Mike Oldfield | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Composer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Mike Oldfield rose to global fame on the success of Tubular Bells, an eerie, album-length conceptual piece employed to stunning effect in the William Friedkin film The Exorcist in 1974; it has since sold some 15 million copies and become an indelible entry in the history of popular instrumental music. Oldfield performed a revised version of the first section at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Oldfield enjoys a special place in pop history not only for his most famous composition, but as a bridge between prog rock, new age, mainstream pop, and cinematic music. His other 70s recordings, Hergest Ridge, Ommadawn, and Incantations, are widely considered prog rock classics, comprised of sounds ranging from Celtic folk and guitar rock to jazz, spidery funk, and neo-classical. In addition to Tubular Bells, Oldfields music has been widely used in films. He composed the Golden Globe-nominated score for Roland Joffes Oscar-winning The Killing Fields in 1984, while selections from his other recordings have been used in feature films, on television programs, and in video game soundtracks. While he pursued a direction that elucidated itself via pop during the 80s and 90s, his progressive rock and jazz leanings returned in the 21st century on albums such as Return to Ommadawn. In addition to his own recordings, Oldfield is a prolific session player and arranger. He has worked extensively with Kevin Ayers, David Bedford, Pierre Moerlins Gong, Robert Wyatt, sister Sally Oldfield, Michel Polnareff, and many more. Seven of his albums have placed in the top half of the Top 200, with nearly two dozen singles appearing well inside the Top 100. Tubular Bells, originally dubbed Opus 1, grew out of studio time gifted him by Richard Branson, who at the time was running a mail-order record retail service. After its completion, Oldfield shopped the record to a series of labels, only to meet with rejection; frustrated, Branson decided to found his own label, and in 1973, Tubular Bells became the inaugural release of Virgin Records. An atmospheric, intricate composition that fused rock and folk motifs with the structures of minimalist composition, the 49-minute instrumental piece (performed on close to 30 different instruments, virtually all of them played by Oldfield himself) spent months in the number one spot on the U.K. charts, and eventually sold over 16 million copies globally. In addition to almost single-handedly establishing Virgin as one of the most important labels in the record industry, Tubular Bells also created a market for what would later be dubbed new age music, and won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition in 1974. The follow-up, 1974s Hergest Ridge (named after Oldfields retreat in a remote area of Herefordshire) also proved phenomenally successful, and dislodged Tubular Bells at the top of the British chart. With 1975s Ommadawn, he explored ambient textures and world music; however, the emergence of punk left Oldfield baffled, and he retreated from sight for three years following the LPs release. He resurfaced with 1978s Incantations. Platinum, issued a year later, kept its eye on the clubs, and featured a dance version of the Philip Glass composition "North Star." With 1980s QE2, Oldfield moved completely away from his epic-length pieces and traveled into pop territory, a shift typified by the albums cover of ABBAs "Arrival." He continued in a pop vein for much of the 80s, as albums like 1983s Crises, 1984s Discovery, and 1987s Islands encroached further and further upon mainstream accessibility. In 1992, Oldfield teamed with producer Trevor Horn for Tubular Bells II, which returned him to the top of the U.K. charts. The Songs of Distant Earth appeared two years later, followed by a third Tubular Bells update in 1998. In 2003, Oldfield re-recorded Tubular Bells in celebration of its 30th anniversary, with John Cleese as master of ceremonies replacing the late Vivian Stanshall; the album was issued as a two-disc set including a video disc. Light + Shade, a double-disc conceptual work of new studio material, appeared in 2006. An album-length classically influenced piece, Music of the Spheres, a work deeply influenced by classical music, appeared in 2008, followed by a live offering. After a four-year break from his own work, Oldfield reentered the studio and began working on a return to pop/rock-influenced music. In early 2014 he emerged with Man on the Rocks. Its critical reception was the best hed received since the 90s and it charted all over Western and Eastern Europe. Two years later, alongside the re-release of remastered scores from 1984, he issued the vinyl-only The 1984 Suite, which remixed highlights from Discovery and The Killing Fields. In late 2015, Oldfield announced via Twitter that he had begun to work on a sequel to 1975s Ommadawn. He completed it the following November. Containing two tracks simply titled "Part I" and Part II," the composer described it as "handmade... a genuine piece of music rather than production: hands, fingers, fingernails." It features 22 instruments including mandolin, guitars, acoustic bass, bodhran, African drums, and tin whistle. Its lone sample is from a line by the childrens choir in the 1975 song "On Horseback." Return to Ommadawn was released in January 2017. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 42 Title: Tubular Bells Released: 1973-05-25 Tracks: 2 Duration: 48:49 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Tubular Bells, Part One (25:29) 2 Tubular Bells, Part Two (23:20) |
| Tubular Bells : Allmusic album Review : Mike Oldfields groundbreaking album Tubular Bells is arguably the finest conglomeration of off-centered instruments concerted together to form a single unique piece. A variety of instruments are combined to create an excitable multitude of rhythms, tones, pitches, and harmonies that all fuse neatly into each other, resulting in an astounding plethora of music. Oldfield plays all the instruments himself, including such oddities as the Farfisa organ, the Lowrey organ, and the flageolet. The familiar eerie opening, made famous by its use in The Exorcist, starts the album off slowly, as each instrument acoustically wriggles its way into the current noise that is heard, until there is a grand unison of eccentric sounds that wildly excites the ears. Throughout the album, the tempos range from soft to intense to utterly surprising, making for some excellent musical culminations. Mandolins and Spanish guitars are joined by grinding organs and keyboards, while oddball bells and cranking noises resound in the distance. In the middle of the album, guest Vivian Stanshall announces each instrument seconds before it is heard, ending with the ominous sounding tubular bells, a truly powerful and dominating instrument. The most interesting and overwhelming aspect of this album is the fact that so many sounds are conjured up yet none go unnoticed, allowing the listener a gradual submergence into each unique portion of the music. Tubular Bells is a divine excursion into the realm of new age music. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 42 Title: Hergest Ridge Released: 1974-08-28 Tracks: 2 Duration: 40:14 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Hergest Ridge, Part One (21:28) 2 Hergest Ridge, Part Two (18:46) |
