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TubularBelle Group: Members Posts: 1487 Joined: April 2004 Posted: Nov. 06 2005, 22:56 As I said, the internet is to blame here, too much hype, too easy access, nothing to look forward to, most of us already knew up to 14 of the 18 tracks before the album was even released. I have no doubt that the internet has had a significant effect and will do so in the future. -------------- I hate getting up early. I didn't even realise there were two 6 o'clocks in one day! Back to top

BTH Group: Members. Posts: 179 Joined: Dec. 2005 Posted: Dec. 14 2005, 00:18 I bought Light + Shade around the end of September - Absolutely hated it all at first, thinking that it sounded horribly synthetic and uninspired. However, I should have known better - I had exactly the same reaction to Tres Lunas and ended up really enjoying it a couple of months later... It's now almost Christmas and I've had L + S playing constantly for the past week. I just decided to bring it out and give it another chance and thank God I did! I'm finding it extremely relaxing and also very uplifting during a period of severe stress and tension with my university work... Of course there are a few tracks that are less effective than others! Slipstream isn't great and Romance is just too techno even though there is some magnificent guitar work in the later part of the tune. Lakme is great but you really need to be in the mood! I find Closer a little boring and much prefer the Pres De Toi version. Rocky is pleasant but tends to drift in one ear and out the other... Of the rest of the album First Steps is an obvious favourite and has fantastic progression in rhythm, emphasis and mood. Our Father is glorious, having great moments of tension and release and I really don't have a problem with the vocals in this at all unlike many other contributors. I also fail to see the problem with some of the melodic repetition as it's coupled with variations in background. Resolution is another favourite and again I have no problem with the vocals. The high "voice" actually sounds more like a very processed guitar sound and really works as such. As an individual sound in a track it could be better but the rest of the track more than compensates, having some of the most dynamic and exciting rhythms of any MO track I've heard as well as the great choppy guitar riffs... Surfing is just brilliant! Fantastic little melody, a huge overdubbed guitar section filled with emotion as a counterpoint to the robatic chanting which contains dark currents beneath the chirpy tune... Ringscape has a great, epic quality with swathes of yearning guitar over a lovely, flowing hammond-organ esque background. Nightshade is another rhythmically brilliant track althought it feels a bit unfinished - a good ripping solo would really have topped the album off well! Tears of an Angel is perhaps my favourite. It could maybe have done without the prelude but the main track is beautiful and it contains one of the most stunning Oldfield guitar solos he's recorded. The layering of voices, beats and musical elements especially from the 4 minute mark onwards is stunning, building to a lovely subtle finish. Overall it's a fantastic album and it really bears up well on repeated listening. I think theres a great sound to the record, very warm and natural despite all the synths and technology. It's easy to hear why many people can't get past what seems at first like a lazy reliance on synthetic beats and gimmicks. However I'm so glad that a had the notion to give it another chance because I'm really finding it very rewarding at the moment... I'd still like Mike to have a go at another long form composition though! So many of the tracks on Light + Sound would have been suitable for connection with one another and some of the themes would be strong enough to recur throughout a long piece. I'm sure he'd be up to the task! -------------- Tá mé an amadán ag cheoil... Back to top

TubularBelle Group: Members Posts: 1487 Joined: April 2004 Posted: Dec. 14 2005, 02:29 Excellent report BTH (dare I ask?) and Welcome to the forum, I hope you are happy here. I have had the album for 2 months now and have taken notes several times but still haven't played it enough to write an unbiased report yet. Glad to hear it has grown on you, feel the same will happen for me once I start playing it a little more often. I have bought several cds recently, and am still patiently waiting for my Sigur Ross and Rush cds I have on order, have not heard these artists before, I like new experiences. Keep on posting and Merry Xmas. -------------- I hate getting up early. I didn't even realise there were two 6 o'clocks in one day! Back to top

Alan D Group: Members Posts: 3670 Joined: Aug. 2004 Posted: Dec. 14 2005, 05:09 Quote (BTH @ Dec. 14 2005, 05:18) Overall it's a fantastic album and it really bears up well on repeated listening. I think theres a great sound to the record, very warm and natural despite all the synths and technology. It's easy to hear why many people can't get past what seems at first like a lazy reliance on synthetic beats and gimmicks. However I'm so glad that a had the notion to give it another chance because I'm really finding it very rewarding at the moment... Thanks for this detailed and interesting response to the album, which I found encouraging. My response has followed a different path to yours, in that I started out disposed favourably towards it, but gradually found the 'synthetic beats and gimmicks' becoming more and more obtrusive, and so found myself enjoying it less and less. Now, I don't play it at all. But your comments here suggest that maybe there's a phase yet to come that I haven't experienced yet (I hope so); so that's a good reason for blowing the dust off it and trying again when it's had a bit of a rest. Back to top

