Artist: Oldfield, Mike
Label: Virgin Records
Release: 1980
Rating: 4.6/5
With QE2, Mike Oldfield finally said goodbye to the sound of the seventies and stepped into a new era of shorter songs and pop hits. Even though Platinum had already shown a big departure from the typical sound Oldfield produced in the seventies, QE2 is where his future really shows itself. For this one, Oldfield gathered around him most of the crew that made up the band on Five Miles Out: Maggie Reilly (still Maggie Riley back then), Mike Frye, Tim Cross and Morris Pert (Brand X). The album also features quite a few famous guests, including Phil Collins (Brand X, Peter Gabriel) and David Hentschel (producer of Genesis). Mike Oldfield himself plays so many instruments on the album that you have to wonder whether he needed any other musicians to help out at all.
The album kicks off with the first part of the Taurus trilogy. It’s a fascinating track where you can pick up on all the typical Oldfield elements. There are loads of rhythm changes, and the structure is meticulously crafted and suitably complex. You can tell Oldfield tried to cram almost as many ideas into a shorter piece as he did into much longer ones (Hergest Ridge, Tubular Bells, Platinum).
The next three songs are fairly short and simple. “Sheba” is gentle, built around just one basic melody, and Maggie Reilly contributes some lovely vocal parts. “Conflict” is a faster affair, almost a kind of Irish dance. Like plenty of prog artists before him, Oldfield also slipped in one classical cover. “Arrival” is a cover of ABBA and shows Oldfield at the peak of his powers as a player. It’s really just one basic melody played on different instruments, so it never gets boring too quickly. These shorter songs may be more simply put together, but the melodies are quality and beautiful, and the whole thing is played brilliantly.
The second half of the album opens with a gorgeously emotional song. Oldfield pours his passion out through the electric guitar, which practically glows. The orchestra also helps make this track even more pleasant. “Mirage” starts out quietly with a charming duel between guitar and vibraphone. Later the tempo picks up and the song gets louder, and it all leads to a fantastic climax at the end. With the title track, I have to ask myself again how Oldfield managed to fit so many ideas into such a short composition. It feels like he’s going to run out of time. It especially tugs at my heartstrings when the bagpipes join the other instruments. “Celt” could be called short but sweet. Its simplicity is what makes it so incredible. The African drums really stand out in it, along with Maggie Reilly’s ever-brilliant voice. After the vocal part, Oldfield plays one of the best guitar lines of his career (for me, the best one), but it doesn’t last long enough (always leave them wanting more). The album closes with a short, endearing little tune for bass guitar and vocoder (vocals). A fitting way to wrap up QE2.
On this record, the English gentleman with a Celtic heart once again stirs up memories of his unwritten homeland. Platinum had practically cut out the folk element, but with QE2 Oldfield went back to what he does best. He combines elements of rock, classical and folk as if it were the most everyday thing in the world. What’s especially interesting is the interplay between folk instruments and the new synthesizers. By all logical principles, this mix shouldn’t work. But it does! And how! Folk rock has never sounded so fresh and so loaded with good vibes. After those self-confidence-boosting seminars, Mike Oldfield has obviously dropped his introspective ramblings and turned to more cheerful tunes that would get even the English Queen on her feet.
Every song on QE2 is outstanding. Even though they’re shorter, the quality is no less. There’s no shortage of sudden tempo changes and quick jumps from one melody to another. All the traits that set Oldfield apart in his best days are back here. The songs are packed with great ideas, and they’re perfectly realized too. Sometimes I think this album is too short for so many excellent ideas, but that’s part of its charm too. I can easily call QE2 yet another masterpiece from this talented composer.
Lineup
Mike Oldfield – acoustic, classical and electric guitar, mandolin, bass, Celtic harp, banjo, pedals, synthesizer, piano, drum programming, concert drum, African drums, rhythm sticks, marimba, vibraphone, bass drum, gong, Northumbrian pipes, vocals, vocoder, tambourine
Guy Barker – trumpet (6, 7)
David Bedford – string and choir arrangements (4, 5)
Phil Collins – drums (1, 2)
Tim Cross – keyboards (3, 8)
Raul d’Oliveira – trumpet (6, 7)
Mike Frye – drums, concert drum (1, 3, 6, 7, 8)
David Hentschel – keyboards, drums, vocals (1, 4, 5, 7), woodwind arrangements (6, 7)
Paul Nieman – trombone (6, 7)
Morris Pert – drums (3)
Maggie Reilly – vocals (1, 2, 4, 8)
Philip Todd – tenor saxophone (6, 7)
Production
Mike Oldfield, David Hentschel
Tracklist
1. Taurus 1 (10:07)
2. Sheba (3:32)
3. Conflict (2:48)
4. Arrival (2:45)
5. Wonderful land (3:37)
6. Mirage (4:39)
7. Q.E. 2 (7:39)
8. Celt (3:04)
9. Molly (1:13)
Album length: 39:24
