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Topic: Maggie Reilly re-records Moonlight Shadow, ...< Next Oldest | Next Newest >
Elf Offline




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Posted: Nov. 09 2009, 10:37

Quote (ian @ Nov. 09 2009, 10:05)
Where is this interview where she says this about Mike ? I can't find anything where she complains.

Is it a myth ?

It was published in VG, Norway's biggest newspaper, on the date I mentioned earlier in this thread.

So no, it's not a myth.

I have the article beside me right now in Norwegian.
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MVR Superstar Offline




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Posted: Nov. 09 2009, 13:08

From listening to the exerpts on amazon i gather she has got rid of those anoying "drip drip" sounds in Family Man. The rest of the song is good, but when friends come round, I quickly change the song when it gets to this bit to avoid strange looks.

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ian Offline




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Posted: Nov. 13 2009, 14:44

is there any transcript of this interview she did ?
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TOBY Offline




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Posted: Nov. 17 2009, 15:27

Quote (The Caveman @ Nov. 09 2009, 09:16)
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Er hang on a moment.He wrote the song,he played the song and he produced the song.She sang on the song.

All of that is true of course IF you believe it all as a matter of fact. To be fair I dare say Mike wrote maybe 80 or 90 percent of Moonlight Shadow but most of the evidence suggests Mike's best stuff is done when in collaboration with others and rarely when left to his own narrowly minded devices. Its patently obvious that both Maggie Reilly and even more so Simon Phillips had a huge influence over the early to mid 80's output of Oldfield. Its highly likely in my opinion that Reilly injected more than just a little bit of magic into the writing of Moonlight Shadow which is in itself a real moment of pop genius Mike has come no where near achieving again. I dare say it was difficult for her to sit there and watch Mike get even richer on its sales knowing perhaps privately that she had more input into its creation than she's ever been given credit for. That's one theory anyway...
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Jools Offline




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Posted: Nov. 17 2009, 18:26

Of course, whatever the motives, Maggie was prepared to work with him again in the 90s - Blue Night on Earth Moving, which I think is another decent track.
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Olivier Offline




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Posted: Nov. 17 2009, 19:02

Listen to Moonlight Shadow sung by Maggie Reilly with another band, and to Moonlight Shadow played by Mike and sung by somebody else.

Quote (TOBY @ Nov. 17 2009, 15:27)
but most of the evidence suggests Mike's best stuff is done when in collaboration with others and rarely when left to his own narrowly minded devices.

I totally disagree! I'd even generalize to any musical collaboration, it's almost always bad, except for Bob Dylan who always benefits from others playing his music instead of him (but that's more a question of interpretation than collaboration actually).
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Elf Offline




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Posted: Nov. 18 2009, 00:38

Quote (TOBY @ Nov. 17 2009, 15:27)

Quote (The Caveman @ Nov. 09 2009, 09:16)
-

Er hang on a moment.He wrote the song,he played the song and he produced the song.She sang on the song.

All of that is true of course IF you believe it all as a matter of fact. To be fair I dare say Mike wrote maybe 80 or 90 percent of Moonlight Shadow


What a load of codlings!

Maggie was just one of several vocalists trying out for the song. Mike does admit that when Maggie sang it, everything just clicked, but there is nothing to indicate that she had any other intput. Unless you have evidence to back up you estimate of 80-90%.

Quote
but most of the evidence suggests Mike's best stuff is done when in collaboration with others and rarely when left to his own narrowly minded devices.


I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and not take you for a troll, but if you really believe this, why on earth are you a Mike Oldfield fan?

Quote
Its patently obvious that both Maggie Reilly and even more so Simon Phillips had a huge influence over the early to mid 80's output of Oldfield.


How is that "patently obvious?"

Quote
Its highly likely in my opinion that Reilly injected more than just a little bit of magic into the writing of Moonlight Shadow which is in itself a real moment of pop genius Mike has come no where near achieving again.


I'll almost agree with you there. I do like Moonlight Shadow part 2 (Crime of Passion) even better, but Mike just isn't a pop song writer.

