Kevin Ayers & The Whole World - May I?

Grabado del programa "Old Grey Whistle Test" de la televisión inglesa, por el año 1972, en el cual podéis contemplar juntos a David Bedford y al propio Mike Oldfield al bajo.

From "Old Grey Whistle Test" British TV program, certainly in 1972, in which you can see David Bedford and Mike Oldfield on bass guitar playing together.

Jeff Wayne - Spartacus (The Musical) (1992)

El mismo que varios años atrás sorprendiera al mundo entero con su grandilocuente versión musical de la inquietante y exitosa novela de H. G. Wells “La Guerra De Los Mundos”, el productor musical y compositor Jeff Wayne, quien nos descubrió a David Essex entre otros artistas en los años 70, así como trabajó para diferentes campañas publicitarias y en sintonías para programas de televisión, entre ellas la de “Good Morning Britain” para la BBC Británica, volvió a trabajar para un musical sobre la historia del esclavo Espartaco, en una historia donde combinan temas de gran poderío sobre la opresión, la desesperación, el amor y la muerte. Para esta obra, Jeff contó con el apoyo de artistas tan dispares como las voces de los actores Anthony Hopkins y Catherine Zeta-Jones (que además canta en el tema “For All Time”) así como de Fish (ex-Marillion) y Ladysmith Black Mambazo. A pesar de este gran elenco de artistas, el disco no tuvo demasiada repercusión, ni siquiera tenía el empaque ni la fuerza del siempre inmenso “The War Of The Worlds”. No obstante, os lo ofrezco aquí para vuestra curiosidad.

For the follow up to “War of the Worlds”, Jeff Wayne brought together once again many of the same ingredients. Talented performers, orchestration, and a strong storyline (in this case the story of Spartacus from the epic film of the same name) all indicated that this would be another fine album.

It is then, all the more surprising that this such a disappointing album. The main problem here is in the quality of the compositions. There is a real dearth of strong melodies, and the performances themselves can be best described as average. Perhaps it was the fact that unlike “War of the Worlds”, the performers here, while highly competent, were not “stars”. It’s only speculation, but perhaps Wayne did not get the expert feedback from the performers this time which he enjoyed previously, and thus the quality control was compromised.

A quick examination of the list of performers reveals that the rock orientated musicians who dominated WOTW are largely missing, to be replaced by generally lesser know performers with dance music backgrounds. Ladysmith Black Mambazo play the part of the "crowd" giving the album a significant "world music" feel. Only Manfred Mann’s Earth Band’s Chris Thompson remains from the WOTW guest singers. If that’s not concerning enough(!), the lead female role is sung (yes sung) and narrated by Catherine Zeta Jones! At the time, she was not nearly as well known as she is these days. To be fair, Jones is actually a pretty good singer in a stage show context, and the album does have the feel of a Lloyd-Webber/Rice musical, rather than a rock extravaganza. On the plus side, Fish (ex-Marillion) also appears, albeit briefly.

The tracks are lengthy but rather drawn out, with too little variety, and some sections become downright boring. The peculiar mixture of dance, world music, orchestration, story telling, stage show and a small amount of rock do not sit particularly well together resulting in a disjointed and unsatisfying mix.

The narration is shared by Anthony Hopkins and CZJ, and while the album tells the story well, it can become a bit tedious. It has to be said too, that while the film was undoubtedly a classic, the story has not transferred well to the audio only medium.

“Spartacus” may appeal to someone who enjoys all the diverse influences include in it. Unfortunately, for me those influences have not been put together in a coherent and enjoyable format, and when seen as a whole, the album fails to inspire. Indeed, inspiration appears to largely lacking from the project as a whole.

The lavish presentation of “War of the Worlds” is continued here, with a well presented booklet and box. © ProgArchives.com



TRACKLISTING:

CD 1
1- Destiny 5.26
2- Animal & Man (Part One) 7.26
3- Animal & Man (Part Two) 8.27
4- For All Time 7.21
5- Whispers 6.20
6- The Eagle & The Hawk 15.28

CD 2
1- Going Home 7.59
2- The Parting Of The Ways 7.09
3- We Carry On 8.23
4- Trust Me 7.22
5- Two Souls With A Single Dream 8.14
6- The Last Battle 8.46
7- The Appian Way 9.44
8- Epilogue (Part One) 1.04
9- Epilogue (Part Two) 1.51

Cómpralo aquí / Buy it here:

- Amazon.com
- Amazon UK
- MP3 Sparks (Disc 1)
- MP3 Sparks (Disc 2)

Sallyangie (Sally & Mike Oldfield) – Children Of The Sun (1968)

