Music of the Spheres
 | Average Customer Rating: Recommend Mike Oldfield has always been famed for his unconventional approach to music. Throughout his career he has consistently broken musical boundaries, and with Music of the Spheres he continues to do so. Taking influences from Holst and Rachmaninov as much as Steve Reich or William Orbit, this piece is classical in nature, but yet is also immediately identifiable as classic Mike Oldfield. Using a full concert orchestra and choir, and with solo parts from… Product details and pricing info |
|---|
30 Customer Reviews Posted
- Great music!!
- Mike is a genius, and here we see it again. Good mixing and music make it one of my favorites.
- 2008-04-29, 1 of 3 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Terrible
- Oldfield has produced a limited number of great albums: "TB", "Hergest Ridge", "Ommadawn", "Incantations", and "Amarok". Everything after 1978 - with the sole exception of "Amarok" - has been a huge dissapointment. Gee, this man's music for a short while was almost close to Reich, Glass, Adams (when having released Incantations) in quality.
"Music of the Spheres" is another dissapointment. It is not comparable to the well done "Orchestral TB". No, not even remotely. Instead it sounds as if someione was in desperate need for cheap background music for a psychatrist's waiting room. That's all there is to it. A pale, pale shadow of the genius Oldfield once was. - 2008-04-25, 3 of 14 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- CLASSICAL WITH A PUNCH
- BY FAR THIS MUSIC IS THE BEST OF ONE OF THE BEST COMPOSERS (AND MUSICIANS) IN MY OWN HUMBLE OPINION. FINANALLY HE HAS PUT TOGETHER ALL THE FANTASTIC MUSIC HE HAS INTO A PERFECTLY SCRIPTED MULTI FACECTED PIECE AND USED AN ORCHESTRA TO PUT IT INTO MUSIC.... BRILLANT I AM LOVING IT
- 2008-04-25, 1 of 4 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Refreshing!
- It's not fair for me to say that I'm no fan of Mike Oldfield's music since, before now, I had never heard anything by him - not even Tubular Bells. I had seen his name tossed around, especially in conjunction with Tubular Bells, but I never felt intrigued enough to seek out anything by him. I more or less disregarded him as a New Ager with zero musical sensibilities.
How wrong I was!
I came about this piece of music by sheer chance, it seems. In fact, I probably wouldn't have purchased the album if Amazon hadn't included it among its recommendations for things I "might also like." I checked out a couple of reviews both here and on iTunes, and it seemed that everybody who had listened to it couldn't say hardly a negative thing about it. Wondering "what gives," I decided to drop a little cash and see precisely what everyone was chattering about.
It turns out, what everyone is chattering about happens to be one of the most spectacular, luscious musical landscapes I've heard in quite a long time - and given that I'm almost constantly purchasing new music ranging from composed music (such as this) to hip-hop/rap, I feel this is quite a compliment.
This music defies physics: time altogether seems to pass by slowly, but not dull. No, far from it: every second is enjoyable! From the warm, celestial textures of the opening "Harbinger" to the soothing, blissful vocal of Hayley Westenra featured on "On My Heart," as I listen to this music I truly feel as if I'm swimming through atmospheres, dancing among the stars, and watching a divine interplay among the heavens. I'm not exaggerating. These metaphors are completely valid! The music vaguely reminds me of some of Aaron Copland's classic works ("Appalachian Spring"), and the way the vocals are utilized reminds me of Howard Shore ("Lord of the Rings") which may or may not prove to be an unfair comparison. There are hints of Oldfield's foray in to New Age as I'm reminded of Adiemus during certain sections, but I definitely don't think this is a bad thing. In all actuality, Oldfield's approach to classically composed music is refreshing given the rather stagnant nature such music has been in: either contemporary composers are selling us watered-down music in the traditional vein, or we're being exposed to unnecessary avant-garde hybrids. It's nice to hear a piece of music by a gentleman who hasn't got his head stuck in the clouds of Julliard.
Even if I never hear another work by Mike Oldfield as long as I live, this one will reign supreme among my other treasured works by the likes of Pärt, Copland, Glass, and even Sibelius. - 2008-04-23, 20 of 22 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Greate, but Tubular Bells again
- I'm enjoying Mike's music for about last 15 years and I think he is one of the best musicians/composers ever existed. The album's music and sound are superb. The only disappointed is that I'd love to hear more new works and half of the album is really "Orchestral Tubular Bells 2". No doubt Tubular Bells is musical masterpiece, but how many flavors of it can be produced?
- 2008-04-23, 1 of 4 people found this review helpful, Rated:
