Inkanta
Group: Admins
Posts: 1453
Joined: Feb. 2000 |
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Posted: April 13 2014, 18:04 |
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I finally have a moment to collect my thoughts about MOTR—wish I had a few more (minutes and thoughts), but if I wait much longer, Mr. Oldfield will have released his prequel to Tubular Bells! We were asked by Mike's PA to stop over to amazon and review. I don't have a rubric to know how I'd rank it on a star basis, so I am not doing so. Compared to what? Other MO works? Similar genre? Which one(s)? I just can’t do it, so instead I offer this up in a star-less, rambling sort of way. Sigh.
My review was written after repeatedly listening to the three-CD set, i.e., the Luke version, instrumental, and demo (i.e., Mike on all instruments and vocals). I've posted it here and over on the AML.
Packaging. A word to UM: Good grief! I just love to open a package and have everything fall out all over the floor. Not. Then there is the certificate. It could be replicated as easily as a diploma from Miskatonic University. They should have been numbered and watermarked. Then there is the liner note situation. Are you aware that some of Mike's fans are over the age of 40? As such, some of us post 40ers struggle to read print—especially tiny print on patterned backgrounds having little contrast. I need a pair of reading glasses in every room and compartment of my pocketbook. Guess I need stronger ones. Thankfully my coworker returned from a conference recently with magnifying glasses. But still.... Next time would you consider using more contrasting print and backgrounds? A larger font wouldn't be disliked, either. Thank you.
On to the music. Some random thoughts:
• I wish for the ability to do song genealogy the way that some of you do, e.g. Mr. Miles [AML member]. At times various pieces remind me of other works (both of Mike’s and others', but I cannot go back to the component DNA proteins/twiddly bits. /-:
• Vocal vs. instrumental. For those of us preferring instrumental music, we may have to sit this one out. The best thing to do with the instrumental version of MOTR is to invite your friends over for a karaoke party. Are there any riffs in there that are not in the vocal versions? My cloth ears couldn’t detect any, though there are some pieces that pop out more on the instrumental, e.g., the Incantations 3 rhythm on “Castaway.” In any case, in this time, space, and experience Mike's work manifested this shorter song/rock form. If MOTR attracts a new audience to Mike's music we may need to be there to support them upon exposure to his back catalog. Hang tough!
• Lyrically IMHO this is his strongest composition (of the lyric-song-based albums).
• Mike vs. Luke on vocals. I happen to love Mike's voice and given the themes of the work it feels extra personal when he sings them. Luke does a respectable job on the songs and brings a younger audience to MOTR. Not a bad marketing strategy. It would have mixed it up even more to have a couple of the pieces sung by a strong female vocalist. So ideally Mike on some, Luke and Maggie.2014 on others. I expected the package to include the videos. What's with that? Many of us haven’t been able to view them for whatever reason. Including them in the package would have been considerate. From what I’ve seen, I like the way Luke moves—very kinetic guy. He is going to be performing at least one piece out with his band and it would be fun to watch. He looks a bit like a young Freddie M, but not vocally. Vocally from bands past, maybe Marc Almond of Soft Cell, but there is someone else…. I have actually come to like Luke’s voice.
• The album is very elemental. Air, fire, water, and earth—they are all represented. Drinking whiskey/moonshine, canyons, sailing, going nuclear, and dreaming in the wind.
• I thought initially that this was an album of a broken relationship, but it’s about many different things.
• Back-up band. There was a time that Mike wouldn’t have needed one. They do well—I wonder how much latitude they had to interpret and do their own thing? Next time I think he should use local musicians. Ommadawn was made with local musicians—some like Les had quite a bit of input—and look at the result! Brilliant.
• Individual pieces:
“Sailing.” Catchy water tune. The song takes nearly too long to build and do anything. Initially I thought the song was about feelings of confinement in a relationship, couched in a happy, catchy tune. But I guess it’s just about the freedom of being out on the open waters, sailing. Beware of ear worms.