| Hergest Ridge : Allmusic album Review : Released as another lengthy composition, Hergest Ridge was the album that followed Mike Oldfields momentous Tubular Bells release, with many of the same instrumental elements and methods employed throughout its two sections. Because of the time of its release, Hergest Ridge was overshadowed by the effects of Oldfields first album for Virgin, but even so he manages to invoke some interesting patches of music by using instruments like the glockenspiel, sleigh bells, the Lowrey organ, oboes, and a variety of mandolins and guitars to maintain the same type of diversity as Tubular Bells. Symphonic throughout most of the albums two parts, the highlight of Hergest Ridge is Oldfields use of 90 multi-tracked guitars clustered together to create one of the most unique sounds ever to surface on his albums. Actually, Hergest Ridge entered the British charts in the number one spot in the fall of 1974, but Tubular Bells finally took its place only three weeks later. The album was highly regarded in the U.K. upon its release and it continued Oldfields creative pace, proving that the genius put forth on his claim-to-fame album would indeed have some effect on works to come. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 42 Title: Ommadawn Released: 1975 Tracks: 3 Duration: 36:41 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Ommadawn, Part One (19:22) 2 Ommadawn, Part Two (13:54) 3 On Horseback (03:23) |
| Ommadawn : Allmusic album Review : Although it features the beautiful recorder of Leslie Penny and the Chieftains Paddy Maloney playing the uilean pipe, Ommadawn didnt gain Mike Oldfield the success he was looking for. The album was released in the same year as the David Bedford-arranged Orchestral Tubular Bells and nine months after Oldfield picked up a Grammy award for the original Tubular Bells album. The most pleasing attribute of Ommadawn is its incorporation of both African and Irish music in its symphonic rock & roll mainframe. Boosted by a hearty amount of different horns, piano, cello, trumpet, and synthesizer, the album has its moments of rising action, but the whole of Ommadawn fails to keep its lovely segments around long enough, and there are some rather lengthy instances that include bland runs of unvaried music. Another plus is Oldfields use of a choir, giving the album a soft, humanistic feel when contrasted against the keyboards or synthesizer. While it does include flashes of Mike Oldfields brilliance, the entire album may seem a little anticlimactic when compared to some of his other releases. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 42 Title: The Orchestral Tubular Bells Released: 1975 Tracks: 2 Duration: 51:07 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Orchestral Tubular Bells, Part 1 (26:38) 2 The Orchestral Tubular Bells, Part 2 (24:28) |
| The Orchestral Tubular Bells : Allmusic album Review : It was inevitable, after the mega-success of Tubular Bells in its original form, that someone would orchestrate the piece -- the many and varied instrumental voices of the original virtually begged for this treatment, especially as the original album appeared at the height of the progressive rock boom, when even self-contained rock bands such as Emerson, Lake & Palmer were starting to turn toward orchestral accompaniment in their quest for richer sounds. In this case, it was composer Mike Oldfield himself who oversaw and co-produced the work with orchestrator and collaborator David Bedford, a longtime friend and colleague. The orchestration lives up to its promise, Bedford bringing to bear the diverse voices of strings, horns, brass, and winds in suitably rich fashion, even toning down many of Oldfields original flourishes in the version for small electric orchestra (which is what the original was, in essence): An electric guitar part transcribed for reeds, a bass part given the violas, brass covering a guitar solo, or tubas replacing bass in a key section, its all done smoothly and professionally by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The only problem with the album is that it all sounds a little too conventional as orchestral music and betrays some of Oldfields original source material and inspirations (or, perhaps, some of Bedfords influences) -- so one hears in sharp relief the influence of Berlioz, Saint-Saëns, and even Jerome Moross (whose music from The Big Country -- also an inspiration to Yes at an earlier date -- surfaces for a few seconds at one point). The timbres are the most interesting element of this recording, which will, at times, too much resemble film music for the tastes of some listeners (this despite the fact that the original material was most familiar to many listeners in terms of its use from The Exorcist -- it worked there because it sounded so unearthly, whereas here it sounds anything but unearthly; indeed, the end of "Tubular Bells, Pt. 1" is lacking in drama and joy with the absence of a narrator to introduce the array of instruments which, of course, has been altered completely for this recording). And Part 2 of the piece, which was always more problematic, comes off here as engaging from moment to moment but a bit shapeless overall, despite some superb classical-style acoustic and electric guitar from Oldfield near the end. It also would have been nice to have had some annotation by Oldfield or Bedford some decades after the fact, recalling this project. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 42 Title: Boxed Released: 1976-10-26 Tracks: 14 Duration: 2:45:12 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Tubular Bells, Part One (25:50) 2 Tubular Bells, Part Two (25:45) 1 Hergest Ridge, Part One (21:28) 2 Hergest Ridge, Part Two (18:46) 1 Ommadawn, Part One (20:08) 2 Ommadawn, Part Two (17:23) 1 The Phaeacian Games (03:59) 2 An Extract From Star’s End (07:33) 3 The Rio Grande (06:35) 4 First Excursion (05:56) 5 Argiers (03:59) 6 Portsmouth (02:02) 7 In dulci jubilo (02:50) 8 Speak (Tho’ You Only Say Farewell) (02:55) |
 | Album: 6 of 42 Title: Incantations Released: 1978-11-24 Tracks: 4 Duration: 1:12:46 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Incantations, Part One (19:09) 2 Incantations, Part Two (19:36) 1 Incantations, Part Three (17:00) 2 Incantations, Part Four (17:01) |
| Incantations : Allmusic album Review : After a two-year pause following the release of Boxed, Mike Oldfield returned with a new epic project, this one spread over four vinyl sides and devoted to Native American themes rather than hewing once more toward the Celtic end of the spectrum. Included was Oldfields musical adaptation of "The Song of Hiawatha," grandiose but empty; there was a nice sense of the dramatic when it came to dynamic range, but no sense of time -- the piece ran far too long as Oldfield searched for enough musical ideas to prop the whole thing up. After this, Oldfield avoided album-length concepts for quite some time. | ||
 | Album: 7 of 42 Title: Platinum Released: 1979-11-23 Tracks: 8 Duration: 37:36 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Platinum, Part 1: Airborne (05:06) 2 Platinum, Part 2: Platinum (06:05) 3 Platinum, Part 3: Charleston (03:17) 4 Platinum, Part 4: North Star / Platinum Finale (04:44) 5 Woodhenge (04:05) 6 Into Wonderland (03:46) 7 Punkadiddle (05:46) 8 I Got Rhythm (04:44) |
| Platinum : Allmusic album Review : With this album, Oldfield began to make an attempt to break down his extended structures into a more commercially acceptable format, with the side-long title track being separated into four sections. Early versions of the album included "Sally," Oldfields paean to his partner Sally Cooper, while later pressings include "Into Wonderland." | ||
 | Album: 8 of 42 Title: Impressions Released: 1980 Tracks: 15 Duration: 1:34:23 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Tubular Bells, Part One (28:42) 2 Ommadawn, Part One (19:22) 1 Platinum, Part 1: Airborne (05:06) 2 Platinum, Part 2: Platinum (06:05) 3 Platinum, Part 3: Charleston (03:17) 4 Punkadiddle (04:56) 5 I Got Rhythm (04:43) 6 Guilty (04:03) 7 Pipe Tune (02:31) 8 In dulci jubilo (02:50) 9 Wrekorder Wrondo (02:31) 10 Cuckoo Song (03:14) 11 On Horseback (03:23) 12 Portsmouth (02:02) 13 Sailor’s Hornpipe (01:34) |
 | Album: 9 of 42 Title: QE2 Released: 1980-10-31 Tracks: 9 Duration: 39:48 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Taurus 1 (10:16) 2 Sheba (03:33) 3 Conflict (02:52) 4 Arrival (02:48) 5 Wonderful Land (03:38) 6 Mirage (04:40) 7 QE2 (07:37) 8 Celt (03:05) 9 Molly (01:16) |
