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Topic: New compilation and 6 album set< Next Oldest | Next Newest >
Pat Gleeson Offline




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Posted: July 28 2012, 09:40

The UK edition has the download link - don't know what there yet - nowhere near a PC  :)
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Pat Gleeson Offline




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Posted: July 28 2012, 15:28

It's on

MO Official Site Bonus Section

:)

Mike speaking about the chosen tracks of the Two Sides compilation, and his music in general - 12+ in length. Basically a video of the sleeve notes ... There's a free access video recorded at the same time of Mike talking about the Olympic gig.
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Thomas Höög Offline




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Posted: July 29 2012, 09:15

The software will not load so I can't validate my iTunes-purchase :(

By the way, have you heard Tattoo? Thats not the version from the studio album or? It sounds more like the live version from USA or something. I'm happy because its bloody fantastic:) !!!!!!
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Thomas Höög Offline




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Posted: July 29 2012, 09:26

Quote (Oceano @ July 28 2012, 03:35)
iTunes version of "Two Sides" including bonus video
:http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/two-sides-very-best-mike-oldfield/id547788675

The video is not included in the swedish release in the swedish iTunes store.
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Pat Gleeson Offline




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Posted: July 29 2012, 16:52

Quote (Thomas Höög @ July 29 2012, 14:15)
It sounds more like the live version from USA or something. I'm happy because its bloody fantastic:) !!!!!!

Yes it is isn't it ? :)
AFAIK it's the live CD single version (from Edinburgh Castle if memory serves) ..

I validated via CD, so I can't help with iTunes  :/
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Oceano Offline




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Posted: July 30 2012, 02:36

are "two sides" album tracks remastered?
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starfish Offline




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Posted: July 30 2012, 12:16

Quote (Oceano @ July 30 2012, 02:36)
are "two sides" album tracks remastered?

Not sure about the later tracks, but Amarok and Crises have definitely been remastered.
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neil-h Offline




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Posted: July 30 2012, 12:37

I haven't had a chance to play my copy of Two Sides yet as I've had to return it to Amazon for a replacement - The front booklet wasn't stapled in properly and has a rip in the front cover from one of the staples being pushed through it incorrectly.  :(

However I did have a quick glance through the sleeve notes which have interesting track-by-track comments by Mike. Also I was surprised to see that some of the later Virgin tracks were still credited as being licensed from EMI. I thought they had all moved over to Mercury but after checking EMI's esounds site they are still showing Islands, Earth Moving, Amarok and Heaven's Open as still in print: http://www.esounds.com/esounds....c79ddd1 . They must move back to Mike and Mercury at a later date.
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starfish Offline




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Posted: July 30 2012, 12:54

Right, I've now had the chance to listen to this thing.

The Good:

Yay! The songs have been remastered! If this is what we can expect from future re-releases of Crises, Five Miles Out etc, then we have a lot to look forward to.

It's also nice to have some of these tracks in 'seperated' form. For the modern stuff, it's not just fade-ins and fade-outs, but discrete tracks with proper endings. The SODE stuff is particularly welcome - hopefully this means that, at some point, we can look forward to a version of 'Top of the Morning' without all that wibbly-wobbly stuff played over the last note!

Disc Two is good, and it's nice to see the Millennium Bell get some recognition - Amber Light was always one of my favourites. Thankfully, the utterly horrid Tr3s Lunas is completely unrepresented.

The Bad:

Whatever your view of the tracklisting (I think we could all improve upon it), that's nothing compared to the rubbishness of the excerpts. 'The Lake' finishes before it even gets going, 'Crises' is reduced to that Tubular Bells rehash at the end, and god knows what the general public are going to think of the Maggie Thatcher speech in Amarok. If I was an Oldfield newbie, just discovering his music because of the Olympics, and listened to Disc 1, I'd be mightily underwhelmed.

The SODE tracks aren't anywhere near the best that album has to offer (nor is 'The Tempest';), and we have three different takes on the Tubular Bells theme (the original, Sentinel, plus the end of Crises). It just makes disc one sound drab and repetitive, sadly - not the best introduction to the man's music.

For the newer fan, there are definitely better collections out there - Elements is an excellent starting place for the novice.

And for the hardcore set who have to have everything, well it's nice to hear some of these tracks without them blurring into the next song.

And for the middling fans, then all this stuff is available elsewhere, so why bother?

I sympathise with the makers of this CD - with so much material to choose from, and so many styles, and so many formats (from long-form instrumentals to pop songs), it's a challenge for even the most experienced compiler to provide a good overview of Mike's music.

Handing the job over to a novice (in the sense that Mike's never before been given free reign to make a compilation) seems, in hindsight, to have been a bad idea.

Sometimes he lets his emotional attachment to a song cloud his judgment, perhaps. He may have fond memories of making "Light + Shade", for example, but that doesn't make its tracks worthwhile inclusions, IMHO.

Oh well, what do I know?
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bee Offline




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Posted: July 30 2012, 13:09

i haven't got a copy yet so maybe I shouldn't say this.... but from his interview yesterday with Johnny Walker on radio 2, he sort of suggested that when he listens to music (and he mentioned classical), he can listen to a lot before you actually get to the best bit...so all he's done here is select, from a hugely varied range of styles, his bestset bestest bits.  So it may well be through an emotional attachment that he chose the pieces.  Not a problem.

I think it's nice to know what he considers to be important or pretty near perfect or whatever you want to call it, rather than a vote around a board table for what will sell.

