Mike Oldfield - The Complete (2 CD) [EAC-FLAC] [RePoPo]

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Mike Oldfield - The Complete Mike Oldfield

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The Complete Mike Oldfield is a compilation album written and mostly performed

by Mike Oldfield. CD one is a collection of shorter pieces and CD two is

excerpts from Oldfield's longer pieces of music. Each of these two parts is then

subdivided again into two parts; The instrumental section, The Vocal section,

The Complex section and The Live section.



Some versions of the vinyl have less or different tracks; "The Instrumental

Section" is missing "In Dulci Jubilo" and "Portsmouth" leaving only nine tracks

on that first side. More, alternative pressings of the vinyl replaced "Mistake"

with 7" mix of "Pictures in the Dark".





CD1



THE INSTRUMENTAL SECTION

01. Arrival [0:02:47.50]

02. William Tell Overture [0:03:55.05]

03. Cuckoo Song [0:03:13.17]

04. In Dulci Jubilo [0:02:50.50]

05. Portsmouth [0:02:02.15]

06. Jungle Gardenia [0:02:37.40]

07. Guilty [0:04:04.35]

08. Blue Peter [0:02:07.65]

09. Waldberg (The Peak) [0:03:24.53]

10. Wonderful Land [0:03:39.12]

11. Étude (Theme From The Killing Fields) (Single Version) [0:03:07.40]

THE VOCAL SECTION

12. Moonlight Shadow [0:03:36.23]

Vocals - Maggie Reilly

13. Family Man [0:03:47.47]

Vocals - Maggie Reilly

14. Mistake [0:02:55.20]

Vocals - Maggie Reilly

15. Five Miles Out [0:04:19.00]

Vocals - Maggie Reilly/Mike Oldfield

16. Crime of Passion [0:03:37.70]

Vocals - Barry Palmer

17. To France [0:04:33.58]

Vocals - Maggie Reilly

18. Shadow On The Wall (12'' Version) [0:05:08.30]

Vocals - Roger Chapman



CD2



THE COMPLEX SECTION

01. Excerpt from Ommadawn [0:06:59.40]

02. Excerpt from Tubular Bells [0:07:59.60]

03. Excerpt from Hergest Ridge [0:04:20.37]

04. Excerpt from Incantations [0:04:41.30]

05. Excerpt from The Killing Fields (Evacuation) [0:04:11.43]

THE LIVE SECTION

06. Sheba (Live) [0:03:30.50]

07. Mirage (Live) [0:05:12.30]

08. Platinum (Live) [0:14:28.05]

09. Mount Teide (Live) [0:04:34.05]





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SOME SONGS REVIEWED

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ARRIVAL



"Arrival", which had working titles of "Fiol", "Ode to Dalecarlia" & "Arrival in

Dalecarlia", was the instrumental title track from Swedish pop group ABBA's

album of the same name. It was the second and last song from the group not to

contain lyrics, following "Intermezzo No.1" the previous year.



As with "Intermezzo No.1", the choral tune, heavily influenced by traditional

Swedish folk music, was written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. It was

recorded on 30 August 1976 at Stockholm's Metronome Studio.



In 1983, a different version of the song with lyrics, called "Belle", was sung

by Daniel Balavoine and Anni-Frid Lyngstad ("Frida") as part of the French

musical ABBAcadabra. Also in 1983, it was re-recorded with different lyrics, and

released as "Time" by B. A. Robertson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad.



The title of the album, Arrival, gave the instrumental its name, rather than

vice versa. It was also one of the last tracks to be recorded for the album

before its release on 11 October 1976.



in 1980 Mike Oldfield made a cover-version of the song, which is found on his

QE2 album. The artwork for Oldfield's single is a parody of ABBA's Arrival album

artwork depicting the artist in a Bell 47G helicopter.



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WILLIAM TELL OVERTURE



"William Tell Overture" is a single by musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1977.

It is a rendition of the William Tell Overture. However this version of the

William Tell Overture did not have much of an impact on the UK charts.[1] It is

the first of the two non-album singles released by Mike Oldfield in 1977.



The UK B side was "Argiers", which had previously been the European b-side for

an earlier Oldfield single "Portsmouth". "Argiers" had been recorded in January

1976 at Througham and features Leslie Penning on recorders. Some European

versions included the track "First Excursion" as the b-side, however in Brazil

the b-side was "Portsmouth".[2] The B-sides were taken from Oldfield's

Collaborative / Remix Box-set, Boxed.



