What about this fabulous album? What's your story?


Here's mine:

I'm really fond of this album... it really touches my heart. So many memories come to my mind when listening to this album, sweet memories from my childhood and early teenage. I was around 10-11 and it was a time when my family and I moved to another city, Villa Mercedes (San Luis), 800 km from Buenos Aires. So lots of changes in my life: new city, new home, new school, new friends, new neighbours…new things to adapt to. However, living in another place gave me new experiences, new challenges and at the same time and the most important thing, I felt free. That time was my childhood: lots of friends, I remember playing the whole time, having fun, going to birthday parties, going swimming at the local club, going to the countryside and at night gazing the so shiny milky way with my mouth open (I couldn't count them all!), going to the river and eating watermelon on summer days, the beginning of innocent love, and music of course.

I remember listening to Platinum on my dad's cassette player and so much adored "I Got Rhythm", couldn't stop listening to it so I would play it over and over again.

Musically, it's got lots of nice changes, loops and an excellent arrangement. Starts with Airborne (born in the air?), synths and a peculiar guitar sound that mix together and leads to the climax where the drums and the glockenspiel (similar in Tubular Bells) start taking place and it goes on till the next change. It becomes quite psychedelic. Then, another change or twist and it becomes like a march and some distorted energetic guitars appear (Sally introduction) and this leads to another change in which the glockenspiel makes the main image in me, like falling stars and...another rhythm begins: Platinum, fabulous.
Outstanding bass guitar, hypnotic and repetitive lead guitar in harmony with the treble sounds of the same guitar, more synths and again the…leit motif and it goes on but not for long, more loops and horns appear….debee doo daba daba, "take it away", climax and Charleston. Nice horn arrangement, piano intro and acoustic guitar lead to a choir…quite mysterious and a bit scary at times; it reminds me of the mythical sirens' chanting. Yabba dabba dabba. And *North Star/Platinum Finale…what a rhythm!! So evocative, so full of life, Mike plays with so much passion…IAO a magical chanting with a beautiful and tranquil ending.

*North Star: original version by Philip Glass.

Woodhenge: the whole piece makes a mystical and mysterious atmosphere. I imagine being in an oriental country, in a pagoda where some kind of spiritual moment is taking place.

Sally: a beautiful love song! I imagine a happy couple in love just going into…Wonderland.

Punkadiddle: odd clapping sounds and people's ovation? Strange rhythm…strange piece.

I Got Rhythm: another remarkable love song. Slight variation in the lyrics too from the original Gershwin's version and an extraordinary introduction of tubular bells…it gives a glorious and a victorious meaning. Strangely in Mike, the song is sung by a woman that expresses her feelings to a man. Shouldn't it be the other way around?



Now, in my opinion there is more... First of all, why would Mike give the name Platinum to this album? What's got to do with the metal?

Well, the Spaniards named the metal "platina," or little silver, when they first encountered it in Colombia. They regarded platinum as an unwanted impurity in the silver they were mining, and often discarded it. Silver is also named Argentum (in Latin). The Rio de la Plata was named after silver (in Spanish, plata), and in turn lent the meaning of its name to Argentina.

What's more, it is related to MERCURY (Greek-hydra gyros, liquid silver; latin-argentum vivum, live or "QUICKSILVER"). Associated with the moon, as well as with the sea and various lunar goddesses, or women in general, the metal was referred to by alchemists by the name LUNA.

Coincidently, Platinum's atomic number is 78 which was surely when Mike began composing the album. A punkah (Hindi pankha) is a type of fan, and maybe Mike played with the word "fan" from fanatic. And a diddle, in percussion, is a rudiment consisting of playing a note twice with one hand; continuously playing alternating. Diddles results in a double-stroke roll.


I have no memories since I was born in that year but perhaps many of you may remember the 1978 football world cup-Argentina. This could help to understand Punkadiddle's real meaning especially the people's cheering.
It's singular to see Maurice Pert plaing the drums in a TV show (Musical Express) Platinum presentation wearing a light blue t-shirt with a rose in his left side and at the back you see the Argentinian official soccer t-shirt with a big number 1, quite meaninful.


I read on the Net that the words that Mike pronounces: "DABBADABBA"and "YABBA-DABBA-DABBA" is sort of a magical and mystical word like "abracadabra" but it's also a palindrome, meaning: "I LOVE YOU". Aba daba is a monkey chatter for "I love you" in the old ragtime song "Aba Daba Honeymoon" by Arthur Fields and Walter Donovan (1914).

"Aba, daba, daba, daba, daba, daba, dab"
Said the Chimpie to the Monk,
"Baba, daba, daba, daba, daba, daba, dab"
Said the Monkey to the Chimp


There it is Mike's "Charleston" and "Sally"...

Then, we listen to the words IAO. This is also curious. IAO is one of the many names for God: JHVH or YHWH, YAHWE, JAHWEH, JEHOVAH, JAH, JOVE, YOWE or YAHOO. But this ancient name IAO represents the totality of God.


Just one of the many usual and curious things in Mike's music.


Sources:
http://www.blueray.com/magic/ (magic words, page 40)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_World_Cup_1978
http://mirrorh.com/iaoyhvhhu.html
http://www.adelphiasophism.com/gog/gg115.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demiurge

AMOR,

SIRIUS

IAO  | O |

__________________
COMPUTER IS STILL WITH INCORRECT INFORMATION!!!

*§*ReSoLuTioN~ReVoLuTiOn~EvOLuTiOn*§*


¤MIKE OLDFIELD¤