The Prog Rock Album Club

Trollheart · 05-11-2014, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unknown Soldier

yes boring old Mike Oldfield.

Yeah well it wouldn't have been my choice but the spinner goes where the spinner wills, and not even the awesome power of the Chad can hold sway over its movements.

In other words, shut up and just listen to the album!

Xurtio · 05-11-2014, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unknown Soldier

As for Alaska, I reckon that makes darkest South America seem civilized.

Yet, apparently more civilized than the British with regards to Kate Bush.

Moss · 05-11-2014, 05:47 PM

I have heard raves about Oldfield for years so looking forward to digging in. And for the record I do understand not liking Kate Bush right away. Not really my cup of tea in general. But I do find her brilliant when I bother to listen. For someone that has never heard of her (strange as that is (-: ) I found your review fair Xurtio.

Anyway, on to the new one.

Trollheart · 05-11-2014, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xurtio

Yet, apparently more civilized than the British with regards to Kate Bush.

You take that back, eskimo-features! I'm IRISH, and proud of it!

Trollheart · 05-13-2014, 11:49 AM

Album Title: Crises
Artist: Mike Oldfield
Nationality: British
Year: 1983
Subgenre: Instrumental Prog?
Player(s): Mike Oldfield (You don't surely expect me to list all the instruments he plays, do you? It's a lot!), Simon Phillips (Drums, effects, blah blah), Ant /Rick Fenn(Guitars), Phil Spalding (Bass), Pierre Moerlen (Vibraphone), Maggie Reilly/Jon Anderson/Roger Chapman (Vocals on various tracks)
Familiarity: I know Oldfield well, but have only two of his albums. Guess which two?
Favourite track(s): “Moonlight shadow”
Why? I knew it already and there's nothing much else on this that grabs me. “In high places” comes close but even the presence of Jon Anderson can't raise it, um, higher than it is. Also I can't help thinking of it as more of a Yes song than a Mike Oldfield one.
Least favourite track(s): “Shadow on the wall” or “Foreign affair”
Why? I hate Roger Chapman's vibrato voice on the former and the latter is dull, boring and uninspired, with the chorus repeated for something like half of the song.
Any preconceptions prior to listening, whether good or bad? I actually thought there'd be more long instrumentals, given Oldfield's pedigree. On the basis of the title track I'm glad I was wrong, but the album was still a big letdown.
Factoids you'd like to share?
End impression: I guess I'm not going to become a fan of the man anytime soon!
Comments: What is it with bloody multi-instrumentalists? Is it not enough that you can play guitar, keyboards and/or drums? Do you really have to go learning every bloody instrument known to Man, and then be so bloody good on all of them? Makes a guy feel quite ... inadequate. Seriously though, Mike Oldfield is surely known to us all, if not from the album “Tubular Bells” then from the cut from that which opens the movie “The Exorcist”. There can be few who have never heard of the man, or at least heard his music. And yet I'm not that much of a fan. Oh I have “Tubular Bells” and its (um) followup “Tubular Bells II”, but really I've listened to them about once and then put them away. They're not albums that stand up to repeated listenings. Here Oldfield has released what must be his most commercial album, with two hit singles, and indeed it looks aimed at commercial success, the way it's constructed.

Only one long instrumental (and that kind of sucks) and only one other instrumental at all. He pulls in the talent of Maggie Reilly on two of the tracks, one of which is the big hit “Moonlight shadow”, while the legendary Jon Anderson lights up the album with his guest appearance on “In high places”. In contrast, Roger Chapman on the closer just annoys me. This, for me, was an album I struggled to get through the first track, knew the second, and then sort of cruised along until the last one, shrugged and said okay next. It didn't impress me, but then as I say I'm no huge fan of Oldfield, and I find anyway instrumental albums have to have that special something to make them different. I didn't find this one did.
Rating You have to allow that the man is an icon and a genius, but this did not grab me so all I can award it is 3.0