moonchildhippy Group: Members Posts: 1807 Joined: Dec. 2004 Posted: Dec. 15 2005, 18:41 Quote (BTH @ Dec. 14 2005, 05:18) Overall it's a fantastic album and it really bears up well on repeated listening. I think theres a great sound to the record, very warm and natural despite all the synths and technology. It's easy to hear why many people can't get past what seems at first like a lazy reliance on synthetic beats and gimmicks. However I'm so glad that a had the notion to give it another chance because I'm really finding it very rewarding at the moment... I'd still like Mike to have a go at another long form composition though! So many of the tracks on Light + Sound would have been suitable for connection with one another and some of the themes would be strong enough to recur throughout a long piece. I'm sure he'd be up to the task! Welcome to TubularBoard BTH. It was as a result of seeing  your post I played L&S earlier today.  Yes I think it's one of those albums that does grow on you with more listens. At first I was a bit sceptical of the Vocaloid vocals, I was worried they'd sound too electronic, but they don't, only on Surfing, where I believe it was Mike's intention to make them sound like a computer voice. I should have known Mike would get the sound so right.  Overall the album has some great guitar work upon it.  I'm not really a great fan of dance music, but hey what Mike has done here is great .   Just goes to show that in the right hands what may seem to be "a lazy reliance on synthetic beats and gimmicks", can sound like music to my ears   .  Why was the excellent Cook's Tune left off the album? Takes me back to 1975/6 when I first heard In Dulci Jubilo, I've loved IDJ since then. Yes I too would like to hear another long composition from Mike. -------------- I'm going slightly mad, It finally happened, I'm slightly mad , just very slightly mad If you feel a little glum to Hergest Ridge you should come. I'm challenging  taboos surrounding mental health "Part time hippy" I'M SUPPORTING OUR SOLDIERS BRING OUR TROOPS HOME NOW!! Back to top

ruzakko Group: Members Posts: 8 Joined: July 2004 Posted: Dec. 25 2005, 14:50 I didn't like this album. I was kind of disappointed. Yeah the guitars were great, but It's too electric for my taste. I'd like to listen some "real" music...   BUT!!! The "real" fans shall not hate me because I didn't like this album. I have loved every album since Tubular Bells until Tres Lunas. But then they got "worse". With the word "worse" I don't mean it SUCKED. It wasn't that good... It was too electric for my taste and it "was made with FruityLoops" Sorry guys   Back to top

Sweetpea Group: Members Posts: 1476 Joined: April 2007 Posted: Aug. 17 2007, 23:07 Quote (hergest fridge @ Sep. 28 2005, 16:59) Someone said earlier they thought mike had been in decline for the past decade,sorry mate i think your hav,in a laugh.He declined from 84 to 89 and turned it around again after.Any way put light & shade back in your cd player turn it up loud chill and enjoy This comment has reminded me of some thoughts I've recently had regarding MO's oeuvre. IMO, Mike's first albums - Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge, Ommadawn, and Incantations - are rightly celebrated as masterpieces. His next output - Platinum, QE2, Five Miles Out, and Crises - are mostly great works and certainly deserving of the praise they've often received. The mid to late 80s work - Discovery, Islands, and Earth Moving - is, despite moments of brilliance and much to enjoy, my least favorite 'era'. Now, some may think this is nuts, but I see the last fifteen years or so - Amarok, (*) Tubular Bells II, The Songs of Distant Earth, Voyager, Tubular Bells III, Guitars, (*) Tr3s Lunas, and Light+Shade - as a sort of 'Golden Age' for Mike (or at the very least for me as a fan) due to the wealth of beautiful music to come from this period. Some may argue that Mike hasn't been using his full potential and I've often seen comments like "He can do much better". But I don't begrudge Dvorak's Slavonic Dances for not being his 7th Symphony. Substitute those pieces with Mike's Light+Shade and Ommadawn. So, I find it rather churlish to complain of only being given 'the moon' and not 'the moon and stars'. Mike has provided so much wonderfulness over the years and I find myself loving Tr3s Lunas and Light+Shade possibly as much as Hergest Ridge and QE2. * Yes, I omitted Heaven's Open and Millenium Bell from the equation. IMO, HO, while enjoyable and unique in many ways, is a low point of the 'Golden Age'. I have yet to form a firm opinion on MB, but there is much in it that I admire, and I expect it will only rise in my esteem with further listenings. -------------- "I'm no physicist, but technically couldn't Mike both be with the horse and be flying through space at the same time? (On account of the earth's orbit around the Sun and all that). So it seems he never had to make the choice after all. I bet he's kicking himself now." - clotty Back to top

