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Topic: Is Tubular Bells all he's ever going to do?< Next Oldest | Next Newest >
TheMann Offline




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Posted: July 15 2008, 12:45

Bach did it. Wrote endlessly many fuges, preludes, 6 "French" suites, etc ... the same structure over and over again. He even did a sequal to Well-tempered Klavier bool I, the Well-tempered Klavier II, a carbon copy of book 1.

All of it great.
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Jesse Offline




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Posted: June 03 2009, 06:09

after two years I have a confession:

I do find it distracting to return to the TB motive, as I prefer all the other tunes on the album. TB2 and TB2003 were necesary recordings as they really contributed something to the original sound.

The TB parts of TB3 are dragging down that incredible album, and now the TB intro of MOTS is also stamping the Tubular brand on it. It could do without it
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The Caveman Offline




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Posted: June 03 2009, 08:33

The simple truth as i see is it MOTS is a damn fine album and there are reconisable references to past works BUT just about everything Oldfield has ever done has and will at some point be compared to TB.
 MOTS stands on it's own merits.To be fair only Harbinger,Harbinger Reprise and Musica Universalis are blatent in their references to TB.I really don't think calling it another TB reworking is in any way justified.
 Most artists of note have a recognisable style or sound that makes them stand out in the first place and MOTS has this in spades but it's no re-hash of past glories.It's the first step in (hopefully) a new direction and calling it 'another TB' sounds like the sort of thing music critics say when they've only listened to the first few minutes during which this would certainly be a fair assesment.What comes later is in no way related to TB untill the end part.


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THE COMING OF THE GREAT WHITE HANDKERCHEIF IS NIGH.
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Jesse Offline




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Posted: June 03 2009, 10:38

it isn't a tubular bells rework, but neither was TB3. So he could have left out the similarities.
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Sir Mustapha Offline




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Posted: June 03 2009, 12:47

Quote (The Caveman @ June 03 2009, 08:33)
Most artists of note have a recognisable style or sound that makes them stand out in the first place and MOTS has this in spades but it's no re-hash of past glories.It's the first step in (hopefully) a new direction and calling it 'another TB' sounds like the sort of thing music critics say when they've only listened to the first few minutes during which this would certainly be a fair assesment.What comes later is in no way related to TB untill the end part.

I think the main problem is that, indeed, Music of the Spheres is NOT a rehash of Tubular Bells, it has plenty of excellent, fresh material and comparing it to Tubular Bells is a very, very superficial approach -- however, by OPENING the album with that familiar pattern, it seems like MIKE HIMSELF wants people to do that! And why? Well, because it's far easier to connect to "Tubular Bells" than to "Mike Oldfield".

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Jesse Offline




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Posted: June 03 2009, 12:56

Quote (Sir Mustapha @ June 03 2009, 12:47)
Quote (The Caveman @ June 03 2009, 08:33)
Most artists of note have a recognisable style or sound that makes them stand out in the first place and MOTS has this in spades but it's no re-hash of past glories.It's the first step in (hopefully) a new direction and calling it 'another TB' sounds like the sort of thing music critics say when they've only listened to the first few minutes during which this would certainly be a fair assesment.What comes later is in no way related to TB untill the end part.

I think the main problem is that, indeed, Music of the Spheres is NOT a rehash of Tubular Bells, it has plenty of excellent, fresh material and comparing it to Tubular Bells is a very, very superficial approach -- however, by OPENING the album with that familiar pattern, it seems like MIKE HIMSELF wants people to do that! And why? Well, because it's far easier to connect to "Tubular Bells" than to "Mike Oldfield".

agreed 100% and that never happened before! :)
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The Caveman Offline




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Posted: June 04 2009, 06:04

Fair comment Sir M. :laugh:

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THE COMING OF THE GREAT WHITE HANDKERCHEIF IS NIGH.
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Sweep Offline




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Posted: Oct. 03 2011, 06:11

It's interesting for me to read this topic, having been out of the loop as far as Mike's fans are concerned, and therefore not knowing what anyone else was saying.

When I first played Music of the Spheres I exclaimed - probably out loud - "It's Tubular Bells.  It's bloody Tubular Bells.  Again."  But after a few moments reflection on what I was hearing: "It's bloody good, though.  Possibly the best yet."

I like this album very much.  A couple of things strike me:

1) Maybe the use of characteristic Tubular Bells ideas is more of a problem for fans like the people here than it is for most people.  I wonder how many people here have every version of Tubular Bells Mike has recorded?  Maybe not everyone here, but I'd expect the proportion is far higher here than it is generally among people who buy MOTS.  The likelihood of feeling a bit jaded with parts of Tubular Bells will therefore be higher here than it is generally, even when the obvious love for Mike's music is taken into account.

Personally, I only have the original Tubular Bells, and none of the later reworkings, so there's less of an issue for me than for many people here.

2) These themes and variations are clearly characteristic of Mike Oldfield.  They're evidently part of him.  They're what comes out when he composes, much of the time, and he evidently hasn't come to the end of how they can express things.  The `spiralling' idea that comes up in MOTS seems to characterise this.  I think Mike spirals around certain themes, experiencing them in new ways and bringing new music from them as his experience changes.

This is a characteristic of his style in individual pieces, with blocks of music being varied on different instruments.  Why not do the same on the vast scale of his work as a whole?

These themes are Mike Oldfield, to my mind.  It isn't that he simply recycles ideas.  His music is organic, and grows from the depths of him, and that's what makes his music so authentic and gives it it's value.  That being the case there's going to be some repetition, maybe even a lot of repetition, though in new ways, as things that are really deep come up in new ways.

Personally I'd much rather have some repetition, with variations, because the music is coming from really deep, than have totally new music every time because the musician decides to keep being different.  I don't think it's entirely about deciding, when you go deep enough into your soul.

I was also very pleased when Mike announced he'd chosen Hayley Westenra to sing in this work.  At the time I was beginning to wonder if I was the only person who regarded Hayley as an excellent singer wasted by being pushed into an overly narrow range of material by her record company.  I was very pleased to find Mike had also recognised her potential.  There are other things she could do in the context of music like Mike's, and I'd like to hear the two of them work together again.  A lot could be done with the beauty of her voice if Mike would slowly explore that in context with different sound textures.  Actually I did a massive (thirty five minutes or so) reworking of one of Hayley's songs, building up floating layers of orchestral and vocal sound, so I'm sure of what could be done when I say this.


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Scatterplot Offline




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Posted: Oct. 03 2011, 13:50

Yes

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We raise our voices in the night
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And will our voices be heard
Or will they break Like the wind
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Jesse Offline




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Posted: Oct. 03 2011, 17:56

Maybe Mike's going to do a recall and call in all albums besides tubular bells?

Like modern car companies to nowadays.
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Ugo Offline




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Posted: Oct. 03 2011, 18:03

@ Sweep: you hit the nail on the head with number 2 above and everything that follows after that - I agree 1000%. I just cannot see why Mike shouldn't keep on re-using his most famous theme again and again - as you so rightly said, that theme defines him, it's part of his being. The key thing is finding a new way to re-use it every single time. So far, Mike hasn't disappointed me. :)

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bee Offline




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Posted: Oct. 04 2011, 02:45

Is Tubular Bells all he's ever going to do?

Clearly not, the fact this internet exists as a lively community,  full of discussion and argument is proof itself.

His music has a recognisable 'personality' but it has evolved.


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You heard me before
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