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The Caveman Group: Members Posts: 2178 Joined: Jan. 2008 Posted: Feb. 10 2009, 10:27 I have also renewed my love of this album in the last week or so.Since the snow i have been sitting working out parts on guitar and it suddenly struck me how all the parts are linked.I know that sounds obvious and i've been listening to Ommadawn for about 25 years.Side one isn't more than say 4 or 5 themes in all.The difference is obviously to do with the instruments they are played on but the really subtle things are really amazing.For example the euphoric solo after the harp section is more or less exactlly the same theme as the second part of the harp theme played higher and with less ornamentation.That's the other thing that occurs.As we all know Mike uses a lot of grace notes and ornamentation.It is amazing how enough use of these techniques can change a theme to the point you don't actually realise it's related.I know this all sounds really mundane as we all think we know the music so well by now but since i have seriously sat down and studied it and got right down to the nuts and bolts of it i have really fallen in love with it all over again as i now have a greater undersatnding of how it works. -------------- THE COMING OF THE GREAT WHITE HANDKERCHEIF IS NIGH. Back to top

Opus 1 Group: Members Posts: 55 Joined: Jan. 2007 Posted: Feb. 10 2009, 11:18 Yeah i have issues with choosing a favourite MO album because after I've listened to any of his albums it always becomes my new favourite...although Ommadawn is high up in my own opinions of Mike's best. -------------- The mark of a skilled musician is to be able to play one note and mean it, not play zillions of notes and not mean it. (www.myspace.com/markmonaghan) Back to top

smillsoid Group: Members Posts: 548 Joined: Dec. 2008 Posted: April 10 2009, 14:02 My favourite Mike album is Amarok - to me it's the best instrumental album ever recorded.  But Ommadawn would come a very close second - very very close.  You really shouldn't compare instrumental with non-instrumental work in my opinion.  My favourite non-instrumental work is Pink Floyd's masterpiece The Wall - as much for its lyrical content as its music. -------------- http://www.reverbnation.com/simonjmills Back to top

Ghostmojo Group: Members Posts: 94 Joined: Mar. 2009 Posted: April 10 2009, 20:43 Well Ommadawn might be the very best with me one day, but the next day it would be back to Hergest Ridge. Another day yet again it might be Amarok. However, on another website somebody just today asked the question "what was the album that really floored you when you first heard it/or when it first came out?" It didn't take long for me to answer that and in may respects it still remains MO's best ever work - plus ... Tubular Bells (1973) -------------- " ... if you feel a little glum - to Hergest Ridge you should come ... " Back to top

Incantations Group: Members Posts: 157 Joined: May 2010 Posted: Aug. 10 2010, 03:48 Of Mo's work: Incantations (no surprise there) Non Mo: Perhaps The Planets by Gustav Holst, and actually I am very much into classical music! You would like The planets if you liked Music of the Spheres. -------------- Hmm... Back to top

Delfín Group: Members Posts: 667 Joined: Nov. 2000 Posted: Aug. 10 2010, 06:30 Quote (Ugo @ June 19 2002, 23:47) Yes, I have. Mike's: Amarok. Non-Mike's: APP's Eye In The Sky. My opinion is based on nothing else but the fact that I like those two albums more than I like Ommadawn.  :wink: Hi Ugo, i'm really surprised about this answer. Not because I don't like the Alan Parsons Project, which I love, being somewhere between my second or my fifth rock band of all time. But I'm really surprised that you put 'Eye in the Sky' above 'Ommadawn'. I know that record very well, and being a very good one, I would never say it's better than 'Ommadawn'. It's obvious a rather subjective and loose question, but I consider 'Eye in the Sky' a very good, commercial pop/symphonic rock album with gems like 'Eye in the Sky', 'Silence and I' and 'Old and Wise' (I really think the sad ones are the best in this album) but only an average one amongst the rest of other albums from the Project, unarguably inferior than 'Tales...', 'Pyramid', 'Stereotomy' or 'Freudiana' (the last one being my favourite from them). The other choice, 'Amarok', is however much more predictable, not in vain you are regarded by me and many others as a devoted Amarokian, which leaves no doubt about the question. I wouldn't be able to say right now which one from 'Ommadawn' or 'Amarok' I prefer, as I would rate both with a 9/10, and 'Eye in the Sky' would have an 8/10. Just opinions. For me there are better albums than 'Ommadawn', but not much more than 15 or 20. In the MO ranking, I would place it between 5th - 8th. I prefer TB 1, 2 and 2003, Incantations, Five Miles Out, and consider equal TB 3, HR, and Discovery. -------------- The most precious thing I possess, is knowing the answer's yes Back to top

spark Group: Members Posts: 152 Joined: June 2009 Posted: Aug. 10 2010, 07:01 Its my greatest Mike Oldfield album of all time because I do not think he will ever make anything better . But greatest album of all time ? Until Im near the end of my life I couldnt pick my greatest album .   It might not have been recorded yet ! Back to top

familyjules Group: Members Posts: 1190 Joined: May 2004 Posted: Aug. 10 2010, 11:04 Quote (spark @ Aug. 10 2010, 07:01) It's my greatest Mike Oldfield album of all time because I do not think he will ever make anything better. But greatest album of all time?  Until I'm near the end of my life I couldnt pick my greatest album.   It might not have been recorded yet! I heartily concur with all of the above (though I think the last statement may just been wishful fantasy). Jules -------------- I like beer and I like cheese Back to top