Alan D Group: Members Posts: 3670 Joined: Aug. 2004 Posted: Aug. 18 2007, 03:51 Quote (Sweatpea @ Aug. 18 2007, 04:07) Now, some may think this is nuts, but I see the last fifteen years or so - Amarok, (*) Tubular Bells II, The Songs of Distant Earth, Voyager, Tubular Bells III, Guitars, (*) Tr3s Lunas, and Light+Shade - as a sort of 'Golden Age' for Mike Thank you for saying this so clearly and distinctly. That's a very interesting grouping that you've made, there, and I entirely agree. Of course there are some ups and downs within it, as there will always be - but if that collection of work had been the entire lifetime's output by someone else, it would be an astounding achievement in itself. Quote But I don't begrudge Dvorak's Slavonic Dances for not being his 7th Symphony. Perfect. Gets right to the heart of the matter. Quote I find it rather churlish to complain of only being given 'the moon' and not 'the moon and stars'. Again, exactly hits the mark. I feel like applauding. Of course, even so, that doesn't stop me from wanting the moon, stars and a few galaxies sometimes. Part of the human condition. Do you know that wonderful engraving by Blake called 'I want! I want!'? You can see it here (though badly reproduced): I want! I want! Back to top

raven4x4x Group: Members Posts: 1535 Joined: Jan. 2002 Posted: Aug. 18 2007, 06:00 Quote (Alan D @ Aug. 18 2007, 16:51) Of course, even so, that doesn't stop me from wanting the moon, stars and a few galaxies sometimes Whenever I listen to a new album there's always a part of me that wants it to be as enjoyable as Amarok, but I know that expecting every album to be fantastic is setting myself up for disappointment. Personally I'm satisfied if there is at least one track or one section of the album that I really like. Every single one of Mike's albums, even the ones I really don't like, has at least one of these tracks. For me Tears of an Angel is that song from L&S. No matter what I feel about the rest of the tracks (and there's a good number I don't care for at all), I'll never regret buying it. -------------- Thank-you for helping us help you help us all. Back to top

Sweetpea Group: Members Posts: 1476 Joined: April 2007 Posted: Aug. 19 2007, 04:13 Quote (Alan D @ Aug. 18 2007, 03:51) Of course, even so, that doesn't stop me from wanting the moon, stars and a few galaxies sometimes. Part of the human condition. Do you know that wonderful engraving by Blake called 'I want! I want!'? You can see it here (though badly reproduced): I want! I want! I'd not seen that before, Alan. It is an effective piece. I admit I have a somewhat greedy nature, not least of all when it comes to MO music. I make an effort to restrain myself, though, as I don't want to impose my failings on others. Goodness, that sounds so serious. I was tempted to add an emoticon or two, such as    or    but excessive smiley usage is another tendency I try to reign in.   -------------- "I'm no physicist, but technically couldn't Mike both be with the horse and be flying through space at the same time? (On account of the earth's orbit around the Sun and all that). So it seems he never had to make the choice after all. I bet he's kicking himself now." - clotty Back to top

Delfín Group: Members Posts: 667 Joined: Nov. 2000 Posted: Sep. 19 2007, 19:18 I have been pretty lazy lately and I never put a single post as far as I remember about Light and Shade, and I'm not gonna write a comprehensive review now 'cos I don't feel like doing it and I'm into some other things as well. But I'll start saying I sadly disagree with Ugo about 'Romance' and I don't know if you said ''Quicksilver' as well. These are the only two tracks in the album I completely dislike, the first for being an absolutely unfair rendition of a beautiful guitar classic, Spanish as me :P and I feel really sane being able to deliver that kind of critic to my most beloved musician. 'Quicksilver' is for me an ugly and difficult to assimilate disco groove with some loose, really Oldfield-sounding guitar at the top of it. Having started with my dislikes, speaking only about the Shade track, I consider discreet tracks like the gloomy 'Slipstream' and 'Resolution', which starting synths I would have liked to have more protagonism throughout the track. I like 'Surfing' and mostly for its originality and strange similarity of the vocaloid voice to former Mike's vocalists like maybe some from 'Earth Moving' or even good old friend Barry Palmer. Unarguably 'Tears of an Angel' is great for its intensivity and classic old guitar sound, though I'm not as much a huge fan of it as others. I dig the great late-eighties-sounding-like solo at the end of it. Mike Oldfield permitted himself a bit of a guitar playing release on this one. But the best part lays on the closing of the album. The possibly too short 'Ringscape' is impressive for it solemnity, and its epic quality that for some reason brings me back to legendary, multi-guitared start of Ommadawn part 2. And 'Nightshade' stuns me for its unshaded darkness and the solid three note, hipnotical melody. This track is really something, a new direction in Mike's music, simple and strong at the same time. It is like a question mark in the musical direction for the future, as it's dark and oppressive but we know Mike's a genuine optimist. Anyway, a good side but worse than the 'A' side, which has a difficult, slight detail to compete with: the great 'First Steps', a Taurus-like type of track that brings back to the present the highest moments of epic grandness and creative complexity that blend the best masterpieces from Mike we all know, like say 'Five Miles Out', 'Islands', 'Amarok' or 'Tubular Bells' 1,2 and 3. Finally I made a comprehensive review of 'Shade'. I will make a bloody comprehensive review of 'Light' one of these days. -------------- The most precious thing I possess, is knowing the answer's yes Back to top