Moss · 05-17-2014, 11:06 AM

Album Title: Crises
Artist: Mike Oldfield
Nationality: British
Year: 1983
Subgenre: Multi instrumentalist prog
Player(s): Mike Oldfield (everything), Simon Phillips (Drums and stuff), Ant /Rick Fenn(Guitars), Phil Spalding (Bass), Pierre Moerlen (Vibraphone), Maggie Reilly/Jon Anderson/Roger Chapman (Vocals on various tracks)
Familiarity: Just the album that was issued to everybody in America in the early 1970's. Never bothered to listen to anything else.
Favourite track(s): “Shadow on the wall”
Why? I thought it sounded a bit like some lost Roky Erickson track. I actually maybe it was Roky at first. I didn't realize it was considered a "hit song" for Oldfield as I never heard it before.
Least favourite track(s): “Foreign affair”
Why? Like Trollheart said, dull, boring and uninspired. Easily the worst song on the album.
Any preconceptions prior to listening, whether good or bad? I also thought it would be some long instrumental album with little vocals or real melody. I was wrong and was pleasantly surprised.
Factoids you'd like to share? Apparently this album is going to be available in a 5 CD box set? Why the hell...? And "in high places" showed up as a sample on Kanye Wests "Dark Fantasy" according to Wiki.
End impression:Probably won't dig much deeper into his catalog unless forced by this album club.
Comments: Never really understood why tubular bells was so huge but then again I was 5 in 1973. Apparently it was unlike anything else at the time and changed the face of music and all that, but does anybody really bust that one out on a regular basis? Maybe as background music while you are doing something else. Although me and my brother used to turn out the lights in our room and play that excorcist theme to scare the bejeezus out of ourselves because of course we had the vinyl Tubular bells available. May still have it, not even sure. Anyways, my first spin through this album I didn't like it at all although "shadow on the wall" caught my ear. But upon repeated listenings I started to like it a bit more. Some nice grooves, some good guest vocals, actual short songs and not just long instrumentals. Certainly some impressive musicianship. BY the 3rd or 4th listen I wasn't wishing it would end so have to admit I kind of liked it.

Rating: I'll go with a 3.5

Anteater · 05-17-2014, 11:36 PM

Album Title: Crises
Artist: Mike Oldfield
Nationality: British
Year: 1983
Subgenre: Superrrr proggggg
Player(s): Mike Oldfield (everything!!), Simon Phillips (Drums and stuff), Ant / Rick Fenn (Guitars), Phil Spalding (Bass), Pierre Moerlen (Vibraphone), Maggie Reilly/Jon Anderson/Roger Chapman (Vocals on various tracks)
Familiarity: I got a few of his stuffz...heh.
Favourite track(s): 'Crises', 'High Places'
Why? Oldfield's epic pieces are always interesting even when they meander, and I like Jon Anderson on 'High Places' quite a bit.
Least favourite track(s): “Shadow On The Wall”
Why? Pedestrian and a tad repetitive...plus Roger sounds like a goat on crack-cocaine whenever he opens his mouth.

Any preconceptions prior to listening, whether good or bad? None.
Factoids you'd like to share? Oldfield's siblings are even more talented than he is. I'll be reviewing his sister's debut 'Water Bearer' sometime in the near future methinks...
End impression: His best 80's record for better or for worse.
Comments: There's no doubt that Mike is one of the most influential and domineering forces of instrumental music from the early 70's onwards: he is to progressive rock what Klaus Schulze is to the Berlin School of electronic music or Philip Glass is to modern classical. And unlike those contemporaries, he's even got some pop savvy too (such as the Hall & Oates appropriated 'Family Man', a track that originated from 1982's Five Miles Out). All this being said, this was the last album until 1990's Amarok where I feel Oldfield tried to challenge himself as an artist. The opening title cut is positively massive in all the best respects and you've got some good radio-esque material in 'Foreign Affair' and the Jon Anderson-fronted 'High Places'. Still, this isn't overall as strong a recording as his pure instrumental exercises of the previous decade nor does it leave as strong an impact on me as his 90's output. Stuck between a rock and a meh place, Crises is a solid album that, nevertheless, needed stronger direction or a more cohesive set of pop tunes on the B-side to rank among his best.

