re: Re: Oldfield, Ayers

[jsd%UMASS.BITNET@MITVMA.MIT.EDU (Jonathan S. Drukman)]

Colm Mulcahy writes:

> As I said earlier, "some guy" is the great Roger Chapman, an aging R
> 'n' R man along the lines of Joe Cocker or Frankie Miller.  In my
> book songs are music too ......

I don't think anyone on the net would dispute that songs are music,
after all, what would that make Kate if it weren't true?  The point I
am stressing (and I think Mr. Mallett agrees with me on this one) is
that Oldfield's so-called "songs" are nothing more than lame excuses
to have some "aging R 'n' R" man shout banalities over a plodding
beat, with a pompous guitar solo in the middle.  You don't quite seem
to be getting it into your head that shit is shit, even if Kate Bush
is singing it!  Can you imagine Kate doing a cover of "Into The
Groove"?  How about Severed Heads doing "Strange Brew"?  No wait, they
actually _did_ do that...  :-)

Oldfield is a man capable of producing brilliant instrumental work, as
evidenced in the astounding LPs _QE2_ and _Five Miles Out_, among
others.  He can even produce some decent pop songs - I quite like his
version of "Family Man" (how appalling when Hall and Oates got a hold
of it) and there's nothing wrong with the song "Five Miles Out".  But
lately he's just been falling into the void of Top 40 Tripe.  Maybe
his bank account is running low (although I'd think residuals from the
first five minutes of "tubular bells" would keep him running for
years), but he's been pandering more and more to the pop world and
time has proved that HE JUST CAN'T DO IT.

      [	Depends on what you mean by "he just can't do it" in reference
	to pandering to the pop world.  According to what I have read,
	since Oldfield has switched to pop, everything he does sells
	millions of copies in Germany and other European countries.
	-- |>oug ]

Once again, it's not a question of WHO is singing (although for my
money neither Roger Chapman or Kevin Ayers are any great shakes), it's
a question of WHAT they are singing, and WHAT they are singing is
GARBAGE!  I hope I've made my point quite clear.

-----------
Jon Drukman                        BITNET: jsd@umass
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