Quote
I dare say it was difficult for her to sit there and watch Mike get even richer on its sales knowing perhaps privately that she had more input into its creation than she's ever been given credit for.


Well, then she shouldn't be in the music business. That's what it's like to be a hired hand, a session musician if you like. However, if the song had come out a few years later, it would have said "featuring Maggie R" on the cover.

Quote
That's one theory anyway...


Yes, it certainly is...
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TOBY Offline




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Posted: Nov. 18 2009, 06:43

Ok I'll defend a few of my statements.

"most of the evidence suggests Mike's best stuff is done when in collaboration with others"

I'm not just talking about his writing style here I'm talking about his music generally and other peoples influence on it. Most of Mike's best work in my opinion has been filtered through someone else. Tom Newman of course for TB1, Hergest Ridge, Incantations and then Platinum in the first era. Then came Simon Phillips who (and to answer my other statement) did obviously have an influence (he's said so himself) bringing a much richer and rockier sound to Mike's work especially on Crises and Discovery. Then came Earth Moving which isn't my favourite Oldfield album but it does have quite a dynamic production with some very good arrangements all courtesy of Daniel Lazerus.  Then Tom Newman came back for his second era with Mike and we got what is arguably Mike's best work with Amarok and then onto Heaven's Open which i think to this day is a hugely under rated album.

TB2's an album which divides fans, personally I loath most of it but again it was done in collaboration and if you like Mike's new direction, it was Trevor Horn that took you there.

Then the rot set in and Mike went off on his own to varying degrees of success (all of this is in my opinion of course) His production style became bland, his arrangements lost their inventiveness and his entire output lacked direction. Then came along Music of the Spheres which isn't the most inventive music he's ever done buts its still a really enjoyable, uplifting and in parts quite moving album. In my opinion its possibly his best album since he left Virgin and again it was filtered through someone else.

But to go back to the original topic. I know a lot of people in the music business and I know a lot of professional musicians and I know how songs develope and change as they get written. All I'm saying is that don't take it at face value that Mike wrote 100% of all the music he has credit for writing (no matter what he says, he's clearly a huge egotist) Its highly likely in my opinion that others who worked with him over the years, including poducers, may have injected little bits here and there to help things flow, even just little ideas. If Maggie Reilly is aggrieved at not being given credit where credit is due (in what ever form) maybe, just maybe, she has a reason to be.
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TOBY Offline




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Posted: Nov. 18 2009, 06:45

Quote (Elf @ Nov. 18 2009, 00:38)
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and not take you for a troll, but if you really believe this, why on earth are you a Mike Oldfield fan?

What on earth are you talking about?
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Elf Offline




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Posted: Nov. 18 2009, 08:48

Quote (TOBY @ Nov. 18 2009, 06:45)
Quote (Elf @ Nov. 18 2009, 00:38)
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and not take you for a troll, but if you really believe this, why on earth are you a Mike Oldfield fan?

What on earth are you talking about?

Ok, I just read your previous reply to Olivier and it made it more clear what you were trying to say. It seemed like you were trying to say that Mike worked best when he co-wrote with other people, and since most of his output is written only by him, I was wondering why you bothered with him at all.

I whole heartily agree with you that apart from MOTS, Mike hasn't done anything worth while since the the early 90s. BTW, I also feel that HO is way underrated. The production and songwriting is pretty good on it, much better than on any of the pop albums post Crises.

Naturally a producer will have a huge influence, that's their job. And since Simon Phillips was a co-producer, he did at least influence Mike somewhat more than other people he worked with.

However, I don't think I would call working as a session musician a collaboration, especially when the writing is already done. And I also know that a lot happens from a song is written until it's arranged and recorded, but Maggie Reilly and other musicians was credited on more than one Oldfield song, so I don't think his ego about letting other people get their due was that big.