Sweetpea Group: Members Posts: 1476 Joined: April 2007 Posted: Sep. 19 2007, 19:55 I'm so glad you've posted your opinions, Delfin. You've pointed out some interesting aspects and given me food for thought. For one thing, I hadn't consciously registered the fact that it was a mere three notes that were so mesmerizing me in "Nightshade". -------------- "I'm no physicist, but technically couldn't Mike both be with the horse and be flying through space at the same time? (On account of the earth's orbit around the Sun and all that). So it seems he never had to make the choice after all. I bet he's kicking himself now." - clotty Back to top

Delfín Group: Members Posts: 667 Joined: Nov. 2000 Posted: Sep. 20 2007, 09:56 I'm more than glad to know . -------------- The most precious thing I possess, is knowing the answer's yes Back to top

Silver Negus Group: Members Posts: 357 Joined: Sep. 2007 Posted: Oct. 01 2007, 11:37 Well I guess you can't please all of the people all of the time, and why should you try?  I do agree though, I have heard better material from Mr Oldfield in the past.  -Then was his time... maybe not so much now. I like the second track on the Shade album.-  Very powerful. I thought the wailing woman was a bit Pink Floyd-ish. Then I kind of joked a bit and thought, either she's got toothache, or really bad PMT.   Anyway, I guess there just comes a time when we have really fresh ideas, and then after that it's like, 'right inspiration?' As people who like the music, I guess we should not expect too much. Back to top

Alan D Group: Members Posts: 3670 Joined: Aug. 2004 Posted: Oct. 03 2007, 04:28 Well, it's funny how things change. I don't think my opinion of any album by MO has changed so much over time, as for Light and Shade. 'Not sure' became 'Not my cup of tea'. 'Not my cup of tea' became 'Oh No!'. 'Oh No!' became 'I don't think I'll ever play it again'. Silence. Then 'Maybe I'll try that again'; followed by 'I'll try that again again'; followed by 'What was the problem with this anyway?'. My present state is summed up by 'How glad I am to have this album which is like nothing else I own, yet which is so untiringly easy to listen to and which is jam-packed full of great tunes'. I have a particular use for Light and Shade at the moment. I'm digging deep into Elgar's big choral works after a lifetime of being unable to find a way into the stuff. Have got my foot in the door, so to speak, it's an exhilarating exploration I'm on, but it is unquestionably hard work, needing sustained concentrated listening over long periods. The question is - what can follow that? (I don't mean immediately after, because you need a break of course - but some time later.) The answer - to my amazement - seems to be 'Light and Shade'. It's so undemanding and yet still rewarding. The tunes are very Oldfieldian, but there's not much (some, but not much) in the way of deep soul-searching (I certainly don't want that, after the Elgar). I can read while I listen, but there are enough brilliant sparks to interfere with my reading now and then, when I pause to enjoy the moment. So Light and Shade is slowly coming to occupy a unique place in my album collection that I'm very grateful for. All very curious. Back to top

