The Best of Mike Oldfield: Elements

Track Listings
 
1. Tubular Bells [Opening Theme]
2. Family Man
3. Moonlight Shadow
4. Heaven's Open
5. Five Miles Out
6. To France
7. Foreign Affair
8. In Dulci Jubilo
9. Shadow on the Wall
10. Islands
11. Etude
12. Sentinel
13. Ommadawn [Excerpt]
14. Incantation, Pt. 4 [Excerpt]
15. Amarok [Excerpt]
16. Portsmouth

The Best of Mike Oldfield: Elements,Mike Oldfield,Virgin Records,Popular Music,Prog-Rock/Art Rock,Progressive Electronic,Rock

The Best of Mike Oldfield: Elements

The Best of Mike Oldfield: Elements
The Best of Mike Oldfield: Elements
Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • Mike Oldfield . Oh yes he is in the right "element" on this one
  • Falls short, but also paints a picture different than some would like to see
  • Innovative rock musician
  • Good for "Tubular Bells" and "Sentinel"
  • very short Mike's anthology...Could be great as a 2cd set...
 The Best of Mike Oldfield: Elements
Mike Oldfield
Manufacturer: Virgin Records Us
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

GeneralGeneral | New Age | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Rock | Styles | Music
Progressive RockProgressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music
ElectronicElectronic | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music
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Similar Items:
  1. The Songs of Distant Earth
  2. The Millennium Bell
  3. The Complete Mike Oldfield
  4. Voyager
  5. Incantations

ASIN: B000008J3I
Release Date: 1994-02-08

Tracks:

  1. Tubular Bells (Opening Theme)
  2. Family Man
  3. Moonlight Shadow
  4. Heaven's Open
  5. Five Miles Out
  6. To France
  7. Foreign Affair
  8. In Dulci Jubilo
  9. Shadow On The Wall
  10. Islands
  11. Etude
  12. Sentinel
  13. Ommadawn (Exerpt)
  14. Incantations Part Four Excerpt)
  15. Amarok (Excerpt)
  16. Portsmouth

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Mike Oldfield . Oh yes he is in the right "element" on this one.......2006-02-15

The best of Mike Oldfield, is a great milestone in his career from early 70 th`s to the early 90 th`s. In other words this CD is a great introduction to his many great compositions. Track 1 Tubular Bells (opning theme) has a very hypnotic theme, horrific and makes you shiver( it was also used as the theme song in Friedkin`s horror film classic(The Exorsist). A moody and creepy melody. Track 2 Family Man is an another cup of tea, with it`s very open soundpicture, with enough space to put in different synth blop`s here and
there, to quicken it up. It has a great female vocal with guts and glory all trough. Track 3 Moonlight Shadow is the ultimate "summer hit song". It paint`s your soul with happiness, joy, and glory. Maggie Realy`s vocal with the right "dash" of "ecco sound" shines on this one. Track 4 Heavens Open, follow the poppy trends as the too tracks before this one. It`s anyway a little letdown because it stand`s still in away. The theme is to much repitition in away. Track 5 Five Miles Out, is anyway a nice gem, with one of the most "airy and open space " soundpicture i have heard. It`s a treat for your ears, and will kick your`e soul in outher space, at least for 4.14 minutes. Track 6 To France is a nice little treat, with Maggies vocal as a "drive motor" all trough the song. Track 7 Foreign affair, has much of the same quality elements included. Few distorting elements with to many instruments not fighting for theire places, to bring out the clear and solid vocal of Maggie Reiley. Track 8 In dulici jubilio is a nice sweet "shakesperean" inspired song.
Easy come easy go, but a sweety in a way. Short and concise . Track 9 Shadow on the wall, is creepy and horrific with a devilish vocal. It has an atmosphere all trough that creeps slowly in too your soul, and paint your thought`s with shadows with a big S.. Track 10 Island, with Bonny Tyler on vocal bring`s more sunshine into your`e soul`. A good popsong this one. From track 11 to track 16 it`s time for the more experimental and weird ( in more or less positive way)Oldfield. Track 11 Etude: well, easy come and easy go joy. Track 12 Sentinel, is very similar to Tubular Bells, but bring`s out a certain flair when you listen to it. Track 13 Ommadawn is Oldfield in a "natures own" mood. Inspired in a way, but not to much variations. Track 14 Incantations has a poor man`s `"carribean" touch all over. A let down in a way. Track 15 Amarok. To many drumming sound, and not much more. The vocal choir doesn`t fit at all.
Track 16 Portsmouth has that "shakesperean" middelage feel over it, all trough. Except for a few letdown`s. Mike Oldfield is in the right "element "on this one.

4 out of 5 stars Falls short, but also paints a picture different than some would like to see.......2005-06-28

Like most compilations for just about any artist, this sampling of the works of multi-instrumentist Mike Oldfield falls short in its attempt to cover the artist's best works. A good example of this is the fact that it only provides a "taste" of the "Tubular Bells", only including 4:18 minutes of its opening, when it was his most transcendental work, one who earned him a grammy, boosted him into stardom and helped turn Virgin records into a prominent label.

