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Topic: what was your first reaction, when you first heard this album?< Next Oldest | Next Newest >
Alan D Offline




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Posted: May 17 2008, 13:41

Quote (nightspore @ May 17 2008, 17:01)
I suppose we tend to admire cleverness in art, and when we perceive that words are being distorted any way we like to fit a simple tune it just doesn't seem very clever.

What's interesting, I think, is that we can easily forgive this sort of thing if we instinctively enjoy the music in the first place. I mean - I fell completely in love with Far Country the first time I ever heard it, and I've never noticed the awkward stress that troubles you. But when we're generally unmoved by art that we might have expected to enjoy, and start casting around for reasons - that's when we find things like this, and highlight them. But if you're in love with the music from the start, they simply don't matter.

If Mike had somehow found a way of fixing this stress awkwardness, I bet you'd still be unimpressed by the song, Daniel - do you think?

[Separate question: do I admire 'cleverness' in art? I don't think I do. Maybe that's worth talking about somewhere?]
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Sir Mustapha Offline




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Posted: May 17 2008, 13:50

Quote (nightspore @ May 17 2008, 02:29)
Interestingly, "Runaway Son" doesn't suffer from this problem (from memory); as I've said before, I like this song. The melody races along like its subject matter (content reflecting form - a big tick), and the rantings of the whisky priest in the background are unserious enough for the song to be taken seriously.

Runaway Son is one of my favourites here. The cool thing is that the preacher samples remind me of My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, by Brian Eno and David Byrne. I wonder, did Mike get his cues from that? It would be ultra cool if he did. The singing in that song is good, too: the occasional overblownness is neutralised by the sheer fun factor - which isn't the case with the near-vomiting of the title track and the murder of Freddie Mercury in Hostage.

As for the "faaar cuuuun-TREEE" matter, well, the guitar solo is the only part of the song that I pay attention to, really.


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Matt Offline




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Posted: May 17 2008, 15:01

Quote (Sir Mustapha @ May 17 2008, 18:50)
As for the "faaar cuuuun-TREEE" matter, well, the guitar solo is the only part of the song that I pay attention to, really.

Yep, regardless of what you think of the song and lyrics, you must agree the guitar solo at the end is perfection!


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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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Alan D Offline




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Posted: May 17 2008, 16:06

Quote (Matt @ May 17 2008, 20:01)
Yep, regardless of what you think of the song and lyrics, you must agree the guitar solo at the end is perfection!

I was going to say I agreed - and then I realised that if I were to strip the guitar solo from the song and listen to it in isolation, I don't think it would transport me so effectively, because there'd be no preparation for it. So I think I'd want to add that it seems perfectly placed, in its context, as well as (possibly, though I'm not sure) being perfect in itself.
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nightspore Offline




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Posted: May 17 2008, 20:38

Quote (Alan D @ May 17 2008, 13:41)
If Mike had somehow found a way of fixing this stress awkwardness, I bet you'd still be unimpressed by the song, Daniel - do you think?

[Separate question: do I admire 'cleverness' in art? I don't think I do. Maybe that's worth talking about somewhere?]

In this case, Alan, you're right - I'm not fond of the song, and it's entirely possible that I'm looking for easy-to-define reasons why. However, there's one song - "Innocent" - that I dislike simply because of the ugly way it pronounces "innocent" as "innerSENT". If it weren't for such distortions I'd like the song. (I can live with its unusual grammar, eg, "live the very first sing" because it sounds almost Heideggerian.)