| QE2 : Allmusic album Review : The beginnings of the "Taurus" series with "Taurus I," but little that springs out and sticks in the mind -- even the title track, celebrating the ocean liner, is flat. On the whole, the best cuts here are the covers of "Arrival" and "Wonderful Land." | ||
 | Album: 10 of 42 Title: Episodes Released: 1981 Tracks: 11 Duration: 51:27 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Ommadawn (excerpt) (07:00) 2 Tubular Bells (extrait) (08:34) 3 Incantations (extrait 1) (05:40) 4 Incantations (extrait 2) (04:41) 5 Hergest Ridge (extrait) (04:09) 6 Airborne (04:57) 7 Punkadiddle (04:57) 8 Sheba (03:33) 9 Arrival (02:48) 10 Celt (03:05) 11 Portsmouth (02:02) |
 | Album: 11 of 42 Title: Music Wonderland: Mike Oldfield’s Wonderful Music Released: 1981 Tracks: 13 Duration: 50:58 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Arrival (02:48) 2 Portsmouth (02:02) 3 Sheba (03:33) 4 Blue Peter (02:08) 5 Extract From Tubular Bells (08:32) 6 Sailor’s Hornpipe (01:34) 7 Punkadiddle (04:56) 8 Wonderful Land (03:38) 9 In dulci jubilo (02:50) 10 Extract From Ommadawn (07:06) 11 On Horseback (03:23) 12 Guilty (live) (03:41) 13 Platinum, Part 4: North Star / Platinum Finale (04:44) |
 | Album: 12 of 42 Title: Five Miles Out Released: 1982-03-19 Tracks: 5 Duration: 49:59 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Taurus II (24:43) 2 Family Man (03:45) 3 Orabidoo (13:03) 4 Mount Teidi (04:10) 5 Five Miles Out (04:17) |
| Five Miles Out : Allmusic album Review : Mike Oldfield was back into the extended composition game with Five Miles Out, continuing the "Taurus" series with the mammoth "Taurus II," an entertaining enough romp with references to Irish music, brass bands and Oldfields beloved Morris. The true standout, though, was the title track, a paean to flying in bad weather that could easily double for Oldfields feelings about the sort of monumental critical drubbing he was accustomed to receiving. "Family Man" became a huge worldwide hit for Hall & Oates. | ||
 | Album: 13 of 42 Title: Crises Released: 1983-05-27 Tracks: 25 Duration: 3:04:41 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Crises (20:40) 2 Moonlight Shadow (03:37) 3 In High Places (03:33) 4 Foreign Affair (03:53) 5 Taurus 3 (02:25) 6 Shadow on the Wall (03:08) 7 Moonlight Shadow (unplugged mix) (03:36) 8 Shadow on the Wall (unplugged mix) (03:23) 9 Mistake (02:55) 10 Crime of Passion (extended version) (04:11) 11 Jungle Gardenia (02:46) 12 Moonlight Shadow (extended version) (05:16) 13 Shadow on the Wall (05:09) 1 Woodhenge/Incantations, Part Three (08:09) 2 Sheba (03:23) 3 Ommadawn, Part One (08:52) 4 Mount Teidi (04:10) 5 Five Miles Out (05:03) 6 Tubular Bells, Part One (18:44) 1 Taurus I (09:14) 2 Taurus II (23:08) 3 Crises (23:15) 4 Moonlight Shadow (05:28) 5 Shadow on the Wall (06:26) 6 Family Man (04:14) |
| Crises : Allmusic album Review : Following a long-established production pattern, Mike Oldfield assembled some relatively simple pop- and rock-flavored numbers following one long introductory piece on his 1983 Disky release, Crisis. The 20-minute opening title-track is a quintessential Oldfield texture study that consists of sparkling synth washes with edgier material weaving in and out. A fine setup, this track cleanses the aural pallet, preparing the listener nicely for the tunes that follow. Yes fans who can adjust to the sugary highlight "In High Places" will enjoy Jon Andersons springy vocal work on the track. The energetic guitar romp "Taurus 3" will also appeal to most prog and art rock fans. Those in search of more ethereal Oldfield material should be aware of this records pop leanings, but open-minded listeners will have a good time exploring Crisis, one of Oldfields better releases of this type. | ||
 | Album: 14 of 42 Title: Discovery Released: 1984 Tracks: 8 Duration: 41:17 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 To France (04:42) 2 Poison Arrows (03:52) 3 Crystal Gazing (03:02) 4 Tricks of the Light (03:52) 5 Discovery (04:34) 6 Talk About Your Life (04:24) 7 Saved by a Bell (04:38) 8 The Lake (instrumental) (12:10) |
| Discovery : Allmusic album Review : With 1984s Discovery, Mike Oldfield seems to be back on track, utilizing the vocal power of Maggie Reilly and the drum playing of Simon Phillips to create some rather appealing selections. "The Lake" is a simply gorgeous instrumental inspired by Switzerlands Lake Geneva, the location in which the album was recorded, while "To France" is a powerful pop/rock tune based on the life of Mary, Queen of Scots. Both Reilly and Barry Palmer share the vocal duties throughout the tracks, signifying Oldfields subtle emergence into a more pop-infused atmosphere. "Tricks of the Light" is a wonderful instrumental that relies on the keyboard to give it energy, while even so-so efforts like the title track and "Poison Arrows" come off as upbeat and inspired. Discovery peaked at number 15 in the U.K., and even though it didnt garner much attention elsewhere, it serves as one of Mike Oldfields most entertaining releases from the decade. | ||
 | Album: 15 of 42 Title: The Complete Mike Oldfield Released: 1985-11-18 Tracks: 27 Duration: 1:57:40 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Arrival (02:48) 2 William Tell Overture (03:55) 3 Cuckoo Song (03:14) 4 In dulci jubilo (02:50) 5 Portsmouth (02:02) 6 Jungle Gardenia (02:37) 7 Guilty (04:03) 8 Blue Peter (02:08) 9 Waldberg (The Peak) (03:24) 10 Wonderful Land (03:38) 11 Étude (single edit) (03:06) 12 Moonlight Shadow (03:37) 13 Family Man (03:45) 14 Mistake (02:55) 15 Five Miles Out (04:17) 16 Crime of Passion (03:38) 17 To France (04:33) 18 Shadow on the Wall (05:08) 1 Excerpt From Ommadawn (06:59) 2 Excerpt From Tubular Bells (07:59) 3 Excerpt From Hergest Ridge (04:20) 4 Incantations, Part Four (excerpt) (04:40) 5 Excerpt From the Killing Fields (Evacuation) (04:11) 6 Sheba (live) (03:30) 7 Mirage (live) (05:12) 8 Platinum (live) (14:28) 9 Mount Teide (live) (04:34) |
| The Complete Mike Oldfield : Allmusic album Review : In 1973, Mike Oldfield burst onto the British music scene with his debut album Tubular Bells, two long instrumental suites in which Oldfield stitched together a series of melodies into a grandly scaled work in which he played the many instruments himself. The album was an audacious beginning to a career than saw him become one of the most respected artists in progressive rock, as well as a successful film composer. The Complete Mike Oldfield is a collection released in 1985 which features selections from his first ten solo albums, as well as highlights from his score for the film The Killing Fields. | ||
 | Album: 16 of 42 Title: Islands Released: 1987-11-21 Tracks: 7 Duration: 41:23 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 The Wind Chimes, Part One (02:29) 2 The Wind Chimes, Part Two (19:15) 3 Magic Touch (04:15) 4 The Time Has Come (03:53) 5 North Point (03:33) 6 Flying Start (03:37) 7 Islands (04:18) |
| Islands : Allmusic album Review : For Islands, Mike Oldfield gathered a host of musicians to further his run of more mainstream-sounding albums. The album includes vocals by Bonnie Tyler, Kevin Ayers, and Max Bacon, as well as saxophonist Raphael Ravenscroft (famous for his work on Gerry Raffertys "Baker Street"), along with the albums producer and former Yes member Geoffrey Downes. Even with such talent, Oldfield only garners sporadic instances of entertaining music, and the bulk of Islands comes off as quite pedestrian-sounding. Bonnie Tylers passionate voice lifts the title track higher than any other cut, while "The Wind Chimes, Pt. 1 and 2" serves as the second-best song, instilling some of Oldfields instrumental originality and adroitness in order to drum up its enchanting air. Unfortunately, tracks such as "When the Nights on Fire," "Flying Start," and "Magic Touch" lack any allurement or defined character, supporting accusations from critics that Oldfield has finally run out of ideas. | ||
 | Album: 17 of 42 Title: Earth Moving Released: 1989-07-10 Tracks: 9 Duration: 41:23 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Holy (04:37) 2 Hostage (04:09) 3 Far Country (04:25) 4 Innocent (03:30) 5 Runaway Son (04:07) 6 See the Light (03:59) 7 Earth Moving (04:04) 8 Blue Night (03:48) 9 Nothing But / Bridge to Paradise (08:40) |
