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Question: Settled view of light and shade :: Total Votes:84
Poll choices Votes Statistics
I did not like it much then but I like it more now 13  [15.48%]
I liked the album then but I like it even more now 27  [32.14%]
I liked the album then but I like it less well now 5  [5.95%]
I did not like the album much and I like it even less now 17  [20.24%]
I have mixed feelings about it which have not changed 18  [21.43%]
Help me god, I don't know, I just don't know 4  [4.76%]
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Topic: Settled view of light and shade, Has your initial opinion changed?< Next Oldest | Next Newest >
TioPepe Offline




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Posted: May 28 2006, 19:27

To be honest, I think this album is complete crap. If heard it idly on my car radio and not know it was Mike Oldfield, I would turn it off. (Never mind, I turn it off even knowing it's Mike!  :/ )

But one track stands oddly out: Sunset! It's not very interesting structurally, but the guitarplay and melody works. I think it's one of the besttracks Mike has made in later years. Anyone else feels this way?
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Hoot Offline




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Posted: May 29 2006, 10:14

I think the album is great,Yes at first it was strange and no it dosnt sound like his older stuff but think of it, if he made the same old stuff all the time then people wud get bored and say that they want something new from him..........basically no matter what he does u will find people who dont like his music(and their entitled too aswell)...................just remember some people thought that TB was rubbish. :O
TOAA is awesome!


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"And God said: Let There Be Light"
-Genisis,The Bible
(alternatively-The Songs Of Distant Earth,In The Begining)
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MusicallyInspired Offline




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Posted: May 29 2006, 12:35

Quote
but think of it, if he made the same old stuff all the time then people wud get bored and say that they want something new from him

That's the thing, those rules seem to work the opposite effect for Mike. Like composing music that contains a hundred additions and overdubs acutally works for Mike's music where keeping it simple takes a lot of the joy and feeling out. (TB2/TB2 Embryo tracks, anyone?) That's my opinion, of course. And that said I do like L&S.


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BrandonBlume.com
"The beauty in life is in the embracing of the variety of things. If all the world was blue there would be no colour blue."
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Inkanta Offline




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Posted: May 29 2006, 22:55

Heh, apparently I voted in this poll, didn't actually comment on it, and now am not sure how I voted. I suspect, that if no one else voted "Help me God I just don't know...." that lonely vote was mine. :D L+S was one of the first CDs that I placed on my iPOD, but I didn't include all the tracks. Just the other day I was looking through the list and noticed that I had uploaded more than I had thought. At the time, I must have been afraid of running out of room (heh...of 60 gigs??) because since then I've uploaded pieces by other artists that I like far less than anything on L+S. I don't seek it out very much, but when "Our Father" came up in "shuffle" mode the other day I didn't skip it. :) I played with choreography to "Slipstream" awhile back, incorporating some Charleston steps into it--kinda fun. I still love TOAA. "Angelique," "First Steps," "Surfing," and "Nightshade" also remain favorites. So....I guess I'm where I was. I haven't started liking anything I didn't like before, or disliking something I formerly relished.

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"No such thing as destiny; only choices exist." From:  Moongarden's "Solaris."
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arron11196 Offline




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Posted: May 30 2006, 02:26

Hmm. I guess you could say that there are some albums that you use for more 'background' purposes and others you seriously sit down and listen to. Ommadawn, TBI and II would be in the latter category. Could I seriously sit down and listen to The Gate? I don't think so, but I don't think it's meant to be that type of music.

Whereas Tr3s Lunas for me was a serious effort, like TSODE, but in a different style, L+S seems more like a complete chillout album to me - on every level. It seems chilled from Mike's playing, the complexity, the composition. The whole thing feels... how can I say it... like a summer holiday away from serious music writing. That said, there's some good stuff here - but then I like summer holidays  :D .

Bottom line... do I like L+S? Not all of it. Certainly not much of Shade. Can I listen to some of it? Yes. Does it frequent my listening time? Depends on the mood.