With regard to the separate question, about 'cleverness in art': it certainly contributes to my enjoyment of a piece, although it isn't the be-all-end-all that it is for some people. Would people enjoy a recording of virtuoso musicianship if they learned that the sounds had actually been generated by a computer? Some would; some wouldn't.
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nightspore Offline




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Posted: May 17 2008, 20:48

I take the point that stretching syllables can create desired effects. I suppose for me the crunch is that "Far Country" doesn't sound arty enough for me to expect that sort of sensitive attention to language. Dirkstar, it smacks of Eurovision to me too.
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Olivier Offline




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Posted: May 17 2008, 21:20

It was in 1992, my university roomate had one album from Mike Oldfield, and it was Earth Moving. I think his sister gave it to him, which is not surprising, it's a girlish album, men listen to Amarok ;) It's the year I was becoming a fan, thanks to Tubular Bells II (which I bought a while after it was released). Before that I had Tubular Bells and Amarok (the warning made me buy it when I noticed it in the new releases), which I listened in the background, Amarok much more often than Tubular Bells.
So it's weird he had Earth Moving, it didn't really fit with the rest of his albums: Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Dire Straits, but again, I think I remember it's his sister who got rid of the album. I never managed to convert him to Mike Oldfield during this year.
The next year, it only took me a few days to convert my new roomate,  just using Amarok. Interstingly at first he found the Blue Peter, Portmousth kind of tunes childish and embarassing, and after a while, I was embarassed when he played them so loud that the whole building could hear it. I kind of lost contact, but knowing him he must be horrified by The Millennium Bell and what followed.
So yeah, my first reaction to Earth Moving: I can't remember exactly, I think I was bothering him with my instrumental Mike Oldfield albums I was freshly in love with, and one day he played Earth Moving, trying to trick me to make me say it sucks (I was like "MO is God" all day long), but I recognized the guitar on Holy! I didn't like it a lot though, but thought that it showed that Mike could make tunes in any style. I did have a lot of albums to discover so I kind of forgot about it, until now actually.
My best first reaction was for TSODE, second Tubular Bells II. I made the mistake to get The Complete way too early, it kind of ruined my discovery of Platinum, Omadawn, Hergest Ridge and Incantations.
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Alan D Offline




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Posted: May 18 2008, 03:17

Quote (Olivier @ May 18 2008, 02:20)
it's a girlish album, men listen to Amarok

Well, you fair made me choke with laughter over my morning coffee there, Olivier!

[Where's The Big BellEnd? He'll love this.]
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hergest fridge Offline




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Posted: May 20 2008, 13:35

:/  :(  :zzz: says it all really
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larstangmark Offline




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Posted: May 21 2008, 04:17

One of the first things that struck me was how much of the music that was programmed on sequencers/computers. He'd done that before, but by now he'd abandoned the Fairlight and was using much more common equipment (the Atari 1040 + a bunch of Roland synth modules) which he didn't necesarily "master". As a consequence it sounds rather loose and home-made.
The commcercial-ness of the material didn't exactly surprise me, coming right after Islands. I remember thinking that he might as well quit doing his longs tracks if they're going to sound like Wind Chimes!
I'm not a huge fan of EM, but I prefer Mike's poppiest music over his "chill-out" stuff.


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Delfín Offline




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Posted: Aug. 24 2010, 12:04

I only liked 'Holy'.

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Hastengas Offline




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Posted: Dec. 01 2010, 08:44

Awful album.......I had absolutley everything MO up until this point and I'm not ashamed to admit that I took this back and got a refund.....same with Heavens Open. Two to forget.....I did however, many years later buy both albums again....listened to them a few times and came to the same conclusion and took them both back......wasnt a great fan of Islands either, but I do still listen to it occasionally.
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Delfín Offline




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Posted: Dec. 01 2010, 09:54

Quote (Hastengas @ Dec. 01 2010, 14:44)
Awful album.......I had absolutley everything MO up until this point and I'm not ashamed to admit that I took this back and got a refund.....same with Heavens Open. Two to forget.....I did however, many years later buy both albums again....listened to them a few times and came to the same conclusion and took them both back......wasnt a great fan of Islands either, but I do still listen to it occasionally.

If you would have done either with 'Amarok', I bet a few here would dare to call you something... :)

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Hastengas Offline




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Posted: Dec. 02 2010, 07:36

Quote (Delfín @ Dec. 01 2010, 09:54)
Quote (Hastengas @ Dec. 01 2010, 14:44)
Awful album.......I had absolutley everything MO up until this point and I'm not ashamed to admit that I took this back and got a refund.....same with Heavens Open. Two to forget.....I did however, many years later buy both albums again....listened to them a few times and came to the same conclusion and took them both back......wasnt a great fan of Islands either, but I do still listen to it occasionally.

