Despite the grumblings of the naysayers, this is a most enjoyable and entertaining piece of music (and video). There's not a huge amount of Oldfield-inspired music out there, so I was pleased to stumble on this little gem.
I stumbled across Rob Reid by accident today. I was interested because I'm a fan of Mike Oldfield since 1990 and I enjoy his music immensely. Rob is a fine musician with virtuoso chops and Santuary kind of highlights Mike's work in the 70s from Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge, Ommadawn and Incantations. Each piece that goes by seems to nod to a particular section of each of the aforementioned albums. It's like the way Tubular Bells II inverted the original when it came out, it was different but familiar all at once. Return to Ommadawn also works like this. Overall it's obvious that Rob is an Oldfield obsessive and they say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery but he highlights the key ingredients that only serve to show how brilliant Mike's music actually is. For me personally the Virgin years are the best of his career, especially from 1973 to 1984, while the Warner albums generally get more and more unengaeging as the came out.
To all those who are posting negative comments on this because it's "copying" or a "rip off" of Mike Oldfield, you are totally missing the point - it is supposed to be! Rob has clearly stated this in interviews etc., and even the title (if I recall?) is a reference to the "sanctuary" that Mike's music gave him in his childhood/adolescence. Come on, even the video with lots of little Robs (or Mikes) is a tribute to In Dulce Jubilo or similar. I for one think it's great!
@@richardthethird4034 Variations over a theme. A lot of MO's own music is the same and I personally wouldn't skip it because it consists mostly of familiar elements.
Is that the very Bösendorfer piano that Mike used on his 1978 piano improvisation, the mind boggles. Seems to have many influences well beyond tubular bells, hergest ridge, ommadawn and incantations to name just a few. Cannot wait for the sequel.Fantastic album Thats what makes this album the harmonies and melodies the only similarity is that similar instruments are used, the skill is in the composition.
Amazing work Rob (& Tom) .....I can't fault it, & I am a Mike Oldfield fan right from the very beginning, I bought the vinyl version of Sanctuary from Plane Groovy when it came out, it sounds glorious !!!
The melodies are very close to.parts of Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge and Incantations! But I see this as an act of love on Rob Reed's part, to wish to make more of the type of music Mr Oldfield made in the 70's because he loves it, and he can write and record it and multitrack it. And it is beautiful Mr Reed, and I love it. cttgaegoaktd
In the footsteps of Michael Oldfield and forward. Keep going, Robert! So many people were looking forward to this kind of music. Can’t wait to get your albums.
This talented guy just takes us all back to what Oldfield was as a young composer, before all the pressures from Virgin got to him,let's be honest here, one or two of his ( Mikes) Albums has been decidedly flat but his initial momentum is reborn with Robert here. He took immense inspiration from Mikes earliest and best works and made his own, fantastic music,born from his inspirer, you sir, are just soo good !!
We live in a world where there are thousands of pop bands that sound the same, thousands of doom metal bands that sound the same, thousands of rappers that sound the same.... and yet this guy gets crucified for being the only musician on earth that can get close to Mike Oldfield's early album sound??? I don't get it. This is a great work that stands up on its own. Sure, he's got Oldfield's language and forms down but Mike didn't create those out of thin air - he had his influences too (Bedford for one!). Rob Reed is a fantastic multi-instrumentalist - his playing is top notch and his production is wonderful. There is nothing cheap about this. Yes, there is homage but there are fresh ideas too. We're lucky to have such music.
Superb pastiche ("pastiche" may seem like a harsh word to use, but let's be honest, that's what it is). Absolutely spot-on in terms of the Oldfield-esque melodies, style and execution. Great playing, great production - super album.
And I'm sorry, but I hate the album cover. It looks like a crappy £1.99 ambient / new wave muzak CD, it really doesn't do the contents justice. Surely he could have come up with something in the style of the Tubular Bells or Hergest Ridge sleeves...
