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1. Platinum (Part 1) : Airborne

2. Platinum (Part 2) : Platinum

3. Platinum (Part 3) : Charleston

4. Platinum (Part 4) : North Star/Platinum Finale

5. Woodhenge

6. Sally

7. Punkadiddle

8. I Got Rhythm

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
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Average Customer Review

4.4 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)

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30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mike Oldfield's most astounding instrumental work!, 28 May 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Platinum (Audio CD)

After having amassed a music collection that includes nearly all of Mike Oldfields CDs, this one is perhaps the best of them all. It is split into two halves, the first four tracks are instrumental and the last four are vocal. The last four, whilst not bad, are not Mike Oldfields best attempts at vocal tracks and pale into insignificance behind other classics such as Moonlight Shadow and To France. The main work of art on the album is, as is to be expected from the title, the first four tracks, which are collectively entitled Platinum. All four are based around accoustic and prominantly electric guitars and the first track introduces the instruments in a bouncy melody that becomes more upbeat as it continues. The melody suddenly changes in the last few minutes to lead in the second track, another melody that incorporates the guitars prominantly but one that is more sombre and moody than the first with a slightly slower tempo. The third track is a return to upbeat - a jovial, almost bouncy and comical affair, completely different from the first two and one that wouldn't be out of place in a circus! Finally, the fourth track is in my opinion the best of them all, a haunting melody that eclipses every other track on the CD and one that could stand on its own quite happily as a solo piece. If you are a fan of Mike Oldfields early instrumental work then this album is a real must...

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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A MIXED BAG, BUT WORTH THE PRICE, 15 Dec 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Mike Oldfield Platinum (Audio CD)

This record marked the beginning of a more approachable, down-to-earth Oldfield. As it is often the case with this artist, the sublime stands side by side with the awful.
The first piece (all the first side of the original LP) is the four-part suite "Platinum", one of the most lively and direct music Mike had composed until then. Here you can find the repetitive structures Mike is so fond of, but also an energy and lightness that also benefited the music. While the pomp of former days is mostly absent, the piece dances and rocks in Mike's particularly arch way. Mostly it works. The finale of the suite is a cover of "North Star" by Philip Glass (if you have listened to "Incantations" you won't be surprised by this).Mike has always mixed his own musical ideas with those of Glass, Terry Riley or Ennio Morricone to good effect.
"Woodhenge" is a really fine atmospheric piece, with percussive elements being progressively added until the entrance of Mike's unmistakable guitar (yeah, one note and you know it can only be him). From this point on, things start to get worse. First you get the unbearably twee "Sally" (or "Into Wonderland", as it is known), the trite "Punkadiddle" (supposed to be a joke on punk rock - though its humour escapes me) and a cover of Gershwin's standard "I Got Rhythm", arranged in a way one can only call "peculiar" (this version has its admirers too, though). For the whole of the "Platinum suite" and "Woodhenge" this record is well worth your time.
The remastering is fine, no quibbles about it, but the liner notes confuse you rather than inform you. They talk about the song "Sally" (the "gorilla song" that appeared only in the first vinyl pressings) as if it actually was on the CD (it isn't! what you get is the usual "Sally-Into Wonderland"),and then they mention Philip Glass as the actual arranger of the "Platinum suite" (I don't think he was, although Kurt Muncaksi of Glass fame is involved in the record). A final warning: when Platinum was first released on CD format, it had 8 tracks, but the leaflet only mentioned 5. Did you expect things to be corrected in this newly remastered edition? Of course not! The same mistake!

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some good pieces, 7 July 2009

By

Matthew D. Hayward (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Platinum (MP3 Download)

One of my favourite Oldfield albums, I especially like "Airborn", "Platinum" and "North Star". Quite an upbeat album.

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