An attempt is made at covering bits and pieces of his work from most of his periods, and some listeners may end up being dissapointed by what they encounter (or by what they miss) here. The truth is that Mike Oldfield reminds me a good deal of Alan Parsons. Both have been outstanding artists who rose to fame for something great they did in the mid-seventies (Parsons' most famous landmark being his participation as Engineer for Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon"). But both have also had their times during which they put out music that wasn't up to the expectations of those who idealized them. At the end of the day, the balance in the album tends to be less than optimal, but mostly due to its limited selection more than anything else.

While not a bad album, I probably would recommend getting his originals or shooting for his box. There are definitely at least a couple of songs that do not belong in here, but it's mostly the missing songs the ones that you are not getting if you get "Elements".

5 out of 5 stars Innovative rock musician.......2005-01-20

Mike Oldfield, a multi-instrumentalist, achieved worldwide success with his debut, Tubular bells, but never came close to matching its success again although his albums continued to sell well in his British homeland. This collection of his music from the seventies, eighties and early nineties shows Mike's development as an artist. Although titled Elements, this is really a Best of package.

The set opens with the opening theme to Tubular bells and includes his four British top ten hits (In Dulce Jubilo, Portsmouth, Moonlight shadow, Sentinel) as well as Family man, which was only a minor UK hit for Mike but which became a top twenty UK hit via a cover by Hall and Oates. Some of Mike's lesser hits are missing including the UK top twenty hit, Blue Peter, which is Mike's interpretation of the theme to the long-running children's TV series - it was even used on the TV for a few years.

The vastly under-appreciated Maggie Reilly (a brilliant soprano) sings on some of Mike's records, most notably Moonlight shadow, an extremely sad song albeit with a bouncy tune. Another brilliant guest vocalist is Bonnie Tyler, featured on Islands.

While you might wish to buy the original Tubular bells album in its entirety, this sampling of Mike's best music spanning nearly twenty years shows plenty of variety.

2 out of 5 stars Good for "Tubular Bells" and "Sentinel".......2004-06-15

I was dissapointed when I heard this album. I heard that his album Tubular Bells was a popular album and I remember hearing "Sentinel" on the radio. So, I bought the cassette just to give it a try. After hearing the album, I was dissapointed that Sentinel was different than the other songs on the album. There were a few good instrumentals but I still didn't like most of the album. Mike Oldfield uses a unique mixture of sounds in his music and he includes a few voices as well. Some of his songs I would not even classify as new age, like "Shadow On The Wall" since it sounds like rock music and doesn't have good vocals. Even if you are a Mike Oldfield fan, I would still recomment listening to the album before you buy it.

3 out of 5 stars very short Mike's anthology...Could be great as a 2cd set..........2003-04-23

Mike is not only famous for his long epic Tunes ("Tubular bells","Incantations").In eighties he rebuilt his career by playing Short pop songs and from time to time more long tracks("Taurus I" from "qe2" or "The wind chimes").this album mostly Spots MIke's LAter Career.
There are all of his famous radio-friendly songs - "MOONLIGHT SHADOW"(absolute classic),"HEAVENS OPEN","FOREIGN AFFAIR","ISLANDS","TO FRANCE","FAMILY MAN",some non-album traditional irish melodies (Charming "PORTSMOUTH" and "IN DULCI JUBILO".Both appeared on "The complete" and his other compilations) and my two al time favourites : Genious "FIVE MILES OUT" and a 5 minutes long version of a powerfull rock "SHADOW ON THE WALL". Well, i prefer Oldfield's both faces - the pop composer and great instrumetal aranger, so i enjoy it all.But here is why i gave it 3 stars.
His long instrumental pieces can be only listened as they are.:TUBULAR BELLS OPENING TUNE" is very poor - 4 minutes out of 25 of part one can not represent this album, such rich and wonderfull.The same with "OMMADAWN" and "AMAROK".If somebody in virgin records would be much wiser he could create a double album.One cd with pop and other with his instrumentals.It happened in 2002 ("collection").
It was my first Mike Oldfield record i bought.Now i am his big fan, and i must say many of his great songs vanished from here (Where is his famous "SHEBA" or "IN HIGH PLACES"???) but i can recomend this to you...maybe you will be as amazed as i was when i first heard the hard tribal drums of "AMAROK excerpt"....
Elements: The Best of Mike Oldfield 1973-1991
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Una joya de la música New Age
  • I need more stars!
  • The largest Oldfield's collection avaible
  • Hmmmmm...
  • Outstanding Oldfield
 Elements: The Best of Mike Oldfield 1973-1991
Mike Oldfield
Manufacturer: Virgin Records Us
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

GeneralGeneral | New Age | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Rock | Styles | Music
Progressive RockProgressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music
ElectronicElectronic | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music
GeneralGeneral | Rock | Box Sets | Stores | Music
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  1. Amarok
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ASIN: B0000072NW
Release Date: 1993-11-16

Tracks:

  1. Tubular Bells, Pt. 1
  2. Tubular Bells, Pt. 2
  3. Hergest Ridge [Excerpt]
  4. In Dulci Jubilo
  5. Portsmouth
  6. Vivaldi Concerto in C

Tracks:

  1. Ommadawn, Pt. 1
  2. On Horseback
  3. William Tell Overture
  4. Argiers
  5. First Excursion
  6. Sailor's Hornpipe
  7. Incantation, Pt. 1
  8. I'm Guilty
  9. Path
  10. Blue Peter
  11. Woodhenge
  12. Punkadiddle [Live]
  13. Polka [Live]

Tracks:

  1. Platinum, Pt. 3 & 4
  2. Arrival
  3. Taurus
  4. QE2
  5. Wonderful Land
  6. Sheba
  7. Five Miles Out
  8. Taurus II
  9. Family Man
  10. Mount Teidi
  11. Peak
  12. Crises
  13. Moonlight Shadow
  14. Foreign Affair

Tracks:

  1. Shadow on the Wall
  2. Taurus II
  3. Crime of Passion
  4. Jungle Gardenia
  5. To France
  6. Afghan
  7. Tricks of the Light [Instrumental]
  8. Etude
  9. Evacuation
  10. Legend
  11. Islands
  12. Wind Chimes, Pt. 1
  13. Flying Start
  14. Magic Touch
  15. Earth Moving
  16. Far Country
  17. Holy
  18. Amarok
  19. Heaven's Open

Album Details

4CD Box Collection.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Una joya de la música New Age.......2004-08-13

Definitivamente es un box set que todos los amantes de guitarras deberían tener. Desde clásicos como Tubular Bells, hasta lo producido por Oldfield en 1992 se ven recopilados en esta caja de 4 discos... Lo logré conseguir por suerte, ya que es muy escaso. Si tienes la oportunidad de comprarlo, no lo dudes. Satisfacción Garantizada!

5 out of 5 stars I need more stars!.......2003-11-27

This hard-to-find box is something really special for all music aficionados, not only Oldfield's fans.
It covers a wide landscape of Mike's long and successful career. It is not a "Greatest Hits" collection, it is more of a set of different "pictures" of Mike's career until previous recording of Tubular Bells II. Of course, it includes the whole original Tubular Bells (the only complete record included).
It includes a nice quality booklet, with a short biography as well as lots of photos. The box itself is really nice.
Buy it!

4 out of 5 stars The largest Oldfield's collection avaible.......2003-08-23

Definitly this 4 discs set is the Biggest Oldfield's Best of album.it contains most of his biggest hits,even whole "tubular bells".the addition of singles not avaible alesewhere like the disco dancefloor hit "guilty", lovely instrumentals "Path" or "Legend" (one of my favourites songs).
But hte compilation is missing many of his hits that were released only on Vinyls and were not officially released on Cd like the phenomenal "pictures in the dark","shine" (with jon anderson","Music from video wall","In the pool","bones"...there are many of songs that are wanting to be released and are hiding somwhere in Internet, but Virgin never really thought of Releasing the Complete b-sides and rare tracks set.That kind of compilation is a definitive wanted addition to Mike's Oldfield collection - so if you are an advanced Oldfield fan "Elements box set" is not good for you because propably you have already most of Rare songs from Internet.if you are a begginer Oldfield Fan, there never was a better way to get into the music of this great musican.and of ocurse whole Box set is looking lovely - big book inside with nice photos and biography,the package is beautifull too.

3 out of 5 stars Hmmmmm..........2001-12-05

The idea of an Oldfield collection is silliness!!!!
If anyone is familiar with their instrumental albums, get them in order!
Mixing the instrumentals with the pop-songs is a terrible idea.
Bad selection, stay away from these kind of collections!
The only Oldfield collection I could imagine is a collection of their pop-songs, but there is no best of like that unfortunately.
This Oldfield compilation is better than other compilations of his, that's why it has 3 stars.

5 out of 5 stars Outstanding Oldfield.......1999-11-19

This is the best collection of Mike available, and what you get for your money is certainly worth it. Including rare tracks and remixes, plus all the Hits and Lengthy excerpts of Classics like Hergest Ridge, Ommadawn, Incantations, Platinum, Crises, and even the brilliant Wind Chimes, plus an added incentive, the whole of Tubular Bells 1. The only down side is that this collection only covers up to Heavens Open, which means all Oldfield between Tubular Bells 2 and The forthcoming Millenium bell is nowhere to be seen. Heres hoping they will plug that gap for a future release. As for the competition, dont even consider The Complete Mike Oldfield, it does not come within 50 streets of this far superior release, even with the unbelievable running time, 4 Cds worth of Oldfield at his best, the excerpts are longer than on any other collection, and everything is more or less here in one form or another. This is Outstanding Oldfield with his Outstanding Best.

Pop Music:

  1. The Blue Planet
  2. Thunderstorm
  3. Tubular Bells
  4. Voice of the Four Winds
  5. Voices
  6. Vonette's Holiday Harp Music
  7. Water Music
  8. White Winds
  9. WINTER REVERIES
  10. Wolf Canyon

Pop Music

pop music

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