The music video for The William Tell Overture is comprised of multiple

incarnations of Oldfield performing the song on different instruments. The

effect is as if a room full of Oldfields were playing together.



* When referring to his then most recent release, The William Tell Overture,

Oldfield called "It a real rouser".

* In an advert for the single, the tagline "It'll shake you to the core" was

used, referring to William Tell's apple incident.

o The full advert reads: "The new single from the more whimsical side of

Mike Oldfield. You clog-danced to 'In Dulci Jubilo'. You crashed through the

ceiling to 'Portsmouth'. Now hear William Tell Overture by Mike Oldfield. It'll

shake you to the core."



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CUCKOO SONG



It was originally written by Michael Praetorius (1571 – 1621) and was arranged

by Oldfield. The B side (Pipe Tune) is an original composition by Oldfield. The

single (in a plain white sleeve) was included as a free bonus when the double LP

Incantations was released in 1978. It is one of the many non-album singles which

Oldfield released in the 1970s. "Cuckoo Song" also features Les Penning.



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IN DULCI JUBILO



Mike Oldfield's "In Dulci Jubilo" is an instrumental version of the traditional

Christmas carol "Good Christian Men Rejoice". The carol is traditionally sung to

a German tune of the same name as Oldfield's tune. Mike Oldfield had recorded

another version of this song as the B-side to his previous single, "Don

Alfonso", which did not chart, playing all instruments himself. Later, he felt a

better version could be done, and re-recorded it in October 1975 at the Manor,

but incorporating some of the previous version's backing tracks recorded

November 1974 at the Beacon, his home studio.



The new version features Leslie Penning on 2 recorders (probably treble and

sopranino) and kortholt, Mike Oldfield on acoustic and electric guitars, piano

and ARP string synthesiser, and William Murray on snare drum.[1] Oldfield's

decision to re-record the song proved to be a good move; it appeared in

Christmas season playlists on radio across Europe, charting at number 4 in the

UK,[2] and is one of his most re-issued short songs. It also charted at number 7

in the Irish Singles Chart and at number two on the Dutch Top 40.



The song's authorship shown in the track listing below is how it appears on a

recent compilation CD. Most editions from the 1970s and 1980s credit it to R. L.

Pearsall, arr. Oldfield. Bach and Pearsall both wrote arrangements of it, but

the song dates further back than either composer. Italian pressings of the

single from 1975 credit it to J. S. Bach.



"On Horseback" features Mike Oldfield on vocals, accompanied by a children's

chorus credited as the Penrhos kids. It previously appeared as an untitled song

at the end of Oldfield's 1975 album Ommadawn, banded separately but merely

listed as part of "Ommadawn part two" on the label. The album's liner notes

refer to it as "the horse song on side two". Virgin Records recognised this song

could also be a contender as a Christmas hit, and was already being played on

radio before it was issued as a single; therefore the UK single's label bore a

large "A" on each side to encourage radio play of both sides. A large "A" is

often used to mark promo records, and copies are often mis-identified as promos,

but all have this mark.



This record's success as a Christmas single encouraged Oldfield to issue a

similar instrumental piece, usually with recorder as the lead instrument, as a

single every year's Christmas season up to 1980.



A music video was made for this song, and can be found on the DVD, Elements -

The Best of Mike Oldfield. It is probably the only non-recent Mike Oldfield

video that is still shown occasionally on television. The video splits the

screen in up to 9 thumbnail frames, each showing Mike miming playing a different

instrument. Mike's face is not shown in frames where he is seen playing an

instrument he did not play on the record.



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PORTSMOUTH



In an attempt to repeat the success of his previous year's Christmas hit, "In

Dulci Jubilo", Mike recorded another traditional folk melody dating from 1701

(first known publication),[1][2] again using Leslie Penning on recorders. The

single was just as successful as its predecessor, charting at number 3 in the

UK,[3] and became his first non-album single to be issued in the USA. It also

charted at number 19 in Ireland. Mike Oldfield plays acoustic guitar, accordion,

mandolin, ARP string synthesiser, tambourine, kettle drum and bodhran (Irish

drum), and both Oldfield and Penning are credited with "feet".[4]



This song, plus two others chosen as the B-side in different countries, had been

released the month before as three of four new songs on the compilation album

Boxed. They were mixed and encoded for SQ quadraphonic sound, the only format

this album was issued in, and all issues of these songs in vinyl and tape

formats have the encoding, even if they only say "stereo" on the label, as do

all single releases.



