CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

Tubular Bells

from: Brilliant Classics

Release Date April 01, 2008
Although I enjoy piano versions of music, this album was just not the same for me as the original new age concept music. Oldfield has commented in his autobiography that the insight which gave him his first two albums seems in some ways to have been lost forever, and for me there is simply nothing like the original versions of Tubular Bells and Hergest Ridge.

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

Phoenix

by: Asia

Release Date April 15, 2008
I ususally don't give bad reviews, but I had to sound off on this. I am a big Asia fan. I stuck by them when the put out Keepin' The Summer Alive. I was glad to see their reunion and resurgence over the past few years. I saw them in concert last year, and they blew me away. I even liked both ICON albums. When I heard they were recording I was overjoyed. Then I heard the album. As one British music critic put it (and he is usually very fair in his reviews) - "this album makes Air Supply sound metal!" There is no spark here. The album hardly rocks. Where is Carl Palmer's great driving playing and exciting drum fills? Where are Steve Howe's usually mind-blowing guitar solos? Do these guys think they are Chicago circa 1983? that's what this ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

Light + Shade

by: Mike Oldfield

Release Date November 01, 2005
There are several absolutely gorgeous tracks on this album, including my favourite "Sunset". There are some less good too, but worth buying in my opinion,

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

Symphony

by: Sarah Brightman

Release Date January 29, 2008
There's not much that can be said about this album that someone hasn't said in some form before me. Personally, I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I did Harem. For those who enjoy her arias, the music on this CD is substantially inferior to Timeless. That being said, I haven't seen anyone address the song Forbidden Colours or the Japanese packaging. On the side of the packaging, there really isn't much to say. The booklet is essentially the same, with the added inclusion of the white sheet of lyrics in Japanese. The back of the digipak only lists 13 tracks. Only on the CD itself, which is black and looks virtually identical to the US version, is the 14 track listed. I will admit that the colors on the pictures inside the CD case do seem a bit more vivid and, as such, are ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

The Songs of Distant Earth

by: Mike Oldfield

Release Date February 06, 1996
I originally(many years ago) bought this on tape,I must have let someone "borrow" it and it was never returned,and so this CD was like visiting an old friend who I had not seen for years.It is still very good and really worth listening to(unlike some of his later rubbish)

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

Echoes of Light and Shadow

by: David Arkenstone

Release Date June 24, 2008
David Arkenstone has released many albums throughout his music career. But in the last several years, since Sketches from an American Journey, I have found the more recent ones to be repetitive, the same blends and drones with maybe just a few handful of compositions that are noteworthy. Some Arkenstone fans may disagree with me on that. In Echoes of Light and Shadow, he appears to have experimented with some new sounds and a stronger central theme that makes the new recording more exciting and appealing to the senses.

If you are familiar with the work of Diane Arkenstone, you may recognize the opening track, "Secret on the Moors", as a remake of Diane's "Transformation" from her Healing: Mind, Body, Spirit album, a now out-of-print recording released by the NorthSound ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

Booster

by: Tangerine Dream

Release Date May 13, 2008
Virtually every song of this very good and diverse genre TD 2 CD set was performed by Edgar Froese. He's essentially the only remaining member of Tangerine Dream for the past two years. Edgar's the patriarch of electronic music. On "Booster" he uses his boundless keyboard, synth and guitar musical skills to deliver several masterful soundscapes. He has the muli-talented virtuosity and autonomy to lead Tangerine Dream all by himself. He has mastered every niche of their sound.

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

Changeling

by: Mike Oldfield

Release Date May 01, 2008
Oldfield's music has been a big part of my life since 1973, and although I've been vaguely aware of his various psychological difficulties -- shyness, panic attacks, borderline autism -- I never thought much about them. His autobiography deals frankly with them in illuminating detail, more than it deals with his music or musical inspiration. He is a singular artist and these insights into his psyche make for fascinating reading.

Unfortunately (as another reviewer noted) Michael has chosen to write without a ghost writer. Surprisingly for someone so capable of weaving musical lines together, his writing is scattershot and ill-organized. Incidents from his childhood and adulthood collide, without common themes, and he frequently takes off on tangents which interrupt the flow. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

Ommadawn

by: Mike Oldfield

Release Date July 11, 2000
Mike Oldfield's third studio recording marks the end of the most creative phase of his career. "Tubular Bells" explored an aggressive and improvised world of chaos and turmoil. "Hergest Ridge" presented listeners with the genteel and serene flip side of that world. "Ommadawn" is a step outward into a much larger and all encompassing world. It combines both the energy and serenity of his first two albums, but importantly expresses itself through shifting ethnic backdrops. Oldfield is for the first time acknowledging and utilising a `world music' ethic, with Celtic influences sitting comfortably with African influences.

Many critics have seen the explosive finale to Side One as representing some form of cathartic rebirth for Oldfield, and certainly post "Ommadawn" he would ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

Nine Lives

by: Steve Winwood

Release Date April 29, 2008
Steve still has it! Not a whole lot of broken ground here, but solid music with great percussion, and classic organ. His voice is still as good as when he was with Spencer Davis doing "Gimme some lovin". Nice surprise.