Christmas is Coming: In Dulci Jublio

A brilliant video for a brilliant tune arranged by and featuring the brilliant Mike Oldfield!

It would not be Christmas without this song... so here it is on 12/12/12 (posted at 12:12)!



(This might also be one of the days where the world is supposed to end according to the Wise Ancient Mayans, or at least according to the morons who think they understand calendars, both as made by the Wise Ancient Mayas and modern-day printers. But... in case they're right: Merry Almost Christmas! Aren't you glad you're going out humming at great tune?)

Christmas is Coming: Silent Night and More!

The great Mike Oldfield starts off a Christmas medley that features wonderful renditions of "Silent Night," "The Little Drummer Boy," and more... all played on guitars and bagpipes (with a few keyboards and drums thrown in for good measure).

Mike Oldfield: Far Above the Clouds

If you've been coming here for a while, you know I'm a big Mike Oldfield fan. His music often serves as background static for when I'm writing and as an inspiration for when I'm trying to come up with ideas.

"Far Above the Clouds" filled my head with visions of inter-stellar war, the fall of civilizations and the migration to new worlds. It was music that finally brought into focus the *true* history of a race of near-human aliens that have been a cornerstone of my long-running RPG campaign--since 1995 and counting. (It's a history that I, up to the point of listening to that track, knew was incomplete and distorted, as the distant forebearers of the modern peoples had gone to great lengths to deny their true origins as genetically engineered servants to another species. Up to that point, though, I didn't know the full truth either. But, thanks to Mike, I finally did.)

The track is from "Tubular Bells III", a disc that remains among my favorites from Oldfield and in my collection.

Here's the original, epic version.




Here's a version that contains both parts of "Far Above the Clouds"--the section that opens the "Tubular Bells III" album ("The Source of Secrets") and the grand music that closes it. I think some of the changes were not well considered, mostly where the use of the bells go, but the best parts of the song remain intact.



Here's a remix that, unlike many such dance mixes, manages to keep much of the epic quality of Oldfield's original version. The video even reflects the ideas on a cosmic scale that the song inspired in me.




Here's a fan-recorded cover of "Far Above the Clouds" that captures the essence of the piece nicely, if not the scale:




Here's a remixed version you might like, if you're into club and/or trance music. Personally, I think it waters down the impact and power of the music by stretching it too thin and repeating some of its simplest cues over and over again. The structure of the original piece is dissolved here, and the most powerful sections are gone. (Yes, I understand that was necessary to create this particular remix... but it makes me sad for those who might not experience the power of more effective versions.)

Islands by Mike Oldfield (Bonnie Tyler lead vocalist)

A pretty song from a good album. The video's kind of weak, but there have been far worse made.

Mike Oldfield: Earth Moving

I seriously disliked his 1989 album when it was first released, and I panned it like nothing I'd ever panned before or since in a music review. It was a collection of pop songs that had all obviously been penned and recorded with the intention of making nothing more than a collection of pop songs, I ranted at the time.

20+ years, I have completed a reevaluation of "Earth Moving" that started about five or six years ago when I listened to it again. Either my tastes have evolved/deteriorated, or the level of crap that is current standard in pop music makes even disappointed Mike Oldfield sound fantastic. I now find myself liking all but a couple tracks.

Here's the video for the title track from the "Earth Moving" album. I'm not sure I care for the video--it doesn't match my mental images when I hear the song--but it remains relevant with its environmental message. (Even if the singer looks so thoroughly late 1980s that there's no doubt when it was recorded.)

Everything's better with Mike Oldfield!

Okay, so maybe the title of this post is a slight exageration, but if this remix of Christina Aguilera's "Not Myself Tonight", which crosses that song with Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" that been the actual single, maybe it would have been a Top Ten hit somewhere other than Japan and South Korea.

Christina Aguilera vs. Mike Oldfield via DJs From Mars... "Not My Tubular Bells Tonight"!

Mike Oldfield's Crime of Passion

I'm not aware of this song ever being released on an album, but I remember hearing it in music stores as a kid and seeing the video and thinking it was supremely creepy. I still feel that way about it. (The singer is Barry Palmer, the psychotic guitar player is Mike Oldfield.)




As a pleasant time-wasting activity to celebrate my birthday, I decided to go looking for different versions of Oldfield's masterful song. I found this neat acoustic cover that stays true to the mood of the original (but isn't quite as creepy).



Here's a cover by an outfit named Bramble B. It's not a bad cover, but it leaves one with a feeling that there might be a way to improve upon greatness. (I also wonder if they really got the song, given what they added to it.)



Yeah... two Mike Oldfield-related posts in one day, but he's one of my favorite composers/musicians, and it's my birthday! Please forgive me while I am even more self-indulgent than usual; SOMEONE'S got to celebrate me by celebrating stuff I like! Heck, maybe I'll do a few MORE Oldfield posts today... :)

Mike Oldfield: Music I Never Tire Of

Ever since I heard "Five Miles Out" on the radio as a kid, I've been in love with Mike Oldfield. To this day, the "Five Miles Out" album, "Ommadawn", "Crisis" and "Discover" are among my most-often played CDs.

The Man, the Myth, the Mike!

