QE2 (album)
| 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 | David Hentschel, Mike Oldfield |
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| Mike Oldfield chronology | ||||
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| Singles from QE2 | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
QE2 is the sixth record album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1980 on Virgin Records.
The album contained both original Oldfield compositions as well as two cover version of pieces recorded by other bands ("Arrival" by ABBA and "Wonderful Land" by The Shadows).
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[edit] Album analysis
The longest tracks on the album are "Taurus I" and the title track, "QE2", lasting 10 minutes and 7 minutes respectively. Some years later The Shadows responded to Oldfield's cover of "Wonderful Land", by releasing a cover of Oldfield's "Moonlight Shadow". The cover songs were released as singles; and the helicopter cover for "Arrival" was a parody of ABBA's Arrival album cover.
The album was the first Oldfield album to feature Maggie Reilly as a collaborator. 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.
"Molly" was made for his daughter, Molly Oldfield, who would later play keyboards on The Songs of Distant Earth and play a part in the Songs for Survival project.
The European Adventure Tour 1981, which ran from March to August of that year, was in promotion of the album.
[edit] Album title and artwork
The album and its title track were named after 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 engine, these have not been reprinted in later reissues.
[edit] Track listing
[edit] Side one
- "Taurus I" (Mike Oldfield) – 10:16
- "Sheba" (Oldfield) – 3:33
- "Conflict" (Oldfield) – 2:53
- "Arrival" (Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus) – 2:48
[edit] Side two
- "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, the title piece, "QE2" is listed as two tracks, "QE2" by Oldfield/Hentschel and "QE2 Finale" by Oldfield, but gives their running time as a single piece.
[edit] Charts
| Chart | Position |
|---|---|
| German[2] | 12 |
| Norway | 23 |
| UK Albums Chart | 27 |
[edit] Personnel
- Mike Oldfield – 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
- 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, horn arrangement
- Paul Nieman – trombone
- Morris Pert – drums
- Maggie Reilly – vocals
- Dick Studt – strings
- Philip Todd – tenor saxophone
- Strings and choir arranged by David Bedford
- Simon Johnston – Assistant Engineer
- Peter Greenslade – Assistant Engineers
- Richard Barrie – Technical advice
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/r129944
- ^ "Mike Oldfield - QE2". Charts.de. http://www.charts.de/album.asp?artist=Mike+Oldfield&title=QE2. Retrieved 2011-03-14.
[edit] External links
- Mike Oldfield Discography - QE2 at Tubular.net
- QE2 LP artwork (Virgin Records V2181) at Tubular.net
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