Rating: I think 3.0 will suffice.

Unknown Soldier · 05-18-2014, 05:29 AM

Album Title: Crises
Artist: Mike Oldfield
Nationality: British
Year: 1983
Subgenre: Instrumental Prog?
Player(s): Mike Oldfield (You don't surely expect me to list all the instruments he plays, do you? It's a lot!), Simon Phillips (Drums, effects, blah blah), Ant /Rick Fenn(Guitars), Phil Spalding (Bass), Pierre Moerlen (Vibraphone), Maggie Reilly/Jon Anderson/Roger Chapman (Vocals on various tracks)
Familiarity: Sadly yes, especially bloody Tubular Bells
Favourite track(s): “Crises”
Why? Covers its 20 minutes really and is probably a great example from what I've heard from Mike Oldfield of his typical instrumental arrays. The track has enough variety and a few twists that can really grab you.
Least favourite track(s): “Shadow on the wall”
Why? Oh dear! So many other bands around this time were doing this kind of thing so much better, even though I do like Mike Chapman from the Family.
Any preconceptions prior to listening, whether good or bad? As Trollheart said I was expecting more instrumentals than this, luckily we were spared.
Factoids you'd like to share? Everybody with a music collection and whether they know music or not, always seems to have Tubular Bells in their collection.
End impression: Was a struggle at times, despite the fact that I did find the title track enjoyable in places.
Comments: The great problem with this album is its lack of direction and cohesiveness and this largely comes about because of its artist guest feature spots from Maggie Reilly, Jon Anderson and Roger Chapman. Of the the three only Maggie Reilly does herself any justice. "Moonlight Shadow" is such a well known song and still usually played on the radio and "Foreign Affair" sounds like a very good b-side to a single from this period. Musically I don't find the pop tendencies of the album blend that well with the aural variety of the rest of the album.

Mike Oldfield despite never caring for his music that much, still has to be recognized as one of the most influential artists of the 1970s, but like so many artists of this type seemed to be out of ideas that really work here.

Rating 2.5 Trips up in too many places really

Xurtio · 05-18-2014, 04:31 PM

Album Title: Crises
Artist: Mike Oldfield
Nationality: British
Year: 1983
Subgenre: 80's Prog
Player(s): Mike Oldfield (instruments), Simon Phillips (Drums, effects), Ant /Rick Fenn (Guitars), Phil Spalding (Bass), Pierre Moerlen (Vibraphone), Maggie Reilly/Jon Anderson/Roger Chapman (Vocals on various tracks)
Familiarity: None
Favourite track(s): Shadow on the Wall
Why? I like the bluesy guitar... vocals are barely tolerable, but kind of intriguing anyway.
Least favourite track(s): High Places
Why? The vocals, especially the pacing of the vocals, were horrendous.
Any preconceptions prior to listening, whether good or bad? Well, thinking it was an instrumental got my hopes up because vocals are generally the most disappointing instrument.
Factoids you'd like to share? N/A
End impression: The sons on the album weren't really connected and certainly didn't feel very prog. Foreign Affair come off as a typical 80's tune, Taurus 3 reminded me of music from a golfing video game or airport jazz, Shadow on the Wall was more bluesy rock metal kind of approaching that Uriah Heep style of metal which I could finally appreciate on its own, but as an album, all these styles together are somewhat schizophrenic and don't really tell a story or paint a clear picture and none of the individual tracks stands out enough to save the album.

I actually would have enjoyed a pure instrumental album slightly more. There seemed to be some talent on the strings, just not a good story or musical progression to guide them.

Since I've never heard of Oldfield, I don't know where he stands traditionally, but my ratings and reviews are based on the art, not the artist.

Rating 2.0

Anteater · 05-19-2014, 09:17 PM

Well, seeing as Troll is going to be taking some sort of extended hiatus from MB, I wouldn't mind leading this group and/or organizing it for awhile if you guys don't mind.

