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46 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Mike Oldfield album every fan's been waiting for !, 7 Feb 2008
Having been a great fan of Mike Oldfield's music since 1973 (!) I've never really been disapointed with any thing he's done but as with all genuinely creative artists ,their careers have their high points and low points.
Mike Oldfield is no exception and although it's been a long time coming ,'Music of the Spheres' is definately one of the high points in his long career.This is Mike Oldfield at his very best.
When I first heard he was creating an orchestral peice of music with no electric guitar my main concern was that it wouldn't sound like Mike Oldfield.I've always thought that Mike's distictive sound came from the fact that, apart from his unique electric guitar style he generaly plays nearly every instrument himself thus giving each peice his own unique'musical voice'.
Where 'Music of the Spheres'succeeds is that although apart from some beautiful acoustic guitar played by Mike,the music is played via an orchestra but some how has that unmistakable Mike Oldfield 'sound-scape'you would expect to hear if he'd played everything himself.
From the opening bars of Harbinger to the last notes of Musica Universalis this is classic Mike Oldfield of a quality we haven't heard Mike produce in many ,many years.
At its very best Mike's music has an almost addictive quality about it.Sadly this quality has been lacking in recent years but here he's back with a piece of music that in parts is so beautiful it will send shivers down your spine and bring tears to your eyes !
This is the Mike Oldfield album I've been waiting so long for,brilliant in its composition and construction.Music that inspires and moves you with flashes of genuine genius.Anyone who thought that 'Tubular Bells' or 'Ommadawn' were the pinical of Mike Oldfield's career listen to this.
My only hope now is that we all get the chance to see it performed live.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Oh my word - this is good, 12 Nov 2007
I grew up in a house where my Dad was a huge Mike Oldfield fan, and I remember him excitedly rushing home with his latest album, putting it on the hi-fi, and then we would sit there and listen to it, waiting for him to pass judgement. His enthusiasm rubbed off on me, and as the years passed we would both listen to the albums separately, then reconvene to discuss what we had heard. For me, "Amarok" has been his finest album, followed by "Ommadawn", but this album is right alongside them.
The first thing that must be said is that "Music of the Spheres" is NOT "Tubular Bells 4", and although it immediately sounds like Oldfield you soon realise that the entire album is orchestral and there is little, maybe even no guitar on there, so don't expect wailing electric guitars, but do be prepared for strings, brass, and choirs. Right from the start is is clear that this is an Oldfield album but the orchestration is simply gorgeous. The album is split into two halves, a Hayley Westenra vocal ending the first "side", and the rousing "Musica Universalis" bringing the second to a close, a few of his trademark tubular bells popping up towards the end.
Critisicms? The album is only forty five minutes long and could easily have been much longer, but what we have here is just perfect. Oldfield's best album in years, and I really can't wait to hear the album again.
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57 of 67 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A debut classical album from Mike Oldfield. In a word, STUNNING , 6 Oct 2007
If there is one musician in this world who was born to write a classical work, then it has to be Mike Oldfield. His most successful works have been those that combine real instruments with a compositional style that is not too far removed from classical music (i.e. Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge, Ommadan etc) and after over 30 years in the music industry he has composed possibly his finest work since the 1970's. I am able to make this claim because i have a promo copy which has now been played countless times, and i want to pass this message on to as many people as possible- you will be presented with a 45 minute work in two movements, and within these movements you will hear the unmistakable style of the man himself, who also appears on most tracks, with his lyrical classical guitar. The work opens with HARBINGER, and the strings performing a very familiar musical pattern! THE TEMPEST is probably the most experimental and unconventional of the tracks, with a minimalist/ Steve Reich-like display from the strings/piano etc but at 3"45 there is an almighty build up, with an explosion of passion and thematic beauty. Influences of Karl Jenkins (the arranger and conductor on this album) can also be heard in SHABDA which towards the end features a beautiful chorus that raises the roof, and in my view is a homage to ADIEMUS. The song ON MY HEART is performed by Hayley Westenra and is so beautiful it will not fail to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. This closes part 1, and with AURORA we are treated to a virtuosic display from the strings in a very joyful passage, with choir singing the title 'Au-ro-ra!' THE OTHER SIDE is very filmic, whilst EMPYREAN reminds me of early Oldfield works with it's aggressive brass lines. This leads us into the closing track, MUSICA UNIVERSALIS which reprises the grand section of THE TEMPEST and we finish on a (perhaps cliched but nevertheless fantastic) rousing crescendo and an almighty cymbal crash. At the end i am left thinking to myself, there is no one quite as diverse, quite as creative, and quite as unmistakable in style as Mike Oldfield. Enjoy!
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