QE2 (album)
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| QE2 | ||
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| Studio album by Mike Oldfield | ||
| Released | 31 October 1980 | |
| Recorded | Denham, 1980 | |
| Genre | Progressive rock | |
| Length | 39:51 | |
| Label | Virgin | |
| Producer(s) | David Hentschel, Mike Oldfield | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| Mike Oldfield chronology | ||
| Platinum (1979) |
QE2 (1980) |
Five Miles Out (1982) |
QE2 is a record album mostly written and performed by Mike Oldfield.
This was his sixth new album and featured original Oldfield compositions plus two short songs from bands ABBA ("Arrival") and The Shadows ("Wonderful Land"). Some years later The Shadows responded by releasing a cover of Oldfield's "Moonlight Shadow". Cover songs were released as a single that featured a cover which is a parody of ABBA's Arrival album cover.
Longest tracks of the album are "Taurus I" and the title track. Both are typical Oldfield compositions, featuring various strong melodies and both modern and traditional instruments.
The album was the first one to feature Maggie Reilly as a collaborator for Oldfield. Some tracks on the album feature vocals sung through vocoder.
"Conflict" has an excerpt from J. S. Bach’s “Badinerie” (the last part of Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B Minor).
The "Celt" lyrics were by Tim Cross and appear to be nonsense syllables chosen for their pleasing sounds rather than any actual meaning (many Oldfield works feature this).
"Molly" was made for his daughter, Molly Oldfield, who would later play keyboards on The Songs of Distant Earth.
The album and its title track were named for the Cunard Line ocean liner RMS Queen Elizabeth 2. In fact, if one looks closely at the album, it appears to be a closeup of the side of the ship, complete with water level marks in the lower left corner. The first pressing even had a porthole cut out in the sleeve. The inside of the original foldout LP sleeve featured a schematic of one of the Queen Elizabeth 2's decks as well as a stylized picture of her engines. Sadly these have not been reprinted in later reissues.
The album went to number one on German album charts when it was released.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
- "Taurus I" (Mike Oldfield) – 10:16
- "Sheba" (Oldfield) – 3:33
- "Conflict" (Oldfield) – 2:53
- "Arrival" (Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus) – 2:48
- "Wonderful Land" (Jerry Lordan) – 3:38
- "Mirage" (Oldfield) – 4:41
- "QE2" (Oldfield, David Hentschel) – 7:38
- "Celt" (Oldfield, Tim Cross) – 3:06
- "Molly" (Oldfield) – 1:15
On the original vinyl label of the album "QE2" is listed as two tracks, "QE2" by Oldfield/Hentschel and "QE2 Finale" by Oldfield, but gives them running time as a single piece.
[edit] Mike Oldfield plays
Acoustic guitar, African drums, banjo, bass guitar, Celtic harp, drum machine, electric guitar, mandolin, marimbas, percussion, piano, rhythm sticks, Spanish guitar, synthesizers, timpani, vibraphone, vocoder, and vocals
[edit] Other performers
- English Chorale – vocals
- Guy Barker – trumpet
- Phil Collins – drums
- Tim Cross – piano, synthesizers
- Raul D'Olivera – trumpet
- Mike Frye – African drums, vocoder, drums, timpani, hi-hat
- David Hentschel – synthesizers, drums, vocals
- Paul Nieman – trombone
- Morris Pert – drums
- Maggie Reilly – vocals
- Dick Studt – strings
- Philip Todd – tenor saxophone
- Strings and choir arranged by David Bedford.
- Horns arranged by David Hentschel.