| Earth Moving : Allmusic album Review : Earth Moving was one of the last installments in Mike Oldfields series of pop experiments, and the record does sound as if the musician was running out of patience with the genre. Many listeners have written off this period, but there were interesting moments that passionate fans still appreciate. Oldfield commits completely to the pop/rock format on Earth Moving by excluding the kind of long intro piece that he often used to kick off other 80s recordings. Instead, the composer puts a sprawling but focused (by Oldfield standards) eight-minute number, "Nothing But/Bridge to Paradise," at the end of this 1989 release. The musician/composer displays a more deft pop hand throughout this offering, which probably isnt such a good thing. The quirkiness of discs like Crisis is exactly what makes them interesting. Unfortunately, songs like "Hostage" are so conventional, they sound unimaginative: almost -- no, exactly -- like bad 80s soundtrack numbers. Not just casual fans, but even Oldfield loyalists will have trouble with Earth Moving, one of the artists lesser albums. | ||
 | Album: 18 of 42 Title: Collectors Edition: Platinum / QE2 / Five Miles Out Released: 1990 Tracks: 22 Duration: 2:07:24 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Platinum, Part 1: Airborne (05:06) 2 Platinum, Part 2: Platinum (06:05) 3 Platinum, Part 3: Charleston (03:17) 4 Platinum, Part 4: North Star / Platinum Finale (04:44) 5 Woodhenge (04:05) 6 Into Wonderland (03:46) 7 Punkadiddle (05:46) 8 I Got Rhythm (04:44) 1 Taurus 1 (10:16) 2 Sheba (03:33) 3 Conflict (02:52) 4 Arrival (02:48) 5 Wonderful Land (03:37) 6 Mirage (04:40) 7 QE2 (07:37) 8 Celt (03:05) 9 Molly (01:16) 1 Taurus II (24:43) 2 Family Man (03:45) 3 Orabidoo (13:03) 4 Mount Teidi (04:10) 5 Five Miles Out (04:17) |
 | Album: 19 of 42 Title: Amarok Released: 1990-06-14 Tracks: 1 Duration: 1:00:02 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Amarok (1:00:02) |
| Amarok : Allmusic album Review : A slight African theme can be singled out around the edges of Amarok, as Oldfield employs such instruments as bongo and clay drums, mixed in with ukulele and flamenco guitar. The sound of a toothbrush can be heard in one part of the album, as his unique combinations of noises and effects make up the bulk of this average sounding album. As much as the instruments are interesting to listen to, the rhythms and the syncopations that zigzag and intermingle come up short in leu of a final product. The most entertaining part of Amarok involves a chorus of childlike chants with the roar of a wild beast heard in the background, joined by some appealing drum beats off in the distance. The liner notes tell a short story of two men that discover a huge golden statue somewhere in ancient Africa. One man can hear music emanating from this figure, while the other hears something totally different, which in fact is the theme of Amarok. What is heard by some, may be heard differently by others, but nonetheless the result is music in one form or another. Some alluring moments do strike the ears during the course of this album, but entire layout falls short of holding attention. | ||
 | Album: 20 of 42 Title: Heaven’s Open Released: 1991-02-18 Tracks: 6 Duration: 43:09 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Make Make (04:18) 2 No Dream (06:02) 3 Mr. Shame (04:22) 4 Gimme Back (04:12) 5 Heaven’s Open (04:28) 6 Music From the Balcony (19:44) |
 | Album: 21 of 42 Title: Tubular Bells II Released: 1992-08-31 Tracks: 14 Duration: 58:40 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Sentinel (08:07) 2 Dark Star (02:16) 3 Clear Light (05:48) 4 Blue Saloon (02:59) 5 Sunjammer (02:32) 6 Red Dawn (01:50) 7 The Bell (06:59) 8 Weightless (05:43) 9 The Great Plain (04:47) 10 Sunset Door (02:23) 11 Tattoo (04:15) 12 Altered State (05:12) 13 Maya Gold (04:01) 14 Moonshine (01:42) |
| Tubular Bells II : Allmusic album Review : Tubular Bells II is the update and/or sequel to Mike Oldfields landmark 1973 new age recording Tubular Bells, which will resonate forever as the haunting theme to The Exorcist. Here, Oldfield repeats his multi-instrumental performance, playing guitar, banjo, organ, percussion, mandolin, and the titular tubular bells, although in a nod to modernism, the latter instruments often appear as samples through Oldfields Kurzweil synth rig. Its the pieces captivating main theme that again takes center stage here. The eight-minute opening track "Sentinel" plays it off of whining guitars and breathy female vocals. The latter element is a nice touch. The genre that the original Bells helped establish has come quite a ways in 20 years, and this fact isnt lost on Oldfield. Throughout II, he incorporates the multi-cultural influences that have cross-pollinated with new age, bringing in breathy ethnic flutes, Asian-inflected string sounds, and the whispered foreign words of "Sentinel." The famous ceiling of the album, where each instrument is introduced by a narrator, becomes another summit between old and new. Alan Rickman handles the introductions (during "Bell") and runs through a litany of instruments that includes "digital sound processor," reed and pipe organ, "the Venetian effect," glockenspiel, "two slightly sampled electric guitars," and vocal chords, which Rickman introduces as if theyre an exotic museum piece. Some of Oldfields fancy-handed riffs fail; the bagpipes of "Tattoo" seem too obvious and "Sunjammer" sounds like an unfortunate outtake from the Whos Tommy. But overall, Tubular Bells II succeeds mightily. It doesnt beat its predecessor, but does update its sonics and technology with Oldfields flair for studied grandiosity. | ||
 | Album: 22 of 42 Title: The Best of Mike Oldfield: Elements Released: 1993-09-06 Tracks: 16 Duration: 1:03:26 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Tubular Bells (single edit) (04:17) 2 Family Man (03:45) 3 Moonlight Shadow (03:37) 4 Heaven’s Open (04:28) 5 Five Miles Out (04:17) 6 To France (04:42) 7 Foreign Affair (03:53) 8 In dulci jubilo (02:50) 9 Shadow on the Wall (05:08) 10 Islands (04:18) 11 Étude (single edit) (03:06) 12 Sentinel (03:56) 13 Ommadawn (excerpt) (03:39) 14 Incantations, Part Four (excerpt) (04:40) 15 Amarok (excerpt) (04:43) 16 Portsmouth (02:02) |
| The Best of Mike Oldfield: Elements : Allmusic album Review : Elements represents the many sides of Mike Oldfield, and is a short but interesting journey through some of this multi-instrumentalists best efforts. Sixteen of his albums are spoken for, with the same number of tracks making up this assortment. The collection opens up with The Exorcists theme, which peaked at number seven on Billboards Top 40, and is Oldfields claim to fame. Many of the songs that follow are beautiful examples of acoustic and electric guitar playing, like the European-flavored "In Dulci Jubilo" and the Oriental sounding "Etude" from the movie The Killing Fields. On "Islands," Bonnie Tyler lends her unique vocal style to Oldfields enchanting strings. Maggie Reilly sounds absolutely beautiful on both "Foreign Affair" and "To France," as her haunting voice surrounds the mystery of each song. Mike Oldfield crafts each piece so that its mood and air is original, never imitating any other of his creations. One can almost see the cloud cover enveloping the airplane on the brash "Five Miles Out," and the friendliness of a small seaside town flows merrily from "Portsmouth," complete with pipes and all. Also of interest is the obscure version of "Family Man," while the better-known rendition was a Billboard hit for Hall and Oates in 1983. Oldfields multifaceted talents are brought to the surface through each of these tracks, whether its the numerous styles of guitar or the delightful unison of keyboards, woodwinds, and percussion. As an introduction into this talented musicians craft, Elements sheds light on nearly every aspect of his genius. | ||