“Moonshine.” I prefer Mike’s “Whiskey in the Wind.” Initially I thought someone at UM told him to change the title because he already was “Dreaming in the Wind.” How much stuff in the Wind can there be? But I guess Mike decided on the change himself. In that he already has a song called “Moonshine” it would have made more sense to call this one “Liberty” if he didn’t want to call it “Whiskey in the Wind.” Whiskey and moonshine were developed by people who had emigrated from the British Isles and Celtic music is the antecedent of bluegrass—I love the Celtic feel to it. Fire in Water.
“Man on the Rocks.” An earthy song of addiction. Mike launches into the lyrics on the demo. The Luke version has a short introduction reminiscent of Sigor Ros' “Helvetica.” I really like this song of hope. Mike said in an interview that the addiction is singing—this is similar to the airplane singing in “Five Miles Out.” Musically, it reminds me of an earlier work and I haven’t been able to hone in on it.
“Castaway.” Water. This would not have been out of place on FMO particularly the section beginning at 3.43 on the demo. 4:17 on the Luke version. As mentioned, the rhythm becomes very Incantations part 3 (fast part)…then an FMO-type riff. The rhythm is more pronounced on the demo. The addition of slide guitars is nicely trippy. The piece concludes with drumming reminiscent of Mickey 3d (around 6:23), e.g., his “Storiz.” To an extent, we experience new music through and informed by our individual musical histories, so some of my references probably sound a bit weird.
“Minutes.” This earthy-airy-philosophical piece feels like the aftermath of a relationship breakup or separation from loved ones, regardless of reason. Birds are a recurring theme among Mike’s music. Wonder what it is about birds for him? It reminds me of all the references to “weather” in Neil Finn’s/Crowded House’s music.
“Dreaming in the Wind.” Luke does a great job on this airy song. Written from the prospective of the one who has died and whose ashes have been scattered in the wind, it reminds Mike, too, of “Moonlight Shadow.” I am not really reminded of MS. I love the imagery and lyrics as well as the music, which reminds me very much of “Trick of the Light.”
“Nuclear.” I like Mike’s voice on this fiery piece, based on his current struggles and informed by the experiences in Belgium during WWI of his maternal grandfather whom he never met. It seems to also pertain to a relationship breaking up. When he sings of the brothers gone, I thought he meant his own sons now living somewhere else, rather than the brothers in arms who perished during WWI. “A heart of broken glass”…pretty emotional stuff. It would go well with “Inner Child” from TBIII. It’s reminding me of something from perhaps Tres Lunas that I am not locking on to. Ideas?
“Chariots.” Fire. Fighting—reminds me of a bitter relationship ending where both parties are so bloodied and bruised that they have to be carried off the field. Lots of “twiddly bits” here—“Mastermind” from TMB and speaking of TBIII, musically, it feels very similar to “Outcast, ” progression-wise. It ends with a nod to TSODE’s “Ascension” rhythmically. I really like this one.
“Following the Angels.” Airy and not much to say about this one. Probably my least favorite piece, though it isn’t a bad song--just not my cup of tea.
“Irene.” Arggh. People have already mentioned artists such as ZZ Top. This is nearly my least favorite one. It reminds me of the Stone Temple Pilots—it is only missing Scott’s megaphone. I’d probably like it if they used a megaphone. This is a skipper for me.
“I Give Myself Away.” Great wedding/handfasting song. Something about the way he says “believe me” reminds me of “believe it” on “Surfing.” (-: Around 40 sec. I am reminded of a Kayanis song, which is ironic, since I only know about Kayanis through music shared by one of the AML members!
Bottom line: It is a solid rock album to be enjoyed if you like that sort of thing and otherwise skipped. I look forward to inviting people over for karaoke!
-------------- "No such thing as destiny; only choices exist." From: Moongarden's "Solaris."
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