If Mike really did work best when collaborating with other musicians, a lot of his 90s output should be really good, as most of it included session musicians. But bland music will always be bland, no matter what. And I don't think Mike collaborating or not had anything to do with it.
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Olivier Offline




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Posted: Nov. 18 2009, 12:18

Quote (Elf @ Nov. 18 2009, 08:48)
I whole heartily agree with you that apart from MOTS, Mike hasn't done anything worth while since the the early 90s. BTW, I also feel that HO is way underrated.

I find TSODE worth it, even visually with the CDROM stuff. And TB3 too. More generally, it's hard to establish rules with Mike, it never really works.
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Elf Offline




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Posted: Nov. 18 2009, 16:46

Quote (Olivier @ Nov. 18 2009, 12:18)
Quote (Elf @ Nov. 18 2009, 08:48)
I whole heartily agree with you that apart from MOTS, Mike hasn't done anything worth while since the the early 90s. BTW, I also feel that HO is way underrated.

I find TSODE worth it, even visually with the CDROM stuff. And TB3 too. More generally, it's hard to establish rules with Mike, it never really works.

I actually count TSODE as one of the early 90s albums. It was in 1994 it was released, wasn't it? Anyway, I really like that one, but after Tubular World it gets a bit dull.

TB3 has it's moments, but is should never have been made, IMO.
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Dirk Star Offline




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Posted: Nov. 19 2009, 05:17

A lot of people still think Mike Oldfield was some kind of electronic synthy type dudester,so you`d have thought he`d have known how Maggie felt?..Yeah,maybe not.With all due respect to Maggie it would have been interesting if she`d been some wildly glamourous big haired 80`s songstress.Who had then gone onto great fame and fortune on the back of the Moonlight Shadow single.She could have recorded an album with Trevor Horn by now and called it Moonlight Shadow 2,The Mid-Life Crisis years.

Personaly I think if you`re getting somebody in to put a lead vocal on a pop song,even if they`re a complete unkown.Then imo you`re asking for trouble if you`re not gonna put their name on it somewhere.Even if it`s just the old "featuring" cliche which Bonnie Tyler at least managed to get on the cover of Islands.But then of course she was Bonnie Tyler was`nt she,stands to bloody reason.The fact of the matter is,if Mike Oldfield had put her name on the single in the first place he would have undoutably sold more copies anyway because your average Joe would have remembered who the hell it was by.They would`nt be sat there wracking their bloody brains out trying to think of a female solo artist,or some band that never even existed.

I can remember watching Mike and the guys perform Moonlight Shadow on TOTP at the time of it`s release.When my own mother turned round and said.."It seems a bit daft saying it`s Mike Oldfield when he`s not even singing on the record"...And I remember thinking to myself.. "yeah well it is a bit daft I agree,I`ll remember to post that on the internet sometime when they get round to inventing it...What do you mean France has already got it" ?

Similarly a good few years later while at work Moonlight Shadow comes on the radio,and a workmate says to me.."Oh this is one of my favourite songs of all time,who is it by again"?
"Yeah it`s Mike Oldfield mate"
"Huh"?

I mean you would think in theory they would maybe remember that this song that they like with the woman`s voice on it,is actualy by a bloke.But no it does`nt seem to work like that somehow,who the hell would`ve thunk it?

Wether that`s the simple reason Maggie is still somwhat bitter all these years later I would`nt like to speculate.That`s just my own personal view on it anyway.By the same token it still kind of pisses me off a little bit that such a great song as Moonlight Shadow is`nt remembered as being by Mike Oldfield by a lot of people either..."Yeah that`s him there playing the bloody blistering guitar solo,yer idiot..What do you mean where`s his synthesiser?... Good Grief! "
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ian Offline




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Posted: Nov. 21 2009, 08:48

I used to think Maggie was cute. I did a double take when I head her speak recently on youtube. You just don't get the Scottish accent through the singing thats for sure.

When Moonlight Shadow is played on the radio to be fair, they usually say "and Maggie Reilly"

For me Mike's last truly great work was Amarok. He has never done anything as off the wall since and sadly may not but you never know.
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ommaGeddon Offline




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Posted: Nov. 22 2009, 10:44

I do remember MO not saying much about Maggie (other than the fact that she sang in his band) in his Changeling autobiography and yet he was very complimentary about Clodagh Simonds, who sang the Gaelic words to Ommadawn.