That being said, I'm not a huge fan of whatever list TH was getting his picks from, so how about we give Anteater's Top 200 Progressive Albums Of All Time a run through? I can pick a new random album every week after folks have given their verdict, plus we can also use this as an opportunity to bring new ideas to the table.

Anyway, my list is more eclectic than your typical progressive rock list, since I also judge by album concept, influence..and of course if the album is progressive musically in some way, so be prepared for some variety, lol! Some of it is a far cry from the 70's prog-rock scene, but be open minded.

05-13-2014, 11:49 AM	#835 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,992	Album Title: Crises Artist: Mike Oldfield Nationality: British Year: 1983 Subgenre: Instrumental Prog? Player(s): Mike Oldfield (You don't surely expect me to list all the instruments he plays, do you? It's a lot!), Simon Phillips (Drums, effects, blah blah), Ant /Rick Fenn(Guitars), Phil Spalding (Bass), Pierre Moerlen (Vibraphone), Maggie Reilly/Jon Anderson/Roger Chapman (Vocals on various tracks) Familiarity: I know Oldfield well, but have only two of his albums. Guess which two? Favourite track(s): “Moonlight shadow” Why? I knew it already and there's nothing much else on this that grabs me. “In high places” comes close but even the presence of Jon Anderson can't raise it, um, higher than it is. Also I can't help thinking of it as more of a Yes song than a Mike Oldfield one. Least favourite track(s): “Shadow on the wall” or “Foreign affair” Why? I hate Roger Chapman's vibrato voice on the former and the latter is dull, boring and uninspired, with the chorus repeated for something like half of the song. Any preconceptions prior to listening, whether good or bad? I actually thought there'd be more long instrumentals, given Oldfield's pedigree. On the basis of the title track I'm glad I was wrong, but the album was still a big letdown. Factoids you'd like to share? End impression: I guess I'm not going to become a fan of the man anytime soon! Comments: What is it with bloody multi-instrumentalists? Is it not enough that you can play guitar, keyboards and/or drums? Do you really have to go learning every bloody instrument known to Man, and then be so bloody good on all of them? Makes a guy feel quite ... inadequate. Seriously though, Mike Oldfield is surely known to us all, if not from the album “Tubular Bells” then from the cut from that which opens the movie “The Exorcist”. There can be few who have never heard of the man, or at least heard his music. And yet I'm not that much of a fan. Oh I have “Tubular Bells” and its (um) followup “Tubular Bells II”, but really I've listened to them about once and then put them away. They're not albums that stand up to repeated listenings. Here Oldfield has released what must be his most commercial album, with two hit singles, and indeed it looks aimed at commercial success, the way it's constructed. Only one long instrumental (and that kind of sucks) and only one other instrumental at all. He pulls in the talent of Maggie Reilly on two of the tracks, one of which is the big hit “Moonlight shadow”, while the legendary Jon Anderson lights up the album with his guest appearance on “In high places”. In contrast, Roger Chapman on the closer just annoys me. This, for me, was an album I struggled to get through the first track, knew the second, and then sort of cruised along until the last one, shrugged and said okay next. It didn't impress me, but then as I say I'm no huge fan of Oldfield, and I find anyway instrumental albums have to have that special something to make them different. I didn't find this one did. Rating You have to allow that the man is an icon and a genius, but this did not grab me so all I can award it is 3.0 __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