So, when it came to deciding what topic would be M for today, I went with Mike Oldfield. I could have gone with Mohammed, but I think I already have plenty of posts about the Perfect Man and the millions of psychopaths who worship him around the world.

But, I figure if "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day 2011" happens on May 20, I'll be talking about Mo-rons and the Perfect Man in this space quite a bit. So, I'm instead going to talk about my favorite modern composer and musician. While I haven't exactly loved his latest two albums, I didn't hate them either. And who knows? Maybe they'll grow on me the way "Earthmoving" and "Amarok" did, but I doubt it... they're just a little too "easy listening" for my ears.

That said, I was writing music reviews for a paper when "Earthmoving" came out, and I panned it like I'd never panned any release before. When I listened to it again some five years later, I had to ask myself "What the hell was I thinking?" It's a different Mike Oldfield effort--being a collection of slightly offbeat pop tunes--but it was petter than the majority of the crap out there and it still is. With "Amarok", one of Oldfield's all instrumental efforts, I hated it until one day I gave it my undivided attention and did nothing but sit and listen; that's when I fell in love with it as I have most of Oldfield's music. I might come around to feeling the same way about "Music of the Spheres" (his most recent release from 2008), but I can't see myself ever liking "Tres Luna" the way I like his other many and widely varied efforts.

Enough talk. Here's some music and some videos to enjoy. And please leave a comment about what YOUR favorite Mike Oldfield record/CD or song is. If you've never encountered Oldfield before, I think you'll find he gives modern popular musicians a run for their money; the videos featured here are for songs that are 20-30 years old.

First up is the song that started it all for me. It's got a great video to boot. Like someone said in the comments at YouTube "This is ART, man!"




Next is a video using a segment of "Tubular Bells II". It spotlights three things Mike Oldfield is most famous for: Great instrumentals, creative use of guitars, and the "Exorcist Theme" (of which this is one of the many variations he's created over the years).


(Of course, Mike Oldfield fans know that the "Exorcist Theme" is really the "Tubular Bells Theme".)


Next is the video for the single version of title track from "Heaven's Open". It's not anything like what I would have visualized, but it's an interesting effort for an interesting song.




Here's a collaboration between Mike Oldfield and Jon Anderson of Yes. Enjoy the trippy video with its quirky animation and weird cinematic trickery, and wait for the ripping guitar solo from Oldfield.




Oldfield has so far only scored one film--"Tubular Bells" predates its use in "The Exorcist"--and here's a selection of that music, along with a video. The film was "The Killing Fields" and the track is titled "Etude."





Finally (for now, at least) here's a song with vocals by Anita Hegerland.


(And if you want more, here are a couple of Oldfield's other collaborations with Hegerland.)

Mike Oldfield and the Queen of Chance

Here are some videos and versions of Mike Oldfield's great tune "To France."

First, the original song with vocals by Maggie Reilly.


Here's a dance version of the tune from Novaspace. The video's pretty neat, but I wonder if they knew what the song is about?)


The version from Blind Guardian doesn't have much of a video, but it's a great listen.

Great Mike Oldfield songs with trippy videos

Here are a pair of classic tunes from the great Mike Oldfield with vocals by Anita Hegerland.

Mike Oldfield and Anita Hegerland

Mike Oldfield and the Moonlight Shadows

Here are some videos for and covers of one of the best songs from the great Mike Oldfield. Although his past two releases have disappointed me, I hold out hope that he will rediscover the creative well-spring that brought the world "Hergest Ridge," "Ommadawn, "Five Miles Out," "Crisis," "Discovery," and numerous other great musical works.

First, here's the original video for the original single version of "Moonlight Shadow." Part of it seems to work contrary to the dark nature of the song, but overall the music and the visuals compliment each other nicely.



Here's a remix of the song by Italian producer and DJ Gigi D'Agostino. More often than not, remixes are inferior to the original song as they stretch it out and dilute it, sapping the life from even the greatest of music. Not so with this effort. D'Agostino brings a freshness to "Moonlight Shadow" that is worthy of the original.


Here's a cover by Aselin Debison set to a homemade video by a YouTuber. Not a bad cover, with a Celtic flavor that I think Oldfield would appreciate.


Polish metal band Pathfinder covered "Moonlight Shadow," providing us with a version so overblown it seems like a parody. Still, the durability of this great song is evident, and you'll be entertained. (I don't know if you'll be as amused as I was, but I hope so.)


Finnish speed metal band Deathlike Silence slowed down a bit when they covered "Moonlight Shadow." It's not a bad version, but they made the mistake of replacing the guitar solo bridge from the original song with some mess of their own creation.



Here's a techno version of the song by E-Rotic. It's apparently very popular with anime fans--there are literally dozens of different YouTube videos featuring this version with everything from anime stills to clips from computer games or anime used as visuals. Of the ones I checked out, I liked this one the best. It uses footage from "Vampire Hunter D."


Finally, bringing us full circle, we have Mike Oldfield's original song again, this time set to clips from the Dr. Who episode where Billie Piper's character Rose got stranded in an alternate universe. If you didn't know better, you might the music and the visuals were created to go together.


Fun Fact: Mike Oldfield has explained that the song was inspired by the movie "Houdini," starring Tony Curtis.