Sales are going through the roof, so plenty of people will be happy!

The only thing I'd add is the title...'two sides'...and I understand  that it means there is always more than meets the eye..but it's all about dimensions too...and other realms.


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Highlander Offline




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Posted: July 30 2012, 16:02

Quote (starfish @ July 30 2012, 12:16)
Quote (Oceano @ July 30 2012, 02:36)
are "two sides" album tracks remastered?

Not sure about the later tracks, but Amarok and Crises have definitely been remastered.

Well then - the Ommadawn extract. This is NOT the remastered version I have - it's back to the great version where the soundstage opens out - so was there a problem with the remastered Ommadawn mix ?
Has anyone heard the version in the 6 pack and how does that compare ?
Anyone want to describe the presentation of the 6 pack (or better still - pictures) -TIA.
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olracUK Offline




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Posted: July 30 2012, 16:25

I war amazed to see 2 Sides being promoted in Sainsbury's and now just seem an Ad on TV. His record company finally putting some money and effort into promotion.

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The answer is 42 - but what is the question?
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starfish Offline




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Posted: July 30 2012, 17:25

Quote (bee @ July 30 2012, 13:09)
so all he's done here is select, from a hugely varied range of styles, his bestset bestest bits.  So it may well be through an emotional attachment that he chose the pieces.  Not a problem.

Not a problem per se, because (thanks to the Olympics) people are gonna buy this anyway, no matter what the tracklisting was.

I get that it's his own personal mixtape, the stuff that he thinks truly represents his best work, or those tracks he looks back upon with the most fondness.

But that, I think, is to the detriment of what could have been, with some guidance, a great product. Do we really need three versions of the 'bells' theme on the same disc? 'Elements' used TB1 and Sentinel as bookends, wisely opting to split them up as far as possible - 'Two Sides' not only places them six tracks apart, but also sticks a poorly-edited excerpt of Crises (containing yet another version of the TB theme) slap-bang in the middle.

Whatever the reasoning behind it, it makes for an awful listening experience.

Let me reiterate - the second disc is fine. I just hate the way that some of my favourite Mike Oldfield tracks - The Lake, Crises, Amarok -  have been savagely filletted and cobbled together without thought or finesse.

A good 'best of' is not only a celebration of an artist's music, but also a piece of work in its own right, with a flow and character all of its own. I approve of (most of) the song choices, but am disappointed about the way it's been cobbled (seemingly thrown) together.

Thankfully, however, this will do well regardless (thanks to recent events), and of course it's Oldfield's perogative to present his music how he pleases.
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neil-h Offline




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Posted: July 31 2012, 04:01

According to the oldfieldexposed.blogspot, the Two Sides CD includes an alternative version of Magic Touch featuring Max Bacon on vocals.

I don't know much about the history of this song but I've just been looking at Wikipedia which shows 2 versions of Magic Touch being released on the Islands album. The UK release featuring Jim Price on vocals and the US release featuring Max Bacon on vocals. Is this correct? If so, it's nice to have a rarity included on the Two Sides CD.

I'm still waiting for my replacement copy to arrive from Amazon to compare these tracks.
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tubular_trekkie Offline




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Posted: July 31 2012, 05:24

Quote (neil-h @ July 31 2012, 09:01)
According to the oldfieldexposed.blogspot, the Two Sides CD includes an alternative version of Magic Touch featuring Max Bacon on vocals.

I don't know much about the history of this song but I've just been looking at Wikipedia which shows 2 versions of Magic Touch being released on the Islands album. The UK release featuring Jim Price on vocals and the US release featuring Max Bacon on vocals. Is this correct? If so, it's nice to have a rarity included on the Two Sides CD.

I'm still waiting for my replacement copy to arrive from Amazon to compare these tracks.

That's interesting. I wasn't going to buy this one seeing as it's just a compilation of stuff I already have, but I may have to succumb if there's a genuine rarity on it.
Can anyone confirm this?


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- from 'Collected Sayings of Muad'Dib' by the Princess Irulan
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CJJC Offline




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Posted: July 31 2012, 06:13

The iTunes seems to be the Max Bacon version to my ears.

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IMHO
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3Wheeler Offline




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Posted: July 31 2012, 06:19

Yep It is.. Great Track...    Playing the Whole of Side 2 on CD at the Moment .. All sounds very Clean.  Not sure if everything has been totally Remixed but it sounds Good..

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We're Flying Aeroflot, We've Got Reservations.
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CJJC Offline




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Posted: July 31 2012, 06:26

Good to hear - the reason this might be interesting is that Max Bacon is a much better singer. Actually, let's be fair and say that his voice is a better fit for the song (yes, yes, IMHO but everything I say is IMHO).

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IMHO
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Tati The Sentinel Offline




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Posted: July 31 2012, 06:56

The only interesting bit for me is the interview.Not planning to spend around 8 quid on iTunes just to have access to it.

I've heard on Spotify and some of excepts aren't my cup of tea.Choosing the right bits to make into the album must have been tough for Mike,I'm sure!


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"But it's always the outsider, the black sheep, that becomes the blockbuster." - Mike Oldfield, 2014

"I remember feeling that I'd been judged unfairly and that I was going to prove them wrong." - Peter Davison, 2011
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Highlander Offline




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Posted: July 31 2012, 08:02

A few of the tracks have been re-edited, and very nicely done to.
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