| Track: | Rating: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Taurus 1 | | | | | |
| 2. Sheba | | | | | |
| 3. Conflict | | | | | |
| 4. Arrival | | | | | |
| 5. Wonderful Land | | | | | |
| 6. Mirage | | | | | |
| 7. QE2 | | | | | |
| 8. Celt | | | | | |
| 9. Molly | | | | | |
Strings and Choir on "Arrival" arranged by David Bedford. Leader of Strings Dick Studt. Choir English Chorale also appears. Horns arranged by David Hentschel.
Mike Oldfield's QE2, released in 1980, stands as somewhat of a transitional album in his career. Somewhere between the extended instrumental suites of his earlier career and the more pop-oriented material which would emerge on his early 1980s albums, this work proves that juxtapositions of the two need not necessarily result in disaster. That QE2 was released fairly close to Genesis's Duke, a similar transitional work, must be regarded as quite unusual.
QE2 alternates between tracks which give an "Oldfield treatment" to poppish tunes, and those which condense his normal themes into times normally associated with pop works. Perhaps he was simply practising for the partial capitulation to the pop market in his subsequent albums. One way or the other, though, most of the tracks on this album are extremely good, and a tribute to Oldfield's abilities to synthesize the two forms into a worthwhile whole.
The flagship track of the album is "Taurus 1", a prog extravaganza work that travels from Mandolin imitations of Spanish Guitar, Celtic melodies, straightforward prog tracks (with Phil Collins doing a worthwhile job on drums), African percussion effects, and further Celtic folk melodies as the track reaches its conclusion. The construction of the track in excellent, and the music which results no less so. One might find a bit of fault in Oldfield's decision to include a few inappropriate power chords at the beginning of the electric guitar section after the "full-band prog" section, as well as the appearance of a vaguely irritating drum machine sound (undoubtedly the same as used in Anthony Phillips's 1984), but these complaints are fairly minor. The essence of the track is quite good, and most of the embellishments are quite worthwhile.
"Sheba" is at first dominated by the presence of Oldfield's vocoder, to which synth and African drums accompaniments are quickly added. Following this, Maggie Riley is allowed to emerge as a dominant figure in the track, singing phonetic lyrics prior to the vocoder's return at the end. Collins and Oldfield provide decent background, but this is primarily a vocal track... and a good one at that.
"Conflict" begins with the African drums again in the foreground, this time yielding forth a classic lead guitar line from Oldfield. Tim Cross provides a few decent synth lines, but Oldfield's guitar work is clearly the showcase in this track. An easy highlight of the album.
At this juncture, a rather curious work manifests itself. "Arrival", originally an instrumental track by ABBA, suddenly makes an appearance on the album; I've not heard the original, though I somewhat doubt that it would possess the "Celtified" treatment that it is here given by Oldfield. Although a bit of the saccharine tastes of the original writers are invariably filtered through, Oldfield nevertheless does decent work in providing texture for the piece. An interesting diversion, I suppose.
"Wonderful Land", written by Jerry Lordan (who?), is primarily a guitar showcase piece, switching somewhat to a more "tropical" oriented piece towards its second half (with a power restatement of the lead motif returning towards the end). Not a highlight of the album, but still good.
"Mirage" and "QE2" return the album to the principle of Oldfield's usual material, focusing on a showcase of instruments, sounds and textures, compressed into moderately brief spaces of time. The former work is notable for a haunting lead melody on Oldfield's part. The latter does not begin in a terribly impressive manner, but quickly develops into something well beyond its initial promise -- the 13/8 section of the track is quite interesting. While the ending of the piece is somewhat anthemic (in a moderately commercial way), the melody involved therein is still typical of Oldfield's best work.
"Celt" is structurally similar to "Sheba", although with Riley here playing a slightly less dominant role. The African drums appear once again, though at a slightly off-kilter speed. The phonetic vocals make another appearance (could Maggie Riley have been the inspiration for Elisabeth Frasier?), with Oldfield taking another soaring electric guitar part this time. The album then ends with "Molly", a simple-yet-effective piece played mostly on electric guitar. It isn't the most substantial thing here, but it's a nice way of ending the album on an understated note.
After QE2, Oldfield would produce Five Miles Out -- a work which paradoxically featured more commercial material, and also brought a return of the side-long suites for which he had been originally known. Crises (see tentative review number 1) continued this trend, although not quite as successfully. In the light of these releases, QE2 might well be regarded as the consolidation of existing talents prior to a change in direction.
No matter, though. QE2 should be a worthwhile purchase for almost all Oldfield fans, whether their primary focus in on the earlier or poppier material. The only ones who might experience difficulties would be those whose primary focus is Earth Moving...
(review originally posted to alt.music.yes on 16 June 1997)