 | Album: 23 of 42 Title: Elements: 1973–1991 Released: 1993-11-10 Tracks: 52 Duration: 4:45:55 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Tubular Bells, Part One (25:29) 2 Tubular Bells, Part Two (23:20) 3 Hergest Ridge (excerpt) (09:32) 4 In dulci jubilo (02:50) 5 Portsmouth (02:02) 6 Vivaldi Concerto in C (03:52) 1 Ommadawn, Part One (19:22) 2 On Horseback (03:23) 3 William Tell Overture (03:55) 4 Argiers (03:59) 5 First Excursion (05:56) 6 Sailor’s Hornpipe (01:34) 7 Incantations, Part Two (excerpt) (12:20) 8 Guilty (04:03) 9 The Path (03:31) 10 Blue Peter (02:08) 11 Woodhenge (04:05) 12 Punkadiddle (live) (05:37) 13 Polka (live) (03:34) 1 Platinum, Parts 3 & 4 (08:02) 2 Arrival (02:48) 3 Taurus 1 (10:16) 4 QE2 (07:37) 5 Wonderful Land (single version) (02:50) 6 Sheba (03:33) 7 Five Miles Out (04:17) 8 Taurus 2 (excerpt) (07:59) 9 Family Man (03:45) 10 Mount Teidi (04:10) 11 Waldberg (The Peak) (03:25) 12 Crises (excerpt) (05:25) 13 Moonlight Shadow (03:37) 14 Foreign Affair (03:53) 1 Shadow on the Wall (05:08) 2 Taurus 3 (02:25) 3 Crime of Passion (03:38) 4 Jungle Gardenia (02:37) 5 To France (04:42) 6 Afghan (02:41) 7 Tricks of the Light (instrumental) (03:55) 8 Étude (single edit) (03:06) 9 Evacuation (05:13) 10 Legend (02:24) 11 Islands (04:18) 12 The Wind Chimes, Part One (02:29) 13 Flying Start (03:37) 14 Magic Touch (04:15) 15 Earth Moving (04:04) 16 Far Country (04:25) 17 Holy (03:45) 18 Amarok (excerpt) (06:18) 19 Heaven’s Open (04:28) |
 | Album: 24 of 42 Title: The Songs of Distant Earth Released: 1994-11-21 Tracks: 17 Duration: 55:41 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 In the Beginning (01:25) 2 Let There Be Light (04:57) 3 Supernova (03:24) 4 Magellan (04:40) 5 First Landing (01:16) 6 Oceania (03:19) 7 Only Time Will Tell (04:26) 8 Prayer for the Earth (02:09) 9 Lament for Atlantis (02:43) 10 The Chamber (01:48) 11 Hibernaculum (03:33) 12 Tubular World (03:24) 13 The Shining Ones (02:57) 14 Crystal Clear (05:42) 15 The Sunken Forest (02:37) 16 Ascension (05:49) 17 In the Beginning (01:25) |
| The Songs of Distant Earth : Allmusic album Review : The Songs of Distant Earth blend together two motifs crafted through Mike Oldfields atmospheric music. (Both outer space and inner space under water) are the themes of this album, but Oldfields synthesized artistry comes up short during the course of the 17 tracks, mainly because of the intermittent talking and unnecessary vocabulary that quickly becomes irksome and ineffective. About the music, it is usually Mike Oldfields differentiation of rhythms or styles on a song to song basis that makes his music thought-provoking and fresh. On this album, the same rhythm lurks through half of the songs, with only smidgens of add-on instrumentation to elevate its flow. Absent is the freewheeling percussion pulses, or the onslaught of strings that so often shower his music. Instead, each track seems flat as his keyboard work comes off gray and bland. Even a few sudden bursts of tempo become short lived, as the pace always falls back to its straight-lined origin. Inspired by Arthur C. Clarke, Oldfield tries to capture the wonder and mystery of the stars and the sea through washes of synthesizer, but his attempt at capturing both themes could have benefited from a multitude of other instruments, as his work usually includes. | ||
 | Album: 25 of 42 Title: Voyager Released: 1996-08-26 Tracks: 10 Duration: 58:30 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Song of the Sun (04:32) 2 Celtic Rain (04:41) 3 The Hero (05:03) 4 Women of Ireland (06:29) 5 The Voyager (04:26) 6 She Moves Through the Fair (04:06) 7 Dark Island (05:43) 8 Wild Goose Flaps Its Wings (05:04) 9 Flowers of the Forest (06:03) 10 Mont St. Michel (12:18) |
| Voyager : Allmusic album Review : Mike Oldfield has always been a bit of a musical dilettante, and Voyager is no exception. If he didnt come by it honestly, one might almost suspect this albums Celtic influences derived from that musics being in vogue when this disc was recorded. There are certainly some enjoyable melodies herein, but nothing that rises above the ordinary. Oldfields stinging guitar work is in evidence, and some synthesized bagpipes try to lend it an air of majesty, but ultimately this recording doesnt really voyage much of anywhere. | ||
 | Album: 26 of 42 Title: The Garden of Love Released: 1997 Tracks: 1 Duration: 21:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 The Garden of Love (21:08) |
 | Album: 27 of 42 Title: The Essential Mike Oldfield Released: 1997-11-11 Tracks: 14 Duration: 59:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Tubular Bells (single edit) (04:17) 2 Hergest Ridge (excerpt) (04:57) 3 Ommadawn (excerpt) (07:00) 4 Incantations, Part Four (excerpt) (04:40) 5 Moonlight Shadow (03:37) 6 Portsmouth (02:02) 7 Good News (01:46) 8 Sentinel (remix) (03:57) 9 The Bell (remix) (03:09) 10 Let There Be Light (04:20) 11 Only Time Will Tell (04:36) 12 The Voyager (04:26) 13 Women of Ireland (06:29) 14 Tubular Bells III (demo) (03:41) |
 | Album: 28 of 42 Title: Tubular Bells III Released: 1998-08-31 Tracks: 11 Duration: 46:38 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 The Source of Secrets (05:35) 2 The Watchful Eye (02:09) 3 Jewel in the Crown (05:45) 4 Outcast (03:49) 5 Serpent Dream (02:53) 6 The Inner Child (04:41) 7 Man in the Rain (04:03) 8 The Top of the Morning (04:26) 9 Moonwatch (04:25) 10 Secrets (03:20) 11 Far Above the Clouds (05:30) |
| Tubular Bells III : Allmusic album Review : Tubular Bells III is a record quite similar to Mike Oldfields second update of the original classic, recorded just six years prior. The production methods are a bit more polished and the tone is more serious, but the music remains dreamy, somewhat overevocative new age-with-a-beat music, quite similar to Enigma -- thanks to the Eastern textures of vocalist Amar on three tracks. There are a few occasional moments of levity, however, including the raging guitar stormer "Outcast" and a remake of Oldfields early-80s hit "Man in the Rain." | ||
 | Album: 29 of 42 Title: Guitars Released: 1999-05-24 Tracks: 10 Duration: 42:44 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Muse (02:12) 2 Cochise (05:15) 3 Embers (03:51) 4 Summit Day (03:46) 5 Out of Sight (03:48) 6 B. Blues (04:30) 7 Four Winds (09:32) 8 Enigmatism (03:32) 9 Out of Mind (03:45) 10 From the Ashes (02:28) |
| Guitars : Allmusic album Review : Ever the sonic experimentalist, Mike Oldfield uses guitars exclusively (strummed, plucked, struck, sampled, etc.) to create every sound on Guitars. Perhaps an intentional response to the composers previous assortment of electronic recordings, the album suffers from its form-over-substance concept. The more delicate, acoustic material ("Summit Days," "Muse," "Enigmatism") has the meditative, elegant quality listeners would naturally expect from Oldfield. But the crunchier rock guitar ensembles seem to lack Oldfields usual sense of order and purpose. "Four Winds," an unfinished cluster of distorted racket, really misses its mark. Miscues like this one demonstrate that Oldfield is as awkward with the rock form as he is accomplished with his subtle and meditative electronic creations. Innovative and at times beautiful, Guitars is another interesting experiment from one of modern musics most ambitious icons. | ||
 | Album: 30 of 42 Title: The Millennium Bell Released: 1999-11-29 Tracks: 11 Duration: 45:01 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Peace on Earth (04:10) 2 Pacha Mama (04:05) 3 Santa Maria (02:44) 4 Sunlight Shining Through Cloud (04:33) 5 The Doge’s Palace (03:07) 6 Lake Constance (05:16) 7 Mastermind (03:03) 8 Broad Sunlit Uplands (04:03) 9 Liberation (02:38) 10 Amber Light (03:42) 11 The Millennium Bell (07:37) |