If you would have done either with 'Amarok', I bet a few here would dare to call you something... :)

No worries....forums are about opinions at the end of the day.....Im happy with mine. Amarok was brilliant by the way
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wiga Offline




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Posted: Dec. 02 2010, 08:14

Quote (Hastengas @ Dec. 01 2010, 13:44)
I did however, many years later buy both albums again....listened to them a few times and came to the same conclusion and took them both back......

Hastengas: - I can relate to what you're saying, but I kept my copies. I quite like "Music From the Balcony" though - it's a  nice instrumental, but the songs are pretty average Joe really. Mike's outstanding genius lies in his instrumental works IMO.

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Delfín Offline




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Posted: Dec. 02 2010, 09:08

Quote (Hastengas @ Dec. 02 2010, 13:36)
Quote (Delfín @ Dec. 01 2010, 09:54)
Quote (Hastengas @ Dec. 01 2010, 14:44)
Awful album.......I had absolutley everything MO up until this point and I'm not ashamed to admit that I took this back and got a refund.....same with Heavens Open. Two to forget.....I did however, many years later buy both albums again....listened to them a few times and came to the same conclusion and took them both back......wasnt a great fan of Islands either, but I do still listen to it occasionally.

If you would have done either with 'Amarok', I bet a few here would dare to call you something... :)

No worries....forums are about opinions at the end of the day.....Im happy with mine. Amarok was brilliant by the way

I know, but you didn't really catch up with the funny sense of the message... I mean do you remember the back cover message from 'Amarok'?? That's what it's about (just pokin' fun) :D

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Hastengas Offline




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Posted: Dec. 03 2010, 09:38

Quote (wiga @ Dec. 02 2010, 13:14)
Quote (Hastengas @ Dec. 01 2010, 13:44)
I did however, many years later buy both albums again....listened to them a few times and came to the same conclusion and took them both back......

Hastengas: - I can relate to what you're saying, but I kept my copies. I quite like "Music From the Balcony" though - it's a  nice instrumental, but the songs are pretty average Joe really. Mike's outstanding genius lies in his instrumental works IMO.

Totally agree Wiga...
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Hastengas Offline




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Posted: Dec. 03 2010, 09:39

Quote (Delfín @ Dec. 02 2010, 14:08)
Quote (Hastengas @ Dec. 02 2010, 13:36)
Quote (Delfín @ Dec. 01 2010, 09:54)
Quote (Hastengas @ Dec. 01 2010, 14:44)
Awful album.......I had absolutley everything MO up until this point and I'm not ashamed to admit that I took this back and got a refund.....same with Heavens Open. Two to forget.....I did however, many years later buy both albums again....listened to them a few times and came to the same conclusion and took them both back......wasnt a great fan of Islands either, but I do still listen to it occasionally.

If you would have done either with 'Amarok', I bet a few here would dare to call you something... :)

No worries....forums are about opinions at the end of the day.....Im happy with mine. Amarok was brilliant by the way

I know, but you didn't really catch up with the funny sense of the message... I mean do you remember the back cover message from 'Amarok'?? That's what it's about (just pokin' fun) :D

No I dont remember Delfin.....I cant even take a look as the album is back in Sydney!!!!

Do enlighten me please...
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Hastengas Offline




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Posted: Dec. 03 2010, 11:45

I assume you meant this....

HEALTH WARNING
This record could be hazardous to the health
of cloth-eared nincompoops. If you suffer from this
condition, consult your Doctor immediately
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Delfín Offline




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Posted: Dec. 03 2010, 16:10

Haha... beautiful lyrics of a song this was!!!

Obviously assuming that you take part of the "in-doors" Oldfieldish sense of humor!!!!!!


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68 replies since June 05 2006, 19:05 < Next Oldest | Next Newest >

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