So i guess thats the answer from me... mood music. I'm always in the mood for something monumental from Mike, because he's got every mood covered, with TSODE, Ommadawn, TB I, II, III, or Crises. Not always so in the mood for L+S.


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Arron J Eagling

Everyone's interpretation is different, and everyone has a right to that opinion. There is no "right" one, I am adding this post to communicate my thoughts to share them with like-minded souls who will be able to comment in good nature.

(insert the last 5 mins of Crises here)
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Matt Offline




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Posted: May 30 2006, 07:51

Quote (TioPepe @ May 28 2006, 19:27)
But one track stands oddly out: Sunset! It's not very interesting structurally, but the guitarplay and melody works. I think it's one of the besttracks Mike has made in later years. Anyone else feels this way?


Yep, I feel the same way. I remember various discussions from the past about Mike wringing emotions from his guitar playing and this track is one that seems to have that sort of emotional playing within it.

I wouldn't use a blanket description of "crap" for the album however as there is much I like within  it (ok, less than half but still somethings worth having...)

Cheers

Matt


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"I say I say I say I say, what's got three bottles and five eyes and no legs and two wheels"
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Hoot Offline




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Posted: May 30 2006, 09:48

Some people migh say that L+S is generic but i just find it has a dept that you dont find in other peoples stuff, I dont no if any1 agrees but for example the deep echoing piano in Lakme just seems to add that dept and take it away from the mindless, souless stuff many others make, Of course thats just my opinion again!

--------------
"And God said: Let There Be Light"
-Genisis,The Bible
(alternatively-The Songs Of Distant Earth,In The Begining)
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Navaira Offline




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Posted: June 23 2006, 17:48

After all this time I only return to 'Angelique', 'Surfing' and 'Cook's Tune'. If it was a three-track EP, I would consider it a definitive return to form, however as it's three out of 17 tracks... I can't. It's not his worst album (we've still got Guitars, Tr3s Lunas and Millennium Bore) but it's in the bottom 5.

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http://www.raygrant.com :: My album 'Exorcism' is out on iTunes now
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Posted: June 23 2006, 22:55

Post withdrawn - sorry to have troubled.
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hiawatha Offline




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Posted: June 24 2006, 07:21

Hoping someday the bug in which the word "new" appears in red gets fixed. It certainly damaged the above posting.

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"In the land of the Dacotahs,
Where the Falls of Minnehaha
Flash and gleam among the oak-trees,
Laugh and leap into the valley."
- Song of Hiawatha
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Alan D Offline




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Posted: June 24 2006, 11:04

Quote (hiawatha @ June 24 2006, 12:21)
Hoping someday the bug in which the word "new" appears in red gets fixed.

I knew there would be a new occurrence of this problem sooner or later. It's an issue that continually renews itself, and it would be good to hear if there were any news about it being solved. I believe there was a computer-literate zoologist in Newcastle who knew how to fix it, but I lost touch with him when he moved to Newfoundland to study amphibians (frogs and newts). Anyway, that's old news now. I agree, Hiawatha, it's a newsance.

(I have nothing new to say about Light and Shade.)
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Sonilink Offline




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Posted: July 08 2006, 11:54

I've always liked it, I still like it

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Take the Time
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Sysiyo Offline




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Posted: July 10 2006, 12:29

On initial listen I thought it was crap. Complete, utter and total crap. It was the only occasion ever where I didn't listen a brand-new album though but swapped it for another one (Jethro Tull's brilliant Stormwatch is memory serves). Compared to my very negative initial impression, my view of the album has definately improved, although I do still think it's somewhat superfluous. mike has covered similar ground before, not just with Tr3s Lunas but also on Tubular Bells II (many parts of Light reminds me of TBII) and III (Shade with it's dance stylings bears an obvious similarity to the dance ctylings of TBIII).

Still, the only real remaining gripe I have with the album is the fact that it's a double album. Mike could have easily edited out some of the more repetitive elements and shorten the material enough to fit it on a single disc. OK, that and the vocals on Surfing.
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Drealm Offline




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Posted: Jan. 30 2010, 18:12

Every album of Mike did the same thing to me: first, I was not sure, but with more listen, liked it more than I would never have though of.