moonchildhippy Group: Members Posts: 1807 Joined: Dec. 2004 Posted: Oct. 03 2007, 13:40 Quote (Alan D @ Aug. 18 2007, 07:51) Quote (Sweatpea @ Aug. 18 2007, 04:07) Now, some may think this is nuts, but I see the last fifteen years or so - Amarok, (*) Tubular Bells II, The Songs of Distant Earth, Voyager, Tubular Bells III, Guitars, (*) Tr3s Lunas, and Light+Shade - as a sort of 'Golden Age' for Mike Thank you for saying this so clearly and distinctly. That's a very interesting grouping that you've made, there, and I entirely agree. Of course there are some ups and downs within it, as there will always be - but if that collection of work had been the entire lifetime's output by someone else, it would be an astounding achievement in itself. Quote I find it rather churlish to complain of only being given 'the moon' and not 'the moon and stars'. Again, exactly hits the mark. I feel like applauding. Of course, even so, that doesn't stop me from wanting the moon, stars and a few galaxies sometimes. Part of the human condition. Do you know that wonderful engraving by Blake called 'I want! I want!'? You can see it here (though badly reproduced): I want! I want! I agree with that Sweet Pea about the last 15 years being a  "Golden Age"  for Mike's recordings, still don't quite know what to make of Amarok though , I don't think it's nuts at all, but I am "Completely round the hatrack" as so my boyfriend would say, it's a Warwickshire expression for being a bit nuts , and I do admit to my madness     . Of course not forgetting the Holy Trinity of Tubular Bells Hergest Ridge and Ommadawn. I would add to that Incantations, if you can get over the horrible wrapping paper, but inside is some beautiful music, pity that Exegisis therapy made Mike decide to chop off his long hair, and loose the hippyish clothes. Yep I love long haired hippy types. Oh so that's where the saying "I want! I want!" comes from, I remember my Mum saying it to me as a kid when she felt I was being demanding.    I think there's a saying about Shoot for   the moon  , but if you miss you'll hit the stars.  As you say Alan that's the human condition, but  there's a point where maybe having more becomes too much.  I did read or hear that that £35million Euro Lottery winner is now unhappy. If I had a fraction of that say £250,000 I'd be happy as then I could by myself a house, with a garden to grow flowers, fruit and herbs, and be nearer my boyfriend, and if I wanted to spoil myself an Aston Martin DB9  , but I'd keep muy trusty little Vauxhall Corsa as I love her to bits. -------------- I'm going slightly mad, It finally happened, I'm slightly mad , just very slightly mad If you feel a little glum to Hergest Ridge you should come. I'm challenging  taboos surrounding mental health "Part time hippy" I'M SUPPORTING OUR SOLDIERS BRING OUR TROOPS HOME NOW!! Back to top

Alan D Group: Members Posts: 3670 Joined: Aug. 2004 Posted: Oct. 03 2007, 16:42 Quote (moonchildhippy @ Oct. 03 2007, 18:40) Oh so that's where the saying "I want! I want!" comes from I can't say for sure, but my guess is that "I want! I want!" was already an old and well-known saying when Blake chose it for the title of his wonderful engraving. Back to top

oblique Group: Members Posts: 411 Joined: Mar. 2005 Posted: Oct. 04 2007, 05:51 Alan D: Quote I'm digging deep into Elgar's big choral works after a lifetime of being unable to find a way into the stuff. Have got my foot in the door, so to speak, it's an exhilarating exploration I'm on, but it is unquestionably hard work, needing sustained concentrated listening over long periods. For several years i've been trying to listen to Elgar's The Kingdom which I've got on CD, but never managed to do so in one piece..... -------------- "While we are alive we should sit among colored lights and taste good wines, and discuss our adventures in far places; when we are dead, the opportunity is past." - Jack Vance Back to top

Alan D Group: Members Posts: 3670 Joined: Aug. 2004 Posted: Oct. 04 2007, 09:07 Quote (oblique @ Oct. 04 2007, 10:51) For several years i've been trying to listen to Elgar's The Kingdom which I've got on CD, but never managed to do so in one piece..... I sympathise. It's a lot harder to tackle than, say 'The Spirit of England' or 'The Music Masters' which only last 30-40 minutes. Do you have Sir Adrian Boult's 'Introduction' to 'The Apostles' and 'The Kingdom'? That's quite helpful, because he draws attention to the most important leitmotifs and identifies them. (It's provided as part of one of the CDs in the box set I bought of Boult's versions of Elgar's choral works.) Back to top

Sydslittlebiscuit Group: Members Posts: 98 Joined: April 2005 Posted: Oct. 05 2007, 03:36 Personally Light and Shade is my least fav of Mike's, but that is because I am more of a fan of his earlier more acoustic live musical instrument playing, down to personal taste. Theres no doubt its not his best, but I think he was just going for a different approach, doesn't mean its any less valid. Maybe appeals to a different audience, but perhaps the guy should get break, I mean he has worked his ass of on a lot of previous endeavours, and given his all, maybe we can expect too much of a good thing all the time from him, surely he entitled to have a little restbite now and again lol! Anyway you have to have a little 'Light and Shade' to his work otherwise it would be boring if he didn't pull out something different now and again, just gives contrast to his other maniac productions :-) -------------- the word became flesh..... http://www.flickr.com/photos/sindysparkles/ Back to top

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