Music of the Spheres | Mike Oldfield

Music of the Spheres | Mike Oldfield | Mike Oldfield - 'Spheres"

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Music of the Spheres

	Music of the Spheres Mike Oldfield Decca, 2008 average customer review:based on 30 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

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 Mike himself on guitar, legendary soprano Hayley Westenra and renowned pianist Lang Lang, this is a work with huge emotional and musical scope. The title of the piece is a reference to something that Mike feels strongly: that all music should aim to represent the spriritual, or otherworldly elements of life: something beyond the mundane and everyday. In this he has clearly succeeded. Music of the Spheres is by turns epic, tender, mournful and triumphant. It is the work of a composer who above all can make beautiful and substantial music, regardless of genre or instrumentation.

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Music of Spheres

One of the best cd's i now own. This is an Orchestral venture that is a timeless piece of music that takes you on a journey of so many emotions. I feel it is the best creation Mike has composed. I write this so that Mike Oldfield receives more of the credit he so rightfully deserves. This cd has brought us much enjoyment and

Mike Oldfield - 'Spheres"

Heard this CD while traveling on tour in the UK. I was very taken with it, and bought it when I got home.
I can't believe how well it went with the English countryside as we traveled. Now it causes me to harken back to that trip!
The music, in my opinion, is very beautiful with lots of different instrumentation and voices. There has to something everyone would love on the album.

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nice addition

The latest of Mike Oldfield's work is a nice addition to his collection of music, definitely would recommend buying this cd!

Forutnately I was wrong!

Never really cared for Mike Oldfield's previous works, I enjoyed Tubular Bells the song but not the Tubular Bells album. I own "The Best of" album but wasn't really inspired enough by that to purchase any of his other albums. So when I purchased "Music of the Spheres" I felt I was taking a real chance and might not enjoy it - fortunately I was wrong. Strong melodies are supported by orchestra and choir. It's like a sound track to a movie where they used only the most beautiful and melodic pieces. This is not Tubular Bells and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys beautiful orchestral music.

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Tubular Bells (Again).

I like Oldfield, I have all of his albums including this one, but "Music Of The Spheres" is just more of the same. Oldfield has been spinning his creative wheels for over a decade now. I'd say the last Oldfield album I really enjoyed was 1994's "The Songs Of Distant Earth". Since then, Oldfield has been doing variations on the same themes with "Music Of The Spheres" being pleasant, but as another reviewer said, not innovative.

Yes, Oldfield utilizes real instruments and an orchestra and opera singer, but when it's all said and done it's not memorable. Some tracks standout more than others, and for me that moment comes in the middle of the album with "On My Heart" and "Aurora". I know I'm going to be lambasted for what I'm going to say next, but I'd really like to hear Oldfield utilize singers again and make more pop albums like "Five Miles Out", "Crises", "Discovery", "Islands" and "Earth Moving" as much as many fans would gasp in horror. It's been almost 20 years since he tried his hand at making a pop album, and I still think Oldfield excels at making good pop songs.

So, "Music Of The Spheres" is merely a rote exercise. Pleasant, inoffensive, average Oldfield. It did not excite me as some of his past work has. Good, but not above average or great.

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