5 años antes de su primer disco totalmente en solitario, su exitoso “Tubular Bells”, Mike Oldfield probó suerte en diferentes grupos, comenzando primero formando un dúo junto con su hermana Sally para hacer música folk, durante un breve periodo de tiempo, el justo que necesitaron para grabar un álbum para el sello Transatlantic con el título “Children Of The Sun”, así como un single más. Es un disco lleno de canciones simples por sus letras y con una bisoñez propia de dos adolescentes: Mike tenía entonces 15 años y Sally 19. Con sus guitarras acústicas y sus voces (Mike tenía una buena voz, pero no la suficiente como para marcar la diferencia con su hermana), dieron cuerpo a un álbum bien surtido de temas compuestos por ellos mismos, influenciados en la música tradicional de su país y en temas de corte medieval, lo que se nota en muchas de sus letras, y con la estimada ayuda de varios músicos folk como Terry Cox y Ray Warleigh a la percusión y a la flauta, respectivamente. De este disco sobresalen un par de temas, el que da título al álbum y “A Lover For All Seasons”.

Oh, what would the world be without those humble beginnings? Children of the Sun is the first and final album from The Sallyangie, the debut of Sally Oldfield and her younger brother Mike ("Angie" being his favorite guitar tune at the time) working together as a folk duo. This is one review where I'll have to pull my punches a bit, because otherwise I'd feel like I was slapping around a little kid.

What can you really say about an album that makes Jon Anderson's solo work sound stern? Sally's lyrics, oversaturated with enough fairy tale imagery to drive the entire Disney animation staff to drink. In essence, these really are thinly veiled, hormonally-charged rhapsodies of a teenage girl (from the liner notes, she was 20 when she wrote this, though other sources suggest 18). Sample lyrics? Heh heh...all right, you asked for it. "Hey sweet prince/I love your hair of darkest violet...high king/give me princes to walk by my side" ("Lady Mary"); "My lover's hands are whiter than the wings of a dove/His hair is softest fire that falls in heavenly love" ("Children of the Sun"); "Cos I love you lover/I love you like I love the four high seasons" ("A Lover for All Seasons"); "Hey man let's have a banquet/Don't wanna know your name/You're just my lover...So keep off my lover's moon or he'll blind thee/As he walks in beauty on the water" ("Banquet on the Water"). Um, yeah. Are we detecting a common pattern here?

Mike Oldfield, a mere 15-years old, was already an impressive guitar player for his age, and the bonus disc of this reissue features some "Bron-Yr-Aur"-like acoustic improvisations coupled with an already evident sense of humor. However, just considering his vocals alone on disc one and unintentionally hilarious tracks like "Midsummer Night's Happening" (yes, that's really the title), I wouldn't have blamed him if he exercised the vast wealth he has accumulated over the years to personally ensure that every existing copy of this album was tracked down and destroyed.

In fairness, keeping the twee lyrics, twee vocals, and the occasionally noticeable vocal and guitar flubs off the table, some of the music on here is nice: "Banquet on the Water," "Twilight," and an early version of Sally's "Song of the Healer." I think both Oldfields deserve commendation for being good sports enough to let this large-boned skeleton out of the closet to be circulated among fans. I'm sure for many of us who dabbled in recording things back in our high school days that we couldn't imagine the trauma it would cause us if these were released many decades later for literally all the world to hear. Today, both Sally and Mike properly distance themselves from this album, Sally equating it in the liner notes to having your mother drag out those old family photos when the guests come over. On the other hand, it can be argued that other artists in this progressive idiom turned out startlingly accomplished songwriting efforts at an early age (examples include Mellow Candle's Swaddling Songs or Genesis' Trespass), so maybe I'm being too lenient. In any case, both Oldfields went on to make much worthier albums and attained independent success. Mike struck gold first with his run of albums on the Virgin label and Sally eventually emerged with the magnificent Water Bearer and a Germany-based pop career. © Ground And Sky.

Tracklist:

CD 1:

1. Strangers — 1:14
2. Lady Mary — 3:45
3. Children of the Sun — 5:04
4. A Lover for All Seasons — 3:43
5. River Song — 3:42
6. Banquet on the Water — 4:47
7. Balloons — 5:30
8. Midsummer Night's Happening — 4:08
9. Love in Ice Crystals — 3:07
10. Changing Colours — 0:26
11. Chameleon — 2:25
12. Milk Bottle — 0:34
13. The Murder of the Children of San Francisco — 4:03
14. Twilight Song — 1:18
15. Song of the Healer — 3:00
16. Strangers — 1:14

Disc 1 time: 49:26

CD 2:

1. Children of the Sun (Minus Intro) — 4:07
2. Mrs. Moon and the Thatched Shop — 6:14
3. Branches — 6:50
4. A Sad Song for Rosie — 2:12
5. Colour of the World — 2:28
6. Two Ships — 3:17