I’m sure Mike and Maggie fell out due to the ‘creative differences’ that a lot of people in the music business end up having, but I also suspect that Virgin would have preferred to package Moonlight Shadow as a Mike Oldfield product rather than ‘Mike Oldfield and Maggie Reilly’ or 'Mike Oldfield Band featuring Maggie Reilly'. Doesn’t sound very snappy, does it? No offence to Maggie but her name wasn’t exactly as well-known at the time as, say, Kate Bush, although I can't imagine Kate singing Moonlight Shadow so sweetly...
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Dirk Star Offline




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Posted: Nov. 22 2009, 18:37

Quote (ommaGeddon @ Nov. 22 2009, 15:44)

Quote
but I also suspect that Virgin would have preferred to package Moonlight Shadow as a Mike Oldfield product rather than ‘Mike Oldfield and Maggie Reilly’ or 'Mike Oldfield Band featuring Maggie Reilly'. Doesn’t sound very snappy, does it?


I think that`s probably true.And yet despite their best efforts and as Ian rightly says in his previous post, a number of DJ`s still feel somehow compelled to add for no apparent reason.."and Maggie Reilly".
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wiga Offline




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Posted: Nov. 23 2009, 06:20

Quote (ommaGeddon @ Nov. 22 2009, 10:44)
No offence to Maggie but her name wasn’t exactly as well-known at the time as, say, Kate Bush, although I can't imagine Kate singing Moonlight Shadow so sweetly...

Ooh I think Kate could have done a "sweet" job with Moonlight Shadow. Kate was lucky though, she had it ALL didn't she, - not just a singer - but a musician/composer with great sensuality, and a fabulous face and body. The reality was that you had to have the looks (at least) to be big and well known in those days. A great voice wasn't enough. It's possible that Maggie had a chip on her shoulder about that aspect of the business, and Mike may have copped for it.


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ommadawn69 Offline




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Posted: Nov. 24 2009, 23:02

Don't post here much, but I have been reading the replies so far. And I thought I would add my two cents worth.

I heard someone mention about Clodagh Simmonds doing the vocal part on Ommadawn part one, I heard from Clodagh that she thought of that gaelic piece for the song originally. And Mike just told her to go with it and it turned out the way he wanted it to sound.

In regards to Maggie Reilly. I had finished doing an interview recentley with Maggie in talking about the new album and of course talking about Mike, this was my second interview with her. She had said that except for Foreign Affair, she would just go into the studio and work with Mike on the vocal sounds until both agree it sounds good and they go from there. Mike writes the songs, she does sing it, but she does work only on the vocal style. That is about the only creativity she has done on those songs with Mike.

I did ask her about the rumour about the both of them not getting along, she said always says that they worked very well together and she loved the songs they did. Maggie stated that she always protected Mike, so did the musicians and crew, but Mike was always a quiet and intense person. But she never really showed that there was any animosity toward him over creativity or anything like that. It seems she is really happy with her time with Mike and what they did together. And she knew with his writing and musicianship and her voice, it went hand in hand. Period.

For Earth Moving, Maggie was brought into the studio to work on two songs "Blue Night" and "Nights on Fire" but Mike decided to go with Bonnie Tyler for "Nights on Fire" (which of course ended up going to Anita) Later on Maggie went back into the studio to record Blue Night for the album Earth Moving.

And also they did gig in South America during 1986 with Simon Phillips and Mike with her. It was a benefit concert. If she had any issues with Mike during her time with him, why would she want to continue to work with him?

On the talk about Simon Phillips being involved, creative wise, Simon said that he learned alot from Mike and he owed everything he does today with producing and engineering to Mike. I agree that some of the heavier sounds from Crises and Discovery Simon was involved with, but with the heavy percussion work. Mike was already doing heavy guitar work before Crises, with Five Miles Out, before Simon got involved.