Incantations Group: Members Posts: 157 Joined: May 2010 Posted: Aug. 10 2010, 16:15 Humanity yet has an eternity to record aan inawesomable album  (I hope), and I doubt the most listened to genre will be straight pop 20 years from now. -------------- Hmm... Back to top

nightspore Group: Members Posts: 4761 Joined: Mar. 2008 Posted: Aug. 10 2010, 21:20 No, Heaven's Open is better. Back to top

Milamber Group: Musicians Posts: 2263 Joined: Feb. 2010 Posted: Aug. 11 2010, 02:50 Quote (nightspore @ Aug. 11 2010, 11:20) No, Heaven's Open is better. Thats a Shock Ommabasher of the Year Ladies and Gentlemen. Nah seriously HO rocks well some parts do anyway. Nightspore do you prefer the album version of Gimme back or the Demo. Also the Horns towards the end of MFTB seem to say Oldfield --Oldfield ,or maybe its just the drugs     Back to top

ex member 892 Group: Members Posts: 827 Joined: July 2008 Posted: Aug. 11 2010, 10:36 I agree with what several people before me have said - Ommadawn is Mike's greatest album, but I've no idea what the greatest album of all time is. Back to top

Incantations Group: Members Posts: 157 Joined: May 2010 Posted: Aug. 11 2010, 16:10 Heaven's Open has all the traits I don' t like about prog (or prog-esque) records. Electronic sounding drum patterns shaky transitions Spontaneousity (good in small doses, too much here) Pop repetition etc. But for some reason I like it. It's quite unexplainable, but that's music. You like it but never really understand why. -------------- Hmm... Back to top

nightspore Group: Members Posts: 4761 Joined: Mar. 2008 Posted: Aug. 11 2010, 20:36 Quote (milamber @ Aug. 11 2010, 02:50) Quote (nightspore @ Aug. 11 2010, 11:20) No, Heaven's Open is better. Thats a Shock Ommabasher of the Year Ladies and Gentlemen. Nah seriously HO rocks well some parts do anyway. Nightspore do you prefer the album version of Gimme back or the Demo. Also the Horns towards the end of MFTB seem to say Oldfield --Oldfield ,or maybe its just the drugs     Hi Milamber, I'm not actually fond of "Gimme Back", so I haven't even heard the other version you mention. "Music from the Balcony" and the title song are my favourites. Back to top

melrose Group: Members Posts: 1 Joined: Aug. 2010 Posted: Aug. 12 2010, 15:26 I used to think Ommadawn was the best..until I began to  appreciate Hergest Ridge! Stunning, moving and very Mike! Back to top

nightspore Group: Members Posts: 4761 Joined: Mar. 2008 Posted: Aug. 12 2010, 21:18 Quote (melrose @ Aug. 12 2010, 15:26) I used to think Ommadawn was the best..until I began to  appreciate Hergest Ridge! Stunning, moving and very Mike! What, even better than TB? My personal bias aside, I'd have thought that HR and Ommadawn couldn't help but be seen merely as attempts to duplicate the formula of TB but with less memorable melodies. Back to top

Sir Mustapha Group: Musicians Posts: 2802 Joined: April 2003 Posted: Aug. 12 2010, 22:22 Quote (Incantations @ Aug. 11 2010, 16:10) Heaven's Open has all the traits I don' t like about prog (or prog-esque) records. Electronic sounding drum patterns shaky transitions Spontaneousity (good in small doses, too much here) Pop repetition etc. I find that interesting, because even with all those elements, I don't think Heaven's Open qualifies as a "prog-esque" record; in fact, it's a quite radically anti-prog-esque record, as side A is made solely of very simple songs, and side B is very irreverent, lacking the formality and solemnity of traditional prog. So all those elements, in this context, make a lot of sense (except maybe for the electronic drums, which can be annoying). -------------- 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

nightspore Group: Members Posts: 4761 Joined: Mar. 2008 Posted: Aug. 13 2010, 01:43 Quote (Sir Mustapha @ Aug. 12 2010, 22:22) etc.[/quote] I find that interesting, because even with all those elements, I don't think Heaven's Open qualifies as a "prog-esque" record; in fact, it's a quite radically anti-prog-esque record, as side A is made solely of very simple songs, and side B is very irreverent, lacking the formality and solemnity of traditional prog. So all those elements, in this context, make a lot of sense (except maybe for the electronic drums, which can be annoying). I'm not going to enter into any debate about "prog", as I consider it pointless; but "Music from the Balcony" is actually quite structured/formal, with regard to its overall architecture: for example, you get that ten-note melody I've mentioned before; it returns with variations, and then finally it's recapitulated in its original form just before the end. And the same applies with the other main themes. I think it's the chaotic-sounding jungle noises etc that tend to fool people into thinking "Balcony" is unstructured. Back to top

Milamber Group: Musicians Posts: 2263 Joined: Feb. 2010 Posted: Aug. 13 2010, 03:23 What is all this talk of electric drums on Heavens Open. You can tell its Simon Phillips on MFTB. Thanks for stopping another prog (slug) fest NS Back to top

Navaira Group: Members Posts: 481 Joined: Jan. 2005 Posted: Aug. 13 2010, 04:53 Mike Oldfield: Incantations -- the re-release is my most anticipated album of, like, well, last year since the re-releases started! non-MO: Charlotte Gainsbourg, 5:55 -------------- http://www.raygrant.com :: My album 'Exorcism' is out on iTunes now Back to top

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