Disc 2 time: 25:25

Total time 74:51

Cómpralo aquí / Buy it here:

- CD Universe
- Freakemporium
- Ciao.co.uk

Ignacio Prini – Tubular Bells (ZX Spectrum version)

Una pequeña sorpresa para quienes no se esperaban saber lo que un simple ZX Spectrum de 128k puede hacer sobre una obra tan explícita como el “Tubular Bells” de Mike Oldfield. Esta versión os podrá parecer increíble y extraña a la vez. Como yo mismo personalmente realicé el programa que lo reproduce, en su momento sin ningún interés en hacerlo público, ni mucho menos ganar algo con ello, haciéndolo para mi gozo personal, pensé que éste era un buen momento para hacerlo público (a sabiendas que si esto llega a oidos del propio Mike, posiblemente pueda recibir algún mensaje subliminal pidiendo la retirada del archivo, aunque nunca se sabe lo que puede pasar).

La música que podéis oir aquí fue grabada directamente desde un emulador de Spectrum que cualquiera puede buscar y descargar desde Internet en cualquier web referida al caso, al tiempo que el programa va ejecutándose desde el comienzo. Como en el disco original, el programa está dividido en dos partes, cada una ejecutando cada pieza del disco.

Sé que muchos encontrarán bastante raro esta adaptación, completamente hecha por mí (os lo aseguro), pero os recomiendo que no os dejéis llevar por tecnicismos y purezas varias y probad a escucharlo. Si alguien quiere tener el programa y usarlo en un Spectrum 128k real o en un emulador, se puede encontrar aquí, completamente gratis: http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0014411

A little surprise nobody expected to know what this awesome but awkward version of Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells made with a simple 128k ZX Spectrum computer. As I personally created the program for no public exposure in 1988, and absolutely with no profit, only for my own enjoyment, I thought this was a good moment to make it public. But you may understand I’m offering it totally for free, without any economic purpose. The music you can hear here has been recorded directly using a Spectrum emulator anybody can find elsewhere on the Internet, while the program was running from the beginning. As the original record, the program is divided into two parts, each playing respective ones.

I know you can find this version more than bizarre, well take the antimacassar off the original and try its listening. And if somebody wants to use the program into a real 128k ZX Spectrum or an emulator, can be found here, totally free: http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0014411

Original music © Mike Oldfield, 1973 for Virgin Records Ltd.
This version (P) Ignacio Prini, 1988-1999.

Tracklist:

01. Part One
02. Part Two (Includes “The Sailor’s Hornpipe”)
(128 kbps, 43.15 MB)

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6B9M7DE8

David Bedford – Star’s End (1974)

David Bedford (1937) is a British composer who has pursued two parallel careers, one as an avantgarde composer in the vein of John Cage and one as a popular composer of epic-length melodic fantasies in the vein of Mike Oldfield.

A pupil of Lennox Berkeley at London's Royal Academy Of Music and of Luigi Nono in Venezia, Bedford began by writing music that mirrored the techniques of the 1960s. Two Poems for Chorus (1963) already displayed his love for the choir, while A Dream of the Seven Lost Stars (1965) first betrayed his passion for astronomy. Bedford's eccentric taste and sense of humour was evident in An Exciting New Game For Children Of All Ages, whose development depends on dice, and in With 100 Kazoos, a piece for audience playing a hundred toy kazoos. Music For Albion Moonlight (1970), a chamber work for soprano and septet composed in 1965, was the first one to be released on record.

The mini-album Garden of Love (Voiceprint, 1997) contains the 1970 piece for chamber ensemble and rock group (Kevin Ayers, Mike Oldfield, Robert Wyatt, David Bedford, Lol Coxhill) inspired by William Blake's poetry.

Nurses Songs With Elephants (Dandelion, 1972) collects the title-track, a minimalistic work for ten acoustic guitars, Trona (1967) and Some Bright Stars for Queen's College (1969), a composition for 80 college girls' voices and 27 plastic pipe twirlers.

His music for the opera From Marie Antoinette to the Beatles (1968) somehow introduced him to the world of rock music, and suddenly he was playing keyboards for Kevin Ayers.

A young member of that group, Mike Oldfield, invented a new form with his Tubular Bells, and Bedford decided to follow his example with Star's End (Virgin, 1974), a suite performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The main differences between him and Oldfield were that Bedford was educated at using orchestras and choirs, was more familiar with minimalism and other modern compositional techniques, and was more interested in cosmic themes than in folk themes.