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Elf Offline




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Posted: Nov. 25 2009, 03:56

Quote
I did ask her about the rumour about the both of them not getting along, she said always says that they worked very well together and she loved the songs they did. Maggie stated that she always protected Mike, so did the musicians and crew, but Mike was always a quiet and intense person. But she never really showed that there was any animosity toward him over creativity or anything like that. It seems she is really happy with her time with Mike and what they did together. And she knew with his writing and musicianship and her voice, it went hand in hand. Period.


Well, there are numerous possibilities here. Maybe she has mellowed as the years have passed, maybe she has decided that saying things like she did 11 years ago wasn't the  wisest thing to do, maybe her manager who had to calm her down back then has whispered things in her ear, or maybe the journalists made it all up.

All I know is that quite a few people that have been interviewed by me and others from his fan base, who used to be around Mike in that period, have all said Maggie and Mike did not get along, because of the aforementioned reasons.

Quote
For Earth Moving, Maggie was brought into the studio to work on two songs "Blue Night" and "Nights on Fire"


I guess you meant Islands here.

Quote
Later on Maggie went back into the studio to record Blue Night for the album Earth Moving.


Which I've always found interesting, since they, according to several sources, did not get along at that time. Anita Hegerland also said to me that one of the reasons she was called in to do PITD was that Maggie and Mike had a falling out.

Quote
And also they did gig in South America during 1986 with Simon Phillips and Mike with her. It was a benefit concert. If she had any issues with Mike during her time with him, why would she want to continue to work with him?


She needed the work? Or maybe it's just one of those up and down relationships.

Quote
On the talk about Simon Phillips being involved, creative wise, Simon said that he learned alot from Mike and he owed everything he does today with producing and engineering to Mike.


That's pretty much what he said to me as well when I interviewed him in the 90s. He was really complimentary about Mike, and told me stories about how they played Yatzy while waiting for the computer to calculate the changes they had just requested.

Anyway, looking forward to reading your interview, if it becomes available online.
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ommadawn69 Offline




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Posted: Nov. 25 2009, 04:21

Quote (Elf @ Nov. 25 2009, 03:56)
Well, there are numerous possibilities here. Maybe she has mellowed as the years have passed, maybe she has decided that saying things like she did 11 years ago wasn't the  wisest thing to do, maybe her manager who had to calm her down back then has whispered things in her ear, or maybe the journalists made it all up.

All I know is that quite a few people that have been interviewed by me and others from his fan base, who used to be around Mike in that period, have all said Maggie and Mike did not get along, because of the aforementioned reasons.


Interesting, and your right though, she may have "softened" a bit. That happens, I am just saying what she was saying. And I wanted to point out that I was disputing what you said originally, just thought I would add that in if you felt I was disputing it. Sorry mate.


Quote (Elf @ Nov. 25 2009, 03:56)
I guess you meant Islands here.


Nope, I meant Blue Night and Nights on Fire, that is what Maggie said to me.


Quote (Elf @ Nov. 25 2009, 03:56)
Which I've always found interesting, since they, according to several sources, did not get along at that time. Anita Hegerland also said to me that one of the reasons she was called in to do PITD was that Maggie and Mike had a falling out.


Who knows what really went on between them at this time eh?


Quote (Elf @ Nov. 25 2009, 03:56)
She needed the work? Or maybe it's just one of those up and down relationships.


Well this was a benefit concert she was involved with, and she asked Simon and Mike to be a part of it. I agree, it might be one of those up and down relationships.


Quote (Elf @ Nov. 25 2009, 03:56)
That's pretty much what he said to me as well when I interviewed him in the 90s. He was really complimentary about Mike, and told me stories about how they played Yatzy while waiting for the computer to calculate the changes they had just requested.

Anyway, looking forward to reading your interview, if it becomes available online.


My interviews are on a member based group I am a Moderator for.  I have done many interviews, and am waiting for Sally Oldfield to give me her answers in January, as she is sick right now. Can't wait for that. :) I would like an opinion on my interviews though, get some feedback from someone who has no doubt more experience in this stuff than I do. I am no professional.  LOL


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