"Argiers" is another traditional folk song, performed by Leslie Penning on

recorders and Mike Oldfield on acoustic guitar and ARP string synthesiser. An

unusual feature of this arrangement is that it is in a minor key, having been

converted from its original major key via diatonic transposition. "Portsmouth"

and "Argiers" were both recorded in January 1976 at Througham, Mike's new home

studio, shortly after he moved from his previous home in Hergest Ridge, which

was the location of his previous home studio, the Beacon.[4]



"Speak (Tho' You Only Say Farewell)" is an old show tune performed by David

Bedford on piano and vocals, and Mike Oldfield on vocals. It is similar in style

to Bedford's earlier work in the Coxhill-Bedford Duo with Lol Coxhill, and was

recorded at the Beacon in November 1974.



A music video was made for this song, and can be found on the DVD, Elements -

The Best of Mike Oldfield. Shot in Mike's Througham studio, it shows four female

folk dancers who dance around the studio, while Mike is seen playing various

instruments, but not the recorder, which he did not play on the record. As in

the video for Mike's previous single, "In Dulci Jubilo", the video emphasizes

that Mike plays all the instruments, even though this is not strictly true.



The song has become synonymous with English football club, Portsmouth F.C., who

sometimes play the tune before or after games at their home stadium, Fratton

Park. Notably it was played during their victorious FA Cup 2008 campaign,

including after the final game against Cardiff City on 17 May 2008 at Wembley.



The piece was also featured in the 1979 NASA documentary film by Tony Palmer,

The Space Movie.



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GUILTY



When Oldfield was in New York recording Platinum and "Guilty" he recorded a

disco arrangement of his first album, Tubular Bells.[1] A version of Free's "All

Right Now" was also recorded during these sessions.



It is notable for being Oldfield's first obvious attempt to capitalise on a

current musical trend, in this case disco/dance music.



The music video for "Guilty" is in a colourful cartoon style.



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BLUE PETER



The royalties from the single went to the Cambodia appeal launched by the

children's show.[1] It charted at number 19 in the UK Singles Chart.



Traditionally, the debut of a new version of the famous theme tune "Barnacle

Bill" is accompanied with an introduction by the presenters at the time

explaining the reasons behind the new rendition. Mike Oldfield's version had its

genesis in his appearance on the programme in 1979 to demonstrate how modern pop

music was created using multi-track recording techniques. The end result was

liked enough by both the viewers and programme producers to be retained as the

permanent theme, and Oldfield additionally recorded a new version of the

programme's closing music, which runs for just 20 seconds and has never been

commercially released.



It should be noted that the released version of the theme is actually a further

re-recording, which incorporates many subtle changes compared to the TV version,

in addition to eliminating the opening snare drum roll, extending the piece to a

more suitable duration for commercial release, and being mixed in stereo. The TV

version was mono-only (British television was not broadcasting in stereo at that

time) and has never been made available for sale.



The music video for "Blue Peter" shows Oldfield competing in a race with various

kinds of vehicles. The intro is filmed in black and white and begins with a

silent movie style title card 'Episode 4 "The Race"'; there is a second card

after a short sequence with Oldfield and another man, displaying 'Zhree, Two,

vun Actshun!' (meaning 'Three, Two, One, Action!'). The race then begins, three

of the competitors are Oldfield himself (filmed in different shots as a pilot,

pirate and a man with a moustache) and some are not. The vehicles include

hovercraft, a tricycle hang glider, a helicopter, a three wheeled ATV, a larger

ATV and a kite buggy. The end of the video appears to parody the His Master's

Voice logo with a gramophone and a dog (ie. Nipper).



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WONDERFUL LAND



"Wonderful Land" is UK #1 single by The Shadows. The song was released on the

Atlantic Records label in the U.S., but did not reach the Billboard Top 100.

This single stayed more weeks at #1 in the UK than any other single during the

60's - including those by The Beatles.



Mike Oldfield covered "Wonderful Land" on his 1980 QE2 album. Oldfield's version

was also released as a single and as the B-side for his "Sheba" single; in some

countries, "Wonderful Land" was the a-side. The Shadows later covered one of

Oldfield's songs, "Moonlight Shadow".



Two guitarists, Hank Marvin (of The Shadows) and Mark Knopfler (of Dire Straits)

recorded a version of "Wonder