05-18-2014, 04:31 PM	#839 (permalink)
Xurtio Brain Licker Join Date: Apr 2014 Posts: 1,083	Album Title: Crises Artist: Mike Oldfield Nationality: British Year: 1983 Subgenre: 80's Prog Player(s): Mike Oldfield (instruments), Simon Phillips (Drums, effects), Ant /Rick Fenn (Guitars), Phil Spalding (Bass), Pierre Moerlen (Vibraphone), Maggie Reilly/Jon Anderson/Roger Chapman (Vocals on various tracks) Familiarity: None Favourite track(s): Shadow on the Wall Why? I like the bluesy guitar... vocals are barely tolerable, but kind of intriguing anyway. Least favourite track(s): High Places Why? The vocals, especially the pacing of the vocals, were horrendous. Any preconceptions prior to listening, whether good or bad? Well, thinking it was an instrumental got my hopes up because vocals are generally the most disappointing instrument. Factoids you'd like to share? N/A End impression: The sons on the album weren't really connected and certainly didn't feel very prog. Foreign Affair come off as a typical 80's tune, Taurus 3 reminded me of music from a golfing video game or airport jazz, Shadow on the Wall was more bluesy rock metal kind of approaching that Uriah Heep style of metal which I could finally appreciate on its own, but as an album, all these styles together are somewhat schizophrenic and don't really tell a story or paint a clear picture and none of the individual tracks stands out enough to save the album. I actually would have enjoyed a pure instrumental album slightly more. There seemed to be some talent on the strings, just not a good story or musical progression to guide them. Since I've never heard of Oldfield, I don't know where he stands traditionally, but my ratings and reviews are based on the art, not the artist. Rating 2.0 __________________ H̓̇̅̉yͤ͏mͬ͂ͧn͑̽̽̌ͪ̑͐͟o̴͊̈́͑̇m͛͌̓ͦ̑aͫ̽ͤ̇n̅̎͐̒ͫ͐c̆ͯͫ̋ ̔̃́eͯ͒rͬͬ̄҉

05-11-2014, 05:47 PM	#833 (permalink)
Moss Scuttle Buttin' Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Boulder Colorado Posts: 972	I have heard raves about Oldfield for years so looking forward to digging in. And for the record I do understand not liking Kate Bush right away. Not really my cup of tea in general. But I do find her brilliant when I bother to listen. For someone that has never heard of her (strange as that is (-: ) I found your review fair Xurtio. Anyway, on to the new one.

05-17-2014, 11:06 AM	#836 (permalink)
Moss Scuttle Buttin' Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Boulder Colorado Posts: 972	Album Title: Crises Artist: Mike Oldfield Nationality: British Year: 1983 Subgenre: Multi instrumentalist prog Player(s): Mike Oldfield (everything), Simon Phillips (Drums and stuff), Ant /Rick Fenn(Guitars), Phil Spalding (Bass), Pierre Moerlen (Vibraphone), Maggie Reilly/Jon Anderson/Roger Chapman (Vocals on various tracks) Familiarity: Just the album that was issued to everybody in America in the early 1970's. Never bothered to listen to anything else. Favourite track(s): “Shadow on the wall” Why? I thought it sounded a bit like some lost Roky Erickson track. I actually maybe it was Roky at first. I didn't realize it was considered a "hit song" for Oldfield as I never heard it before. Least favourite track(s): “Foreign affair” Why? Like Trollheart said, dull, boring and uninspired. Easily the worst song on the album. Any preconceptions prior to listening, whether good or bad? I also thought it would be some long instrumental album with little vocals or real melody. I was wrong and was pleasantly surprised. Factoids you'd like to share? Apparently this album is going to be available in a 5 CD box set? Why the hell...? And "in high places" showed up as a sample on Kanye Wests "Dark Fantasy" according to Wiki. End impression:Probably won't dig much deeper into his catalog unless forced by this album club. Comments: Never really understood why tubular bells was so huge but then again I was 5 in 1973. Apparently it was unlike anything else at the time and changed the face of music and all that, but does anybody really bust that one out on a regular basis? Maybe as background music while you are doing something else. Although me and my brother used to turn out the lights in our room and play that excorcist theme to scare the bejeezus out of ourselves because of course we had the vinyl Tubular bells available. May still have it, not even sure. Anyways, my first spin through this album I didn't like it at all although "shadow on the wall" caught my ear. But upon repeated listenings I started to like it a bit more. Some nice grooves, some good guest vocals, actual short songs and not just long instrumentals. Certainly some impressive musicianship. BY the 3rd or 4th listen I wasn't wishing it would end so have to admit I kind of liked it. Rating: I'll go with a 3.5