Oldfield, Mike - QE2 - Amazon.com Music

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Track Listings

1	Taurus 1
2	Sheba
3	Conflict
4	Arrival
5	Wonderful Land
6	Mirage
7	QE2
8	Celt
9	Molly

Product details

Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.55 x 4.97 x 0.54 inches; 2.83 Ounces
Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ Blue Plate Caroline
Date First Available ‏ : ‎ December 7, 2006
Label ‏ : ‎ Blue Plate Caroline
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B000000I0K
Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1

Best Sellers Rank: #617,686 in CDs & Vinyl (See Top 100 in CDs & Vinyl)
- #913 in Electronic Rock
- #10,920 in Progressive Rock
- #16,337 in New Age (CDs & Vinyl)

Customer Reviews:
4.5 256 ratings

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4.5 out of 5

256 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

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An Almost Lost Classic Refound

Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2013

Verified Purchase

I've been a Mike Oldfield fan for years - my LP (yes LP!) wore out, and the cassette version (yes cassette!) died as well. I despaired of getting a decent CD version until I recently came across a gently used version from the 90's. For a while, I delayed....who wanted to spend $75 for a lost recording? I had the good luck to find my recent copy for under $20, and it was worth the wait and the cost. When Mike decides to re-release it with enhanced sound, I'll be in line to buy it again, but for now, I enjoy what I first heard so many years ago. It's one of his master works, and since it is one of the earlier attempts, one hears harbingers of many of the mixes and techniques that would be refined to make the best of his best in later albums. If you've ever heard an album of his, you'll want to add this to your collection. (Not a 5 star because the existing CD needs the magic of remixing to be really enjoyed on modern equipment.)

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scuba diver

Great album but I should have bought the remastered version for better sound quality.

Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2021

Verified Purchase

Great album but I should have bought the remastered version as the low end is weak. But Mike Oldfield is awesome anyway.

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MysticMuse61

Advancing the art of Oldfield

Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2013

Verified Purchase

The evolving nature of Oldfield is heard here as less mystical, more rock influences show up in his work. Listen to Hergest Ridge, Tubular Bells, Ommadawn and then this title in order to feel the advancing changes in his work

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John J Holtmann

not what I expected

Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2013

Verified Purchase

Being a Mike Oldfield fan I was hopping it would be like Songs of a distant earth or Tumbler bells III, I was disappointed.

Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2016

Great album!

Very enjoyable time capsule to 1980's music technology of the time

Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2021

I haven't yet heard a Mike Oldfield album I haven't liked, (or loved), and this one is no exception. I definitely noticed the "newest" musical technology of 1980 when the synthesizers of the day were brought to the forefront of any song. Didn't realize Phil Collins collaborated/performed the opening song until I read the credits. Oldfield fans should definitely have this in their musical collection by now, even new ones.

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Bryan

enter the QE2... whatever that means!

Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2012

What an album! Thank goodness I saved this after the biggest disappointment of my life (Earth Moving). I *knew* I was saving the better album for last.

Anyway "Taurus I" contains the same type of Irish, orchestrated, instrumental multi-part, female chanting that Mike has been experimenting with since Tubular Bells, but come on now, don't think for a single solitary second that this can compete with the 24-minute slice of perfection that is "Taurus 2". This is more like a brief hint at what's to come with Five Miles Out, but what a good taster it is! If this were free food at the grocery store I'd be sneaking away with the whole tray of peanut butter crackers. The intro has a REALLY beautiful Irish theme that's actually my favorite part of the song. The piece then shifts in a really dramatic way that captures the feeling of rockets blasting into the sky before mellowing out halfway through with melodic Asian chants. The second half of the song is quite the curiosity though- Irish themes that are sort of messy mixed in with the more space shuttle-like instrumental chops that first appeared in the beginning. It's messy in an appealing kind of way since all the instrumental chops feel really adventurous despite how sloppy they may seem initially. Pretty awesome song.

The title song has a dreamy guitar piece in the beginning that should sound familiar to anyone who's heard even an ounce of Oldfield's work. He uses that guitar technique in *all* his music it seems. It's a glorious thing though. A trademark sound I never get tired of. Beautiful. The vibes can best be described as optimistic and adventurous before Ireland comes back into the picture near the end with a marching theme. Actually the entire song has marching elements but they're cleverly disguised under all the other arrangements so it took me a few listens to make out this stuff. "Mirage" begins with a guitar line that reminds me of the line "I don't like you but I love you" from the Beatles "You Really Got a Hold On Me" classic. Actually a quick google search reveals the Beatles didn't write that song- Smokey Robinson did, in 1962. Anyway Mike's brilliant guitar work sort of jams along with the drumming and it's a really cool thing. The whole song is based around that one guitar line but it works really well.