| The Millennium Bell : Allmusic album Review : The Millennium Bell is an attempt by Mike Oldfield to encapsulate 2,000 years of history with 11 slices of world music experimentation. From the Incan commemorative "Pacha Mama" to "Amber Lights," a celebration of political reform in South Africa, this album attempts to cover immense psychic territory. At some point, even the staunchest Oldfield supporters could end up questioning this odd and at times pretentious effort. The music is typical Oldfield: plodding, repetitive new age, sprinkled with some gentle melodic elements and sonic invention. The sparsely placed talk lines boost the minimal narrative at times, while choirs and orchestral elements add nice support to Oldfields instruments. Ambitious to say the least, perhaps the composer is taking himself and his subjects too seriously here. In fact, The Millennium Bell is certain to come off to some people as obvious and full of itself, but to less cynical listeners and loyal fans it might play like an interesting and unique lesson. | ||
 | Album: 31 of 42 Title: The Best of Tubular Bells Released: 2001-06-04 Tracks: 12 Duration: 1:02:28 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Tubular Bells, Part 1 (original edit) (04:42) 2 Tubular Bells, Part 1 (orchestral edit) (03:14) 3 Tubular Bells, Part 1 (original edit) (03:47) 4 Tubular Bells, Part 1 (Exposed edit) (03:20) 5 Tubular Bells, Part 1 (original edit) (08:29) 6 Tubular Bells, Part 2: "The Caveman Song" (original edit) (04:47) 7 Tubular Bells, Part 2 (Exposed edit) (04:15) 8 Sentinel (08:07) 9 The Bell (06:59) 10 Far Above the Clouds (05:30) 11 The Millennium Bell (07:37) 12 Tubular Bells, Part 2: "Sailors Hornpipe" (original edit) (01:36) |
| The Best of Tubular Bells : Allmusic album Review : There can be few people, even among Mike Oldfields staunchest supporters, who are not by now a teensy bit sick of hearing (or, at least, hearing about) Tubular Bells. Yet the moment it starts to play, so many emotions flood into your ears that you know you wont be turning it off, and the wealth of fresh approaches that Oldfield has brought to the table do at least make for interesting listening. This, however, might well be the most audacious yet. Drawing from the original 1973 LP mix, the orchestral version that swiftly followed, and the late-70s live recording included on the Exposed album, the bulk of this collection is dedicated to re-creating Tubular Bells as one piece of music, but by utilizing the "best" possible interpretations of its original components. It is more of a gloriously mad experiment than a successful listening experience -- the orchestral version of the album was too overwrought to really deserve much attention, and the live version was a wholly different beast that just happened to wear the same outer garments. But the mix is intriguing and, though its by no means a rival to the original in terms of enjoyment, it is oddly fascinating all the same. From there, listeners move on to a clutch of excerpts from Tubular Bells II and Tubular Bells III; like the parent albums, these are somewhat less successful, and cling to this disc in much the same way as the misjudged "bonus tracks" did to the CD reissue of Boxed. Its nice to have them but, when the final notes of the main piece fade away, you really dont need something else starting up. | ||
 | Album: 32 of 42 Title: Collection Released: 2002-03 Tracks: 21 Duration: 1:34:14 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Moonlight Shadow (03:37) 2 To France (04:42) 3 Five Miles Out (04:17) 4 Shadow On The Wall (05:07) 5 Foreign Affair (03:53) 6 Sentinel (03:56) 7 Family Man (03:45) 8 Heaven’s Open (04:28) 9 Pictures in the Dark (04:18) 10 Innocent (03:30) 11 Islands (04:18) 12 Incantations, Part Four (excerpt) (04:40) 1 Tubular Bells (single edit) (04:17) 2 Étude (single edit) (03:06) 3 Ommadawn (excerpt) (03:39) 4 In dulci jubilo (02:50) 5 Good News (01:46) 6 Prans Theme 1 & 2 (02:24) 7 Pran’s Departure (02:06) 8 Hergest Ridge, Part One (21:28) 9 Portsmouth (02:02) |
| Collection : Allmusic album Review : A noble attempt to pursue Mike Oldfields career beyond the usual range of suspects, Collection updates and refines the 1985 compilation that was the first serious attempt to anthologize his greatest hits and bits. So yes, all the usual suspects are here -- that is, "In Dulci Jubilo," "Portsmouth," "Guilty," "Moonlight Shadow," "Five Miles Out," "To France," and so on. Excerpts from the first four albums also pop up with dark inevitability. But theres also room for less heralded and certainly less feted material from later in his career, surprising jewels like "Heavens Open," "Good News" and "Prans Theme" from The Killing Fields, "Islands," and "Innocent" -- few of which will necessarily thrill those listeners who really wish he was still creating vast soundscapes à la Ommadawn and Incantations. But it definitely charts his development in a very digestible manner. | ||
 | Album: 33 of 42 Title: Tr3s Lunas Released: 2002-06-03 Tracks: 14 Duration: 58:14 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Misty (03:59) 2 No Mans Land (06:08) 3 Return to the Origin (04:38) 4 Landfall (02:19) 5 Viper (04:32) 6 Turtle Island (03:40) 7 To Be Free (04:21) 8 Fire Fly (03:46) 9 Tr3s Lunas (04:35) 10 Daydream (02:15) 11 Thou Art in Heaven (05:22) 12 Sirius (05:46) 13 No Mans Land (reprise) (02:54) 14 To Be Free (radio edit) (03:56) |
 | Album: 34 of 42 Title: Tubular Bells 2003 Released: 2003-05-26 Tracks: 17 Duration: 48:41 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Part One: Introduction (05:52) 2 Part One: Fast Guitars (01:03) 3 Part One: Basses (00:46) 4 Part One: Latin (02:18) 5 Part One: A Minor Tune (01:21) 6 Part One: Blues (02:40) 7 Part One: Thrash (00:44) 8 Part One: Jazz (00:48) 9 Part One: Ghost Bells (00:30) 10 Part One: Russian (00:44) 11 Part One: Finale (08:32) 12 Part Two: Harmonics (05:12) 13 Part Two: Peace (03:30) 14 Part Two: Bagpipe Guitars (03:07) 15 Part Two: Caveman (04:33) 16 Part Two: Ambient Guitars (05:10) 17 Part Two: The Sailor’s Hornpipe (01:44) |
| Tubular Bells 2003 : Allmusic album Review : Mike Oldfields groundbreaking album Tubular Bells is arguably the finest conglomeration of off-centered instruments concerted together to form a single unique piece. A variety of instruments are combined to create an excitable multitude of rhythms, tones, pitches, and harmonies that all fuse neatly into each other, resulting in an astounding plethora of music. Oldfield plays all the instruments himself, including such oddities as the Farfisa organ, the Lowrey organ, and the flageolet. The familiar eerie opening, made famous by its use in The Exorcist, starts the album off slowly, as each instrument acoustically wriggles its way into the current noise that is heard, until there is a grand unison of eccentric sounds that wildly excites the ears. Throughout the album, the tempos range from soft to intense to utterly surprising, making for some excellent musical culminations. Mandolins and Spanish guitars are joined by grinding organs and keyboards, while oddball bells and cranking noises resound in the distance. In the middle of the album, guest Viv Stanshall announces each instrument seconds before it is heard, ending with the ominous sounding tubular bells, a truly powerful and dominating instrument. The most interesting and overwhelming aspect of this album is the fact that so many sounds are conjured up yet none go unnoticed, allowing the listener a gradual submergence into each unique portion of the music. Tubular Bells is a divine excursion into the realm of new age music. [The 2003 bonus DVD edition included tracks mixed in 5.1 sound, as well as "Introduction 2003: The Video."] | ||
 | Album: 35 of 42 Title: The Complete Tubular Bells Released: 2003-05-26 Tracks: 42 Duration: 2:34:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Part One: Introduction (05:52) 2 Part One: Fast Guitars (01:03) 3 Part One: Basses (00:46) 4 Part One: Latin (02:18) 5 Part One: A Minor Tune (01:21) 6 Part One: Blues (02:40) 7 Part One: Thrash (00:44) 8 Part One: Jazz (00:48) 9 Part One: Ghost Bells (00:30) 10 Part One: Russian (00:44) 11 Part One: Finale (08:32) 12 Part Two: Harmonics (05:12) 13 Part Two: Peace (03:30) 14 Part Two: Bagpipe Guitars (03:07) 15 Part Two: Caveman (04:33) 16 Part Two: Ambient Guitars (05:10) 17 Part Two: The Sailor’s Hornpipe (01:44) 1 Sentinel (08:07) 2 Dark Star (02:16) 3 Clear Light (05:48) 4 Blue Saloon (02:59) 5 Sunjammer (02:32) 6 Red Dawn (01:50) 7 The Bell (06:59) 8 Weightless (05:43) 9 The Great Plain (04:47) 10 Sunset Door (02:23) 11 Tattoo (04:15) 12 Altered State (05:12) 13 Maya Gold (04:01) 14 Moonshine (01:42) 1 The Source of Secrets (05:35) 2 The Watchful Eye (02:09) 3 Jewel in the Crown (05:45) 4 Outcast (03:49) 5 Serpent Dream (02:53) 6 The Inner Child (04:41) 7 Man in the Rain (04:03) 8 The Top of the Morning (04:26) 9 Moonwatch (04:25) 10 Secrets (03:20) 11 Far Above the Clouds (05:30) |
