MIKE OLDFIELD
RETURN TO THE ORIGIN
(1973-2008)
Mike Oldfield is a genius. A schizophrenic. I don't claim it, he does. He even proved it. Just watch his discography : 23 albums. 1/4 pastoral symphonic folk prog, 1/4 celtic instrumental poprock, 1/4 80s FM songs, 1/4 techno ambiant DJing. He even admitted it wildely in his autobiography, saved by the Bells. Because whatever he does, whatever he did, Oldfield will always be remembered for one thing : Tubular Bells. Whichever version you think of.
So how can you try to describe Oldfield's entire career, especially knowing that Oldfield has had quite a few compilations ? I chose to do it in three CDs, following the trend of The Complete Mike Oldfield but extending it. First CD is a 77-minute non-stop suite of his earlier works, told by many as his very best. You'll find an edited version of what still stands as his greatest work ever, Tubular Bells, as well as a 21-minute sum-up of his craziest work, the one-hour-length instrumental extravaganza Amarok.
Second CD is another suite of all his best stand-alone instrumental works between 1980 and 2008. Here you'll find a huge variety of styles, going from flamenco to disco, from classical guitar to electronic music, from celtic rock to orchestral medieval symphony. Some great works are missing here - Music from the Balcony, Arrival, Wonderful Land - but you'll get a very wide picture of Oldfield's abilities... and schizophrenia !
Third CD is exclusively made of pop songs. I know this is what Oldfield's been constantly criticized for, but there were two reasons behind this decision : first, I think he was a truly gifted FM-poprock-hitmaker, even though he would deny it. Second, this is the first and only time that you'll meet a "commercial" compilation of "commercial" songs by Mike Oldfield - all the best of what he did in this musical area, 19 songs back to back, no instrumentals.
I hope you'll enjoy this baistophe, it's been quite a hard work but sometimes real fun. The most incredible part is that, although it is 3 CDs long, if you like it you still have some sides to Oldfield's work that weren't revealed in there yet. So have fun with this, and don't forget : the compiler was a bit schizophrenic, too.
-BAKER-
BAKER's MIKE OLDFIELD prog TOP 3 :
1 - Tubular Bells (1973)
2 - Tubular Bells II (1992)
3 - Amarok (1990)
BAKER's MIKE OLDFIELD pop TOP 3 :
1 - Crises (1983)
2 - Heaven's Open (1991)
3 - Discovery (1984)
BAKER's MIKE OLDFIELD BOTTOM 3 :
1 - Tr3s Lunas (2004)
2 - Light + Shade (2006)
3 - Tubular Bells III (1998)
9 comments:
Good Morning and thanks for this one, I have always been a fan of Mike Oldfield especialy the early works. IMHO Ommadawn has to be his best but underated piece this will help get me through a rough night shift tonight.
So thanks and keep the good stuff flowing regards The Old Fool
Hello Old Fool... and thanks AGAIN ! :)
I wouldn't say that Ommadawn is underrated. Throughout the years it has become a really cult album, the best proof being Amarok which already was nicknamed "Ommadawn II". On the contrary, Hergest Ridge is incredibly underrated, even to this day.
But when compiling Oldfield I realized how incredible Hergest & Omma were. Even Incantations hadn't revealed all of its beauty before making the baistophe, but O & HG, had listened to them a dozen times, and never caught the genius of it. It was horrible being forced to drop some incredible parts just because of the limited amount of time.
Hello Baker I think maybe I was a bit hasty , HR is a classic that like you say that is sadly underrated even now.
Whwn I first Got Incantations on vinyl I played it and did not return to it for a long while but over the years I have grown to love its shifting moods especialy the sections with the poetry.
Thanks again for the unenviable task of distilling Oldfields carrer into these 3 superb discs Regards
The Old Fool
Brilliant Work!!!
i haven't yet downloaded this Baistophe, but i did want to leave a comment.
my first exposure to Mike Oldfield was to a copy of Ommadawn that i picked up on a whim in March, 1976. i wore out five copies on vinyl before Cds came along. i still cringe 1:30 into part one of any CD mix of Hergest Ridge because the bass (present on the original vinyl mix) has been equalized out of existance, and let's not even get into the missing solo trumpet!
for many years i was used to a new Oldfield release in the US almost every March. 1978, Incantations; 1979, Platinum; 1982, QE 2; 1983, Five Miles Out; last year, Music of the Spheres. the release of this Baistophe makes me feel that the cosmos wants to continue this trend.
i admit that i'm not much of a fan of Oldfield's pop work. i will try to listen to your third disc with open ears and see what i have missed.
many thanks!
I'm looking forward to hearing this. I've had "Five Miles Out" and "The Complete Mike Oldfield" since the late 80's, but that's all I've really listened to. I actually particularly like his pop songs, Five Miles out and Family Man are two of my favorite pop songs ever. I'm surprised the latter isn't on disc 3 but I'm looking forward to hearing the stuff you decided to include.
Magnifique!
Thank you all for your kind words ! Reading the two posts about Mike's pop songs made me smile : this is exactly why I wanted to make a completely pop-FM collection on CD 3 !
Thanks a lot for this compillation :-)
Just for the record, there's a typo on the back cover: it reads 'Forreign Affair' instead of 'Foreign Affair'
Thanks again and best regards,
-- Wayfarer
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