Tracklist:

Star's End (Part One) – 23’48’’
Star's End (Part Two) – 22’54’’

Spotify

Cómpralo aquí / Buy it here:

- Amazon.co.uk
- Amazon.com
- Tesco
- 7-Digital UK
- 7-Digital ES
- MP3 Mixx

David Bedford - The Odyssey (1976)

ES - De lo mejorcito realizado por el compositor David Bedford durante su extensa carrera musical, y doy fe de que se trata de mis favoritos, habiendo escuchado tan solo una parte de su discografía completa. Y motivos para darle un voto positivista a la par que excelso pues son varios: por lo pronto, la historia del disco está basada en la famosa obra de Homero "La Odisea" (ver Wikipedia).

La obra es preciosista y las piezas más destacadas del mismo son "Phaeacian Games", "The Sirens", "Circe's Islands" y el colofón de la misma, "The Battle In The Hall". A destacar la presencia de los guitarristas Mike Oldfield y Andy Summers (de Police).

EN - This is certainly Bedford's most accessible and prog album, and the one I'd advise Mike Oldfield fans and prog fans in general to start their exploration of Bedford's music with.

The album has a distinctly 70s prog feel to it, while still noticably written by someone with a classical / avantgarde background. Synthesizers and Solina Strings abound, beautifully complemented by orchestral instruments and choir. Mike Oldfield lends his unmistakable guitar tone to two tracks. (Intriguingly, Andy Summers, later of The Police, plays on another.) There is no drum kit, only orchestral percussion.

As the title suggests, the album is a musical retelling of the well-known Homeric epic. A lot of the album is rather tranquil, dreamy in mood; the exceptions are the somewhat more lively The Phaeacian Games and The Battle In The Hall. The former will be known to most Oldfield fans through the Collaborations part of the Boxed compilation. I must admit I'm finding it hard to describe the music on this disc; the best I can offer is that it does indeed convey the atmosphere of a story from long, long ago, set in a world very different from that known to us.

The album starts off with an interesting sonic experiment, an ascending scale that never seems to get anywhere, representing the continuous weaving and unweaving of the shroud by Penelope. Next comes the introduction of the album's main theme, a dreamy tune suggesting the unfortunate event that drives Odysseus' ships away from Ithaca, far across the sea. This tune is to reappear several times throughout the album.

The Sirens bears a certain similarity to the final track from Gustav Holst's famous Planets suite, Neptune, the Mystic, in its choral arrangement. (In fact, there's an even stronger similarity with a much lesser known Holst piece, Hymn to the Waters from the Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda.) Here, Oldfield's playing is much more restrained and adds to the piece very effectively.

The final track, The Battle in the Hall, adds an element of vigour and aggression that is largely absent from the rest of the album, providing a climax before a fittingly triumphant conclusion as Odysseus defeats the suitors.

All in all, I definitely consider this album a masterpiece, if a somewhat oddball one. For what it is, I find it to be flawless and therefor deserving of the high rating. It is however certainly an acquired taste. Oldfield fans really should check it out, particularly those that love Hergest Ridge and Incantations. It has an identity all of its own, however. Symphonic Prog fans who can see themselves enjoying an album that is pretty much tranquil throughout, yet manages to keep you interested at all times, should also consider giving it a try.

(C) ProgArchives.

Tracklist:

1. Penelope's Shroud
2. King Aeolus
3. Penelope’s Shroud II
4. The Phaeacian Games
5. Penelope’s Shroud III
6. The Sirens
7. Scylla And Charybdis
8. Penelope’s Shroud IV
9. Circe’s Island
10. Penelope’s Shroud Completed
11. The Battle in the Hall

Escúchalo completo con Spotify / Listen it with Spotify

Cómpralo aquí / Buy it here:

- Amazon USA
- Amazon UK
- CD Universe
- 7-Digital UK
- 7-Digital ES

David Bedford - The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner (1975)

In 1975, Bedford premiered his Rime of the Ancient Mariner, an adaptation of the Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem. It had started life as a proposed children's opera, but he later decided that it would work better as an album recording, released by Virgin. In contrast to his earlier work, which involved more traditional orchestral forces, this work relied on multi-layered electronic keyboards (all played by Bedford), with Mike Oldfield contributing the electric guitar parts and the actor Robert Powell (Mahler, The Thirty-Nine Steps, Jesus of Nazareth, Hannay) narrating. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner was a success, and encouraged Bedford to attempt one more major work merging classical and rock elements.

~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide.

Tracklist:

Part 1 – 20'29"
Part 2 – 20'38"

Escúchalo entero gracias a Spotify / Listen it thanks to Spotify

Cómpralo aquí / Buy it here:

- Amazon UK
- Amazon USA
- CD Universe
- 7-Digital ES
- 7-Digital UK
- Play.com