised this MP3 isn't out there doing the rounds already, it isn't of the best sound quality (bootlegs rarely are)  but it is never the less an amazing performance.

You see this is why I wish Mike would put a decent rarities box set together including live performances like Orabidoo, it would stop us all fannying around with bad quality illegal bootlegs.
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X11 Offline




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Posted: Jan. 06 2004, 08:28

Mike Oldfield is a kick-ass guitarist, I love the stuff, it sounds so much better then half of the well known "good" guitarists. However he is more respected as an artist by many for his creations. Personally I think for each to his own, I guess for some ignorance must be fun.

I love watching Mike Oldfield play, you can see how his mind is in the music, thats how I like to be when I play, flowing with it.


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ChaseMar
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Posted: Jan. 17 2004, 20:50

Mike is definitely one of the best guitarists I have ever heard, nearly tied with Stevie Ray Vaughn in my mind (sorry, I'm a Texan). Both of them can/could play guitar slow, fast, loud, soft, and with enough feeling to make a grown man cry. SRV had a little more feeling in the songs I've heard, but I probably just haven't heard much Mike Oldfield. I only own TBII.
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Melomaniac Offline




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Posted: Feb. 07 2004, 08:13

Yes, there is no doubt Mike is a superb guitarist, I have always thought that´s the main reason why he has been my favourite musician for the last 22 years.Maybe I don´t know much about guitars and guitar players (in fact I don´t get a real good single note from my strat) but I can´t agree with people above who afirm that last concerts like Berlin 99 are good examples of Mike´s best playing. How can you compare Knebworth concert to Berlin and end up saying the last one is better? "Young" Mike was far better guitar player than nowadays, at least concerning to technical questions ( IMHO in his general aproaching to guitar). A lot of examples come to my mind: why didn´t Mike play the complex solo in Ommadawn in his 1999 tour? He used to play it in his 80,s tours. Fortunately, Tb2003 has proved again he is able to do it, if computers didn´t help him too much. I felt very disappointed when I knew the real proof wouldn´t be possible: a live Tb2003 concert. Maybe if Mike comes later this year to Spain (Xacobeo 2004) as romours say...(They are trying to bring him but I think he is not in the mood, hope to be mistaken).
Finally we must accept that Mike himself recognised not to be as good as he was at the guitar after publishing Tb2003.
A little more practising Mike!!
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