Wow. You are very talented! This song sounds amazing!! And that PRS CE-24 ( I have the same guitar) sounds great!...and your playing! This sounds very "Oldfieldish" :D
You sound like Oldfield. Yes. But I think you play the music that Mike hasn't been playing for me since his early days, I love what you are doing, you write and play outstanding music, thank you Rob, I take my hat off to you. Subscribed.
isn't this a well-founded argument that ponts out the necesstity for a better audio quality of youtube? and the support of more than just 2 audio channels? highly recommended: get the dvd and listen to sanctuary in the 24/96 5.1 surround mix
Amazing, what a treat to find this. Someone has taken up the baton who can really run. And for my purposes stay on track. Rip off? No. I think not. Perhaps this music wants to exist, maybe even needs to. In the grand old days, Mike Oldfield used to talk about channelling and being a conduit for his output. (There are interviews here on You Tube where he says this) And he isn't unique, a lot of artists, particularly the ones who never develop the ear for and belief in their own publicity think of what they do in those terms. That's why I don't think M.O. is going to sue anyone, he doesn't need to, he's moved on. A lot of people haven't though and I'm one of them. So I'm really grateful for this. Mr Reed will probably move on as well, in time. But not for a while I hope. When we listen to G.F. Händel, it probably isn't sensible to think' heard it all before' with Reinhard Kaiser. Novelty isn't a criterion of quality and was never thought of as such until the 20th century, originality likewise has nothing to do with quality. If this were somehow inauthentic, if it were transparently created to make a fast buck off a gap in the market occupied by consumers like me who are clearly profoundly touched by it, then there might be room for criticism, but this doesn't look like the case to me. The level of musical accomplishment alone, never mind the attention to form and detail make this a lot more profound than 'fan fiction'. In fact I think it is enormously brave for an artist to do what Mr Reed has done in the face of every precedent of contemporary culture. Two hundred years ago of course, no-one would have blinked but now everyone will.
Rob does have his own musical identity and it's quite versatile be it in Magenta, Cyan, Trippa, Chimpman A, Kompendium. Magenta are the best new prog band of the new millennium. But granted to some extend every artist is standing on the shoulders on those who came before.
it seem that some are frustrated by your talent, but can they do better. i dont think so. Complaining is not a talent. keep the good work Rob. God bless you!!
Tubular Bells meets Incantations meets Five Miles Out. I've loved Mike Oldfield's music since around 1980 but have never really heard anybody sound quite so similar. I think that this similarity is the problem for me. Robert Reed is no doubt extremely talented and I've watched this many times now but cannot listen this music without comparing it to the above albums, mainly Incantations which is a pity as I would love to hear something more original and less "influenced".
I hear what you're saying and I've similarly wrestled with it. However, when I think about it I could name hundreds of Rock bands that sound remarkably similar to each other, so I'm not going to analyze it any more and just enjoy the music.
I agree, but it's still very enjoyable. As I listen to this my brain's going back to Incantations concert in Birmingham, many years ago. Listen to Jose Manuel Guerra - lots of 'in the bedroom' recordings of Mike Oldfield music, all very good. He's also main guitarist on Migration, by Honofre Garcias. Again, you can spot the Oldfield influences and yes, some plagiarism, but still a worthy listen, i suggest
As a big Mike Oldfield fan,you can clear recognise the influences coming from Mike's 70's imput (Tubular Bells,Hergest Ridge,Ommadawn and Incantations) blended together.Can't wait to listen in full...so far,so good!
I got the full album, listened to it quite a few times. My opinion is that it would have had been fantastic, and in fact I was looking forward to it very, very, very much as I am a huge fan of Oldfield’s early Big Three (Bells, Ridge and Dawn). However, in the end I somehow feel that it just wanted to say too much at once. You recognise the resemblances, a lot of themes and melodies all the way through, and that is great, really. However, I wish Mr. Reed had used fewer themes expanding those a bit (or much) longer instead of trying to touch on as many as it was possible. By the time you are ready to plunge into one theme, there is another one already coming your way. I think the album is a bit too busy and it should have had been either extended into a two disc recording with this many themes, or the number of themes been reduced to about half. I’m not saying that Mr Reed is not a genius, because I think he is. He plays at least two dozen times as many instruments than I do for one, and he can make music what I can't. I think he’s got it all, no doubt about that. All I’m saying is Sanctuary should have been a bit “slower” and instead of turning the tap on full power it should be liquating its pure honey one drop at a time.
Fabulous. In the absence of Mike Oldfield releasing epics as he used to in the 70s, Rob has taken a style of music and more importantly, a style of building composition and structuring themes, layer upon layer of instrumentation and plugged a huge gap. It is an awesome piece of work! I love it.
A literal 'Room Full of Robbers' erm I mean Robs yes ..Awesome playing lol! There is one question though.. that is.. WHAT instruments can you not play? :)
Absolutely beautiful. But it's just too close to Mike Oldfield. It messes with my head to know it's not Mike. Certainly not a cheap imitation, but an imitation nonetheless. Intrinsically beautiful though beyond doubt.
An embarrassing mistake has slipped into the description: "from the album Santcuary". Mike Oldfield opened my ears to the world of music. I'm delighted someone dares to follow his example and for many years Oldfield fans have been frustrated with the lack of openness in the world of music to this particular style. I'm certainly not complaining. I'd love to see more of this, even though it's so close to Oldfield's music that it's predictable that plagiarism is brought up. Yet, it's no secret that's where Rob Reed finds his inspiration and it's worth noting who he's working with when it comes to the production of his albums. There are some very familiar names..
Its missing the point to say its a blatant Oldfield rip off. Its clearly a loving homage to the great man. Its odd though that the closer someone sounds to MO the more oddly unsatisfying it is. I like Matt Berry's stuff which is also by his own admission heavy influenced by Oldfield's 70's output but sounds individual and original enough to exist on its own terms.
He is so talented as multi-instrumental musician, ok, but he has not an own musical style. What is the sense to copy the music style of Mike Oldfield? Robert should do something new and original. Although his style (and melodies) are so similar to Oldfield's music I can't say: "Woah! Amazing music!!". I don't like the musicians without an own musical identity.
If you wanna pay homage to Mike Oldfield by composing long instrumental music and playing all instruments is perfectly fine. But why do you have to copy his style and every little thing that made Mike Oldfield special. The lack of any originality makes this a blatant copy more than anything else. There was a way to keep the approach and infuse it with a personal touch, but that's not what's been done here. Such a pity and a waste of talent.
Do you similarly troll RU-vid castigating every 5-piece rock band for sounding pretty much like every other 5-piece rock band? I bet you don't, dimwit!
As a musician i can tell he is copying and not creating because he uses exactly the same speed, tonal range, notes, instruments, effects, etc., but he just changes a little the secuence of the notes re-aranging every piece of music Oldfield did just changing the order of the parts. In other words, if Oldfield didn't created his music there wouldn't be "Sanctuary". Any musician can take anyone's music, use the same instruments, change a little the order of the notes and that's it, but let me tell you, if you read Changeling, the autobiography of Mike, you can understand his musical language was born from sadness, loneliness, desperation, in musical terms major tones inspire happiness, minor tones are related to that kind of dark emotions, and that's what Robert Reed missed, the perfect balance between major and minor tones which are fundamental in Oldfield's authentic musical genious. For example, Sanctuary I and II are 90% major tones, Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge, Ommadawn are 90% minor tones and strange tones that uses sevenths, and diminished strange chords. And the most important thing Robert missed, the irregular compasses, he can only imitates regular 4/4, 8/4, Etc. (that's really easy) but Mike composses in 13/8, 5/4, 9/8, Etc. and that's something not every musician can do. It's a shame because that's why Robert's experiment will be forgotten while Oldfield will remain forever.
Ah come on! That's what musicians of all styles are doing! Starting with the classics - all symphonies are nearly using the same instruments and follow certain rules! Or techno, or Berlin school electronics or whatever... A hit-off is no rip-off. Sadly enough that no one was following Oldfield earlier, what even he was wondering about. Maybe it's not that easy? No one denies the genius of Mike. But he changed his style. So I'm finally happy that someone follows in his footsteps. I couldn't find any comment from Mike so far, but I'm sure he takes it with a smile. Very probably young people will buy some of Mike's old records after finding Robert's Sanctuary first - win-win-situation for everybody ;))
c'est une certaine forme de plagiat qui sans reprendre les harmonies copie les structures...un avatar sans aucun talent, à des années lumiéres du génie de mike oldfield
I find this music just becomes irritating after a while. Yes, it's a lovely imitation of Oldfield's style, but even Oldfield's music got old in a hurry. All the note-bendy guitar, and the nonsense female vocals -- all perfectly replicated here. Oldfield beat that dead horse Tubular Bells long after it was dead, and I suspect Reed will milk Sanctuary until even he cannot stand listening to it. Great musician.. now create something NEW!
