Customer Reviews

The Complete Mike Oldfield

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

if you somehow can't dig the net in search of his many unpublished and rare tracks this is the place - almost half of material from here was never published on CD - "Guilty","Jungle gardenia","Cuckoo song","Mistake","Waldberg (the peak)" and many more....there are also some live performances like amazing "platinum suite" improvisation (Oldfield proves here that he is one of best live guitar players)
there are also many of his hits like "Moonlight shadow","Family man","Etude" - some of them appeared in slightly shortened versions - and also pieces of his majestic long moods like "Tubular bells" or "Ommadawn")
"Complete" is a valuable source of Mike "Treasures" and a good starting place for starting Mike Fans.

Appearing in '85, this compilation remains one of the best available to those of who believe in the strength of his earlier work, when compared to the weak 'Earth Moving', for example. Spread over two CD's as opposed to the flabby 'Elements' package, you get the classic short instrumentals ('Blue Peter', 'Guilty' etc), the best songs ('Moonlight Shadow', 'Crime of Passion' etc) on CD 1. CD2 brings generous snippets of the early full-length works - 'Tubular Bells' & the seminal 'Ommadawn', but these are supplemented by four live tracks, from a 4-year period ending in '84. Listen to 'Mount Teide' - LOUD - and tell me straight you don't believe in the power of live music - even in a recording - to move the soul and send shivers down the spine. Awesome. A genuine Five-Stars.

This album features a glimpse of the range of style that mike covered up to the Killing Fields album. While it only contains snippets of the long tracks it covers all the singles, except "On horseback". Sides 1 to 3 may be not be for the Oldfield purists,(see above review), but the unreleased live tracks on side four are probable the best thing Oldfield has ever put on record. Maggie Reilly fans should also take note of it. This side should be played loud!!!!!!

This album features a glimpse of the range of style that mike covered up to the Killing Fields album. While it only contains snippets of the long tracks it covers all the singles, except "On horseback". Sides 1 to 3 may be not be for the Oldfield purists,(see above review), but the unreleased live tracks on side four are probable the best thing Oldfield has ever put on record. Maggie Reilly fans should also take note of it. This side should be played loud!!!!!!

Side One The Instrumental Side
Disc: 1
1. Arrival
2. William Tell Overture
3. Cuckoo Song
4. Jungle Gardenia
5. Guilty
6. Blue Peter
7. Waldberg (The Peak)
8. Wonderful Land
9. Etude [Theme From the Killing Fields]
Side Two The Vocal Side
1. Moonlight Shadow
2. Family Man
3. Mistake
4. Five Miles Out
5. Crime of Passion
6. To France
7. Shadow on the Wall
Side Three The Complex Side
1. Ommadawn [Excerpt]
2. Tubular Bells [Excerpt]
3. Hergest Ridge [Excerpt]
4. The Incantations [Excerpt]
5. Killing Fields [Excerpt]
Side Four The Live Side
1. Sheba
2. Mirage
3. Platinum
4. Mount Teidi

As one of the tracks inplies on this poor collection of Oldfields music, The Complete Mike Oldfield, is definately a mistake to purchase. There is not enough hear to appeal to fans of Mikes rareties, the tracklisting is appauling and you are much better off with the 4cd Set Elements box set or the more recent xxv The Essential Mike Oldfield collections. The year of this albums release 1985 means that, Islands, Earth Moving, The brilliant Amarok, Heavens Open, Tubular Bells 2, Songs of Distant Earth, Voyager, Tubular Bells 3, and Guitars, do not get a look in. The smart money is with Elements Box set or XXV The Essential Mike Oldfield. Give this one a miss.

The first commercial recording I ever bought was by Mike Oldfield back in the late 70s. I didn't know anything about him except that the guy in the music store recommended him. It blew my mind. He has been a favorite ever since even though my tastes tend to run toward baroque organ fugues, bagpipes and old country and western pieces with the occasional Sinatra thrown in.

Some of Oldfield's albums have been disappointments but others made the disappointments worthwhile. "Collection" albums were generally less than thrilling. This one, though, is an example of excellence and demonstrates many facets of his skills.

The album is on 2 CDs and contains a wide cross section of his work.

The first part of the first disk contains some his shorter instrumental pieces. These are usually classics to which he gives his own spin. He makes these pieces written for classical instruments sound like they were written (and written well) for electric guitars. He is a consummate instrumentalist.

The second part of the first disk is devoted to some of his vocal pieces. These have never thrilled me but the one here are some of his best and are worthy of hearing.

The first part of the second disk is labeled as "The Complex Section". It features outtakes from some of his album length masterpiece compositions. They are, in effect, major symphonic pieces composed for modern instrumentation. This is what he does best and the selections