Search - Mike Oldfield :: Heaven's Open

"...don't you know we're not virgin..."

Mike Chadwick | Gdynia,Poland | 08/29/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After the "Amarok" mike Rocked out with "heaven's open" - as far one of his strangest and sometimes amusing albums ever...
Mike is a lead singer here - he has got a very good loud and deep voice,i always liked him as a vocalist ("Crises","Five Miles out","Pictures in the dark","On horseback") and here he gives himself an oportunity to shine...The arrangents are more simplier and catchy than on "dicsovery" or "Five miles out"...and the pop songs are really good.
"Make Make" is a very funny parody of eighties pop music with Tina Turner styled vocal part and amusing synth effects...Still Vocals and lyrics are superb.this is a Message to Virgin, the company that Mike didn't liked much because they tried to tamed his style and wanted to make a pop star from him...
while "Mr.shame","Gimme back" and the title track (that is well known from his compilations and radio) are a nice early nineties pop-rock tunes,"No dream" is one of the most haunting and personal rock ballads that Mike ever created...it features moving lyrics,one of the best that he has written..."there's a face in the window,someone who you know or who you used to be, could that somebody be me?" Guitar solo is really wonderfull.but hte most interesting track is "Music from the balcony" - 20 minutes long chaotic piece of music, simmilar to "Amarok"...it has got some interesting sound experiments (Many funny samples)
it is different from everything that Mike did later and before...the whole album is the last one recorded for VIRGIN company...and this is the last typical pop-experimental album.
after his next album "Tubular bells 2" he joined hte new-age and ambient music.Anyway - this can be a shock for an Average music and Oldfield fan if you know only "Moonlight shadow" or "tubular bells"...
But trust me,it is one of his best albums,not only one of the most interesting ones...
ps.hte funny thing is that he named himself "Michael Oldfield" not "Mike oldfield"..that's because he wanted to make a joke out of Virgin..."

WARNING! HEAVEN'S CLOSED

jighen98@tiscali.it | Italy | 06/27/2005

(1 out of 5 stars)

"NO STARS.Gotta admit that, reading these reviews, I was very surprised:I didn't think this album was so loved,but probably these guys aren't expert Oldfield's connoisseurs.No doubt that this is the Oldfield's worst album,even worst than EARTH MOVING.I have to warn you that wanna buy an Oldfield's album:DON'T BUY THIS ONE!He has many fantastic albums such like OMMADAWN,THE SONGS OF DISTANT EARTH,EXPOSED,DISCOVERY,TUBULAR BELLS (the first,of course),HERGEST RIDGE (the original mix,of course) and others."

The worst album of the best musician

Javier Navas | Milenrama, Madrid | 07/01/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Mike was about to leave Virgin where hed had stopped being free to create his music. They only wanted him to make pop hits and this record is as a whole a big parody of all that. The title of the tracks says everything about it knowing it was the last record of the deal. He must have had a lot of fun making it, and the long instrumental 'Music From the Balcony' is as chaotic and loose it can be, which had to be really liberating and therapeutic for him. Although the quality of the album is very affected by all the tiredness Mike had at the time, I love 'Music from the Balcony' and 'Heaven's Open' reminds one of his best vocal songs to the date. Another interesting thing is Mike's the lead singer for the 5 vocal tracks for the only time. A funny album to listen, and with a very clear concept: the liberation from the meanness and materialism of this world."