Now for the rest. In the future I normally dread the shorter pieces on Oldfield's albums, but not on this masterpiece from 1980. "Wonderful Land" is a guitar instrumental sort of reminiscent of the spiritually uplifting intro from the title song but even better. I wish this song were a couple minutes longer. The acoustic guitar after the 2-minute mark is pure heaven. "Sheba" is an experimental chant with female vocals and a vocoder in the intro. This is probably the closest thing to filler on the album but... it's still great. "Celt" is more of the same with less interesting results, "Conflict" is rather ominous in the intro before a swirly guitar line comes in and makes the piece super melodic, and "Arrival" brilliantly captures that feeling when you wake up in the morning and the sun shines through the curtains. Even more melodic than the previous song I mention.

Amazing feeling isn't it? This is what Mike Oldfield's all about. He's a master of instrumental beauty and feeling. I wish he'd have stuck with this formula for his entire career but it wasn't meant to be, I'm afraid. Pick up QE2 today.

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Edward Leedskalnin

Take a cruise on the QE2.

Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2012

Many of the die-hard fans will want to go for the deluxe edition but if you're just dipping your toes in the water is this the one for you? Well I say yes.

QE2 was actually my introduction to Mike Oldfield's music and I quickly became addicted to it, saving up to buy his previous releases. The beauty of much of his early work is that it is complex and challenging yet remains completely accessible, QE2 perfectly fits into that bracket. Right from start to finish this album is full of tunes that you won't be able to resist whistling or humming to yourself, you'll be desperate to return and listen again.

Let's not forget that Oldfield is a superb musician and this album sees him in guitar-hero mode, with some blistering fret-work.

If this isn't your first visit to QE2 and you're here for the remastering; is it noticeable? My last copy on CD was purchased in the 1980's and this release is a definite improvement. By comparison my old copy sounds brittle and too trebley, this release is warm and reveals layers of music I hadn't noticed before, you wouldn't want to miss out on that would you?!

I've gotten into the habit of telling Oldfield fans about a young whipper-snapper by the name of Andrew Taylor who has released an album called Mohribold (google it). If you like Oldfield you'll love Mohribold! There are some QE2-esque moments as well as some clear Ommadawn and Hergest Ridge influence but he's got his own style too. Maybe he's one to watch out for since Oldfield has called for an instrumetnal rock renaissence after his Olympics appearance.

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Cristopher

Muy buen disco

Reviewed in Mexico on August 21, 2018

Verified Purchase

Un muy buen disco de un excelente artista.
Trae mucho material por lo que lo recomiendo mucho para los nostálgicos que todavía consumen discos.
Era un disco difícil de conseguir pero afortunadamente se pudo importar sin problema.
Todo llegó bien y en tiempo.

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john_keats

佳作です

Reviewed in Japan on July 15, 2017

Verified Purchase

レコード時代に購入していますが，プラティナムがなじめず，QE2はポップ過ぎる感じがしてマイク・オールドフィールドらしくない作品というイメージでしたが，聴き直してみると聴きやすく，マイク・オールドフィールドらしさがあふれていることがやっとわかりました。傑作とはいえませんが，佳作です。繰り返し聞いています。

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Amazon Customer

Used but in great condition

Reviewed in Canada on November 11, 2015

Verified Purchase

Great quality

KING KONG

¿Q-uien E-s 2 ?

Reviewed in Spain on February 22, 2014

Verified Purchase

...tonto juego de palabras, o "no hay 2 sin 3", o a tomar por...vale...Q E 2 fue el primer álbum publicado por "el bueno de MIKE" en "los ochenta"...trece años después, aproximadamente, nació mi hijo... y le gusta este disco ahora; otra muestra de la "intemporalidad " de la MÚSICA, y de la frescura o vigencia de estas melodías y ritmos que nos ofrecía "Miguel Campoviejo" por aquél entonces.

Muy buen "remaster" de la versión sencilla de esta re-edición (existe una "de-luxe"); sonido amplio, potente y cristalino, trae "bonus tracks". Presentación decente; libreto con comentarios, créditos, dibujos, fotos...todo bien.

Compré el L.P. (vinilo) cuando se publicó en su día y lo conservo "da buti", como tantos otros...pero merece la pena adquirir estas ediciones en CDs "remasterizados" al precio que se nos ofrecen....¿Q E NO?

Vamonos con MIKE a "la tierra maravillosa"... y a toda caña.

Os deseo muchas y buenas notas

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