 | Album: 36 of 42 Title: Light + Shade Released: 2005-09-26 Tracks: 18 Duration: 1:31:43 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Angelique (04:40) 2 Blackbird (04:39) 3 The Gate (04:14) 4 First Steps (10:02) 5 Closer (02:51) 6 Our Father (06:50) 7 Rocky (03:19) 8 Sunset (05:14) 9 Près de Toi (03:56) 1 Quicksilver (05:55) 2 Resolution (04:33) 3 Slipstream (05:15) 4 Surfing (05:36) 5 Tears of an Angel (05:38) 6 Romance (04:00) 7 Ringscape (04:22) 8 Nightshade (05:39) 9 Lakme (Fruity Loops) (04:55) |
| Light + Shade : Allmusic album Review : Mike Oldfield, one of the legendary figures of British progressive rock, returned with this ambitious two-disc set. 2005s Light + Shade is divided into two parts: the "Light" portion featuring upbeat and melodic tunes, and the "Shade" disc leans to moodier and more atmospheric compositions. As is his custom, Oldfield plays all the instruments on Light + Shade, as well as handling most of the recording himself; several of the selections from the album became part of the score for the virtual reality games Maestro and Tres Lunas. | ||
 | Album: 37 of 42 Title: The Platinum Collection Released: 2006-03-14 Tracks: 46 Duration: 3:29:44 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Tubular Bells (single edit) (04:17) 2 Tubular Bells (excerpt) (08:00) 3 Sailor’s Hornpipe (01:34) 4 Hergest Ridge (excerpt) (09:32) 5 Ommadawn (excerpt) (03:39) 6 Ommadawn (excerpt) (07:00) 7 In dulci jubilo (02:50) 8 Don Alfonso (04:22) 9 Portsmouth (02:02) 10 William Tell Overture (03:55) 11 Cuckoo Song (03:14) 12 Incantations, Part Four (excerpt) (04:40) 13 Platinum, Part 4: North Star / Platinum Finale (04:44) 14 Woodhenge (04:05) 1 Moonlight Shadow (extended version) (05:16) 2 Blue Peter (02:08) 3 Guilty (long version) (06:44) 4 Arrival (02:48) 5 Wonderful Land (03:38) 6 Sheba (03:33) 7 Five Miles Out (04:17) 8 Family Man (03:45) 9 Mistake (02:55) 10 Shadow on the Wall (05:08) 11 Foreign Affair (03:53) 12 In High Places (03:33) 13 Crime of Passion (03:38) 14 Tricks of the Light (03:52) 15 To France (extended version) (05:33) 16 Étude (04:38) 17 Evacuation (07:37) 1 Sentinel (03:56) 2 Pictures in the Dark (05:56) 3 Shine (extended version) (05:08) 4 Islands (12 mix) (05:35) 5 Flying Start (12″ version) (04:50) 6 The Time Has Come (12″ version) (04:25) 7 Innocent (12″ mix) (05:33) 8 Earth Moving (club version) (04:01) 9 Amarok (excerpt) (06:18) 10 Heaven’s Open (04:28) 11 Hibernaculum (03:33) 12 Women of Ireland (06:29) 13 Far Above the Clouds (04:48) 14 The Millennium Bell (03:44) 15 To Be Free (03:57) |
| The Platinum Collection : Allmusic album Review : Mike Oldfield is a bit of an enigma. On the one hand is the artist who almost single-handedly ushered in the genre of new age music with his epic masterpiece Tubular Bells, and then followed that with several albums, Hergest Ridge, Ommadawn, and even Tubular Bells II and III, all with tracks that invariable meandered for half an hour or more through various musical ideas and soundscapes -- and no doubt would have gone on a lot longer had it not been for the constraints of vinyl and the restrictions on the length of musical compositions that would physically fit on two sides of a piece of plastic with micro grooves. On the other hand, he was a successful short-form singles artist with tracks of three minutes or less, ranging from the instrumentals "In Dolci Jubilo" and "Portsmouth" to traditional folk songs like "On Horseback" and the out-and-out pop songs "Moonlight Shadow" and "Family Man." So when it comes to compiling a greatest-hits collection, what does his record label, Virgin, concentrate on? Theyve had plenty of practice, for as early as 1976 (just three years into his career) the triple album Boxed came along, featuring his first three albums together with his singles released to date. Then in 1985, as the CD age was still in its infancy, came The Complete Mike Oldfield, a double album with short excerpts from the various album-length compositions, plus (again) his hit singles to date. In 1993 this was updated and replaced by Elements: Mike Oldfield 1973-1991, which featured the full-length Tubular Bells, excerpts from Hergest Ridge, the original side one of Ommadawn, and (yet again) his single hits to date. This was his most successful compilation, peaking at number five in the charts and -- apart from Tubular Bells II from the previous year -- his first Top Five album since the three LPs that began his career. Still not satisfied, Virgin updated the compilation again in 2006, bringing out a three-CD set called The Platinum Collection with 46 tracks spread across his career from the opening excerpt of "Tubular Bells" to "The Millennium Bell" and "To Be Free" from the 21st century. It is doubtful that Virgin was totally happy with this release. First, it crawled into the charts at number 36, spending just three weeks on the lists and then it was gone, waiting for the next greatest-hits collection to be released; second, it did rather attempt to cram too much into a package that undoubtedly provided value for the money (three and a half hours of music for little more than the price of a standard single CD). All the famous hit singles are here -- "In Dulci Jubilo," "Portsmouth," "Blue Peter Theme," "Family Man," "Moonlight Shadow," and "Sentinel," some taken from the extended 12" single versions -- but the earlier albums that best sum up Mike Oldfields body of work are poorly served, with two excerpts of Tubular Bells at only 12 minutes between them, nine minutes of Hergest Ridge, ten minutes of Ommadawn, and a rather miserable four minutes of Incantations. It would be extremely difficult to please everybody with a greatest-hits collection from a man with 35 years of chart success behind him, with each of his most famous albums consisting of a single piece of music. The best that Virgin could hope for from this compilation was that it might whet the appetite for a superb artist and serve as a starting point for new fans to buy Oldfields individual albums (even the more recent releases from Warner Bros.). | ||
 | Album: 38 of 42 Title: Tubular Bells, Part 1 Released: 2007-10 Tracks: 2 Duration: 49:40 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Tubular Bells, Part 1 (Version for Two Pianos and Two Synthesizers) (24:42) 2 Tubular Bells, Part 1 (Version for Four Pianos) (24:58) |
 | Album: 39 of 42 Title: Music of the Spheres Released: 2008-03-17 Tracks: 14 Duration: 45:29 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Harbinger (04:08) 2 Animus (03:09) 3 Silhouette (03:19) 4 Shabda (03:56) 5 The Tempest (05:48) 6 Harbinger (reprise) (01:30) 7 On My Heart (02:26) 8 Aurora (03:42) 9 Prophecy (02:54) 10 On My Heart (reprise) (01:16) 11 Harmonia Mundi (03:46) 12 The Other Side (01:28) 13 Empyrean (01:37) 14 Musica Universalis (06:24) |
| Music of the Spheres : Allmusic album Review : The legendary British composer will always be most identified with his breakthrough long-play composition "Tubular Bells" and the way it was used to illuminate fear in The Exorcist. The happy truth is that since then hes amassed an incredible catalog of over 20 albums featuring just about every instrumental form but jazz: pop, classical, new age, world music, computer game, film soundtrack, etc. The title of his 2008 45-minute classical-influenced opus Music of the Spheres is a reference to the prolific and eclectic composers feeling that all music should aim to represent the spiritual or otherworldly elements of life -- something beyond the mundane and everyday. He accomplishes that via the sheer hypnotic beauty of the gentler passages and the percussive drama of others, both of which characterize the multi-movement opening track, "Harbinger," which lives up to its title as a preview of the overwhelming, ethereal joys to come. Mike Oldfield is a highly accomplished film composer and it would be easy to imagine gorgeous, sweeping pieces like "Animus" and "Silhouette" behind pastoral romantic scenes, and action-packed, percussively dense expressions like "The Tempest" building some heavy suspense for some nail-biting plot. Completely recorded by an orchestra at Abbey Road studios and featuring Oldfield himself on guitar, Music of the Spheres -- which features guest performances by world-renowned young soprano (and Decca labelmate) Hayley Westenra and classical piano phenom Lang Lang -- is huge in scope yet at heart simple and emotionally direct on a purely melodic level. While the piece was entirely conceived, produced, and written by Oldfield, he turned to popular modern classical composer Karl Jenkins to translate his ideas into traditional classical notations arranged for orchestra -- a great departure from the artists usual array of studio-only wizardry. Jenkins, who once played oboe on a live BBC recording of "Tubular Bells" in 1975, gets a co-production credit, and with good reason. Oldfield scored his music via a computer program called Logic, while Jenkins used Sibelius to create the musical notation. Oldfield recorded an elaborate demo using orchestral samples, then handed it over so that Jenkins could add the human touch by re-recording it by an orchestra of classical musicians. Its a rich, heartfelt collaboration that breaks new ground for both men. Oldfield had no trouble declaring that he was almost moved to tears while listening to Music of the Spheres come alive at Abbey Road. Its a primitive spiritual and emotional response that every listener would later relate to. | ||
 | Album: 40 of 42 Title: Journey Into Space Released: 2012-10-09 Tracks: 10 Duration: 1:00:39 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Origin (04:49) 2 Traveller (04:35) 3 Flight of the Eagle (05:55) 4 Gayatri (07:26) 5 Shadow Dancer (06:02) 6 Jai Ram (05:23) 7 Moola Mantra (06:10) 8 Mangalam (06:06) 9 Dancer in the Void (06:22) 10 Be Still (07:51) |
 | Album: 41 of 42 Title: Man on the Rocks Released: 2014-03-03 Tracks: 37 Duration: 3:17:53 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Sailing (04:46) 2 Moonshine (05:49) 3 Man on the Rocks (06:10) 4 Castaway (06:34) 5 Minutes (04:51) 6 Dreaming in the Wind (05:28) 7 Nuclear (05:03) 8 Chariots (04:38) 9 Following the Angels (07:04) 10 Irene (03:59) 11 I Give Myself Away (05:10) 1 Sailing (instrumental) (04:46) 2 Moonshine (instrumental) (05:49) 3 Man on the Rocks (instrumental) (06:10) 4 Castaway (instrumental) (06:34) 5 Minutes (instrumental) (04:51) 6 Dreaming in the Wind (instrumental) (05:28) 7 Nuclear (instrumental) (05:03) 8 Chariots (instrumental) (04:38) 9 Following the Angels (instrumental) (07:04) 10 Irene (instrumental) (03:59) 11 I Give Myself Away (instrumental) (05:10) 1 Sailing (demo) (04:14) 2 Moonshine (demo) (05:25) 3 Man on the Rocks (demo) (05:41) 4 Castaway (demo) (06:24) 5 Minutes (demo) (04:29) 6 Dreaming in the Wind (demo) (05:28) 7 Nuclear (demo) (04:55) 8 Chariots (demo) (03:54) 9 Following the Angels (demo) (06:25) 10 Irene (demo) (03:59) 11 I Give Myself Away (demo) (05:09) 12 Sailing (alternative mix) (04:46) 13 Dreaming in the Wind (alternative mix) (05:29) 14 Following the Angels (alternative mix) (07:05) 15 I Give Myself Away (alternative mix) (05:12) |
| Man on the Rocks : Allmusic album Review : Six years after the classical Music of the Spheres, Mike Oldfield returns to his version of rock. Man on the Rocks is a slick production that recalls the AOR sounds of the late 70s and early 80s. He plays many instruments here but concentrates mainly on guitar. Among his collaborators are bassist Leland Sklar, keyboardist Matt Rollings, drummer John Robinson, guitarist Michael Thompson, and the Struts vocalist Luke Spiller. Though these songs are housed in tightly written, hooky pop/rock melodies with conscious source checks from Queen and Toto to the Rolling Stones and the Steve Miller Band, they are among -- if not the -- most deeply personal entries in his catalog. Opener "Sailing" contains pained, troubled lyrics, yet its Celtic-flavored singalong chorus and ringing slide guitar solo add contrast and elevation. "Moonshine" is a poignant Irish immigrants song. The opening guitar vamp deliberately evokes U2 (though one can convincingly argue that the Edge got it from Oldfield). A sweet backing chorus carries the refrain as martial snares, fiddles, accordion, pipes, and whistles increase the drama until an epic guitar break carries it out. The title track is one of the sets finest moments. Enormous drums, a chorale, sweeping strings, washes of organ, synth, and blazing guitars frame Spillers anthemic vocal. On "Castaway," the pulsing keyboards and guitars recall Queen and Oldfields guitar blisters, spitting angular riffs, and spiraling prog changes. "Dreaming in the Wind" begins as an acoustic rocker illustrated by strings, guitars, organs, and a fine lead vocal. Oldfields guitar transforms it, melding arena rock, folk, and prog to its core. "Nuclear" again suggests Queen, but its thudding tom-toms, guitar layers, and orchestra are classic Oldfield. "Chariots" uses big zig-zagging synths and fat phased guitars working a Bo Diddley beat; its where Toto meets Jim Steinman, but the deliberate excess works. This set does run out of steam near the end. The long ballad "Following the Angels" is repetitive and dreary. "Irene," where Oldfield takes on the Stones, is clever but feels out of place here. The closer, a read of William McDowells hymn "I Give Myself Away" strays far too close to CCM. Its easy to dismiss Man on the Rocks as simply "dad rock," but its more complex than that. These songs, all framed inside classic pop/rock, are beautifully written and played. Their fine lyrics contain complex emotions of crisis, struggle, resolve, and redemption. Oldfield is one of the few remaining musicians with the songwriting, production, and playing chops who could helm a big league session like this, let alone pull it off. Imperfections aside, this is a strange, oddly compelling addition to his catalog. | ||
 | Album: 42 of 42 Title: Return to Ommadawn Released: 2017-01-20 Tracks: 2 Duration: 42:07 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Return to Ommadawn, Pt. I (21:10) 2 Return to Ommadawn, Pt. II (20:57) |
| Return to Ommadawn : Allmusic album Review : British multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield offers up this warmly crafted sequel to his 1975 classic Ommadawn, marking a return to a more organic style of composing. After polling fans online about what type of approach theyd like to hear, Oldfield was overwhelmingly urged to revisit the acoustic style heard on his first three albums. Eager for the challenge, he spent nearly a year in his studio crafting what would become 2017s Return to Ommadawn, an instrumental meditation on the prog-folk fantasy world hed originally imagined four decades prior. A true solo effort, Oldfield plays every instrument on the record, which is divided into "Part I" and "Part II," each lasting about 20 minutes in a nod to the originals vinyl format. A pleasing blend of Celtic, folk, and rock elements using a multitude of acoustic and electric guitars, old-school keyboards, mandolins, whistles, and hand drums, Return to Ommadawn is thoughtful in its construction, unfurling in a dreamy fantasia that indeed recalls Oldfields early days, but softened with the nostalgia of accumulated age. The emotional arc of the album is subtly instituted with the gentler peaks of "Part I" eventually becoming quite majestic in the final two movements of "Part II." Oldfields Ommadawn is an enchanted place and this lush revisitation both honors his initial creation and neatly extends its boundaries. | ||