And the winner at this is Light+Shade.

My first listens were sad. I was disappointed, I saw the music cheap and pointless. And later, the album grew on me like I would NEVER thought it would. And now, this albums is one I listen the most to. One of the greatest dreamy album he ever did, it's like if all surroundings were magical.

Now, I can't imagine Mike Oldfield without this album. I mean it's integral part of his works now.

And for those who hate this album, I feel they don't understand his essence; they seems to just look for outstanding performance. Maybe some people like Amarok because it's "great performance", and not because they really enjoy it...
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nightspore Offline




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Posted: Jan. 30 2010, 20:07

Quote (Drealm @ Jan. 30 2010, 18:12)
Every album of Mike did the same thing to me: first, I was not sure, but with more listen, liked it more than I would never have though of.

Mr O has a rare talent for doing this!
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New Incantation Offline




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Posted: Mar. 08 2010, 04:47

Quote (Drealm @ Jan. 30 2010, 23:12)
Every album of Mike did the same thing to me: first, I was not sure, but with more listen, liked it more than I would never have though of.

And the winner at this is Light+Shade.

My first listens were sad. I was disappointed, I saw the music cheap and pointless. And later, the album grew on me like I would NEVER thought it would. And now, this albums is one I listen the most to. One of the greatest dreamy album he ever did, it's like if all surroundings were magical.

Now, I can't imagine Mike Oldfield without this album. I mean it's integral part of his works now.

And for those who hate this album, I feel they don't understand his essence; they seems to just look for outstanding performance. Maybe some people like Amarok because it's "great performance", and not because they really enjoy it...

I must confess to having a distinct disliking for this album when I bought it in 2007. I just couldn't get into it at all, each track seemed so uneven and unrelated to the next track, it was if I was listening to two totally different artists.

However, like a maturing bottle of wine or scotch, one gets a more discerning taste after a period of time. And now, some 3 years on I am finding myself appreciating nearly all of the tracks a whole lot more.

Yes they're still uneven and difficult to relate too at times. But as someone already picked up on on here, perhaps Mike wanted a change from composing complex tracks, preferring instead something relatively light & simple.

In that context, L&S, does just that. It's like watching something as light & fluffy as "Avatar" compared to something more demanding like "The Insider".

L&S is summer holiday music, nothing more, nothing less. And I really do enjoy it.
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Tati The Sentinel Offline




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Posted: Mar. 08 2010, 05:24

After almost five years using Angelique as my ringtone for my mobile's alarm...it's such a joy to wake up and listen to this wonderful,uplifting piece of music that Mike has created!

And what a great bassline...if you have the chance to strip it down on u-myx,you know what I'm talking about! And I do miss the mellow melodies from the red Strat so much...but that's life.

Just a little comment on L+S after almost 5 years of its release.


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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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InsideOfYou Offline




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Posted: July 26 2010, 05:13

There is some nice music and playing buried amongst the electronic garbage, IMO. Maybe I need to get into this U-Myx malarkey so I can create my own more listenable version. :/

IOY
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Delfín Offline




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Posted: Nov. 15 2010, 19:47

Quote (Sir Mustapha @ April 16 2006, 20:25)
I was pleasantly surprised with it in the beginning, because it turned out to be better than pretty much every post-Virgin album he made. But as a whole, I have little use for it, really. Several individual songs are worth having, but I wouldn't kill for it.[U]

Sir Mustapha, I wouldn't even kill for 'Tubular Bells 2oo3', my favourite recording from all-time. Do you think I'm the girl from 'The Exorcist'?? huhu

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The most precious thing I possess, is knowing the answer's yes
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familyman Offline




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Posted: Nov. 16 2010, 03:11

It's definitely grown on me, but one of my least favourite MO albums
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44 replies since April 16 2006, 05:07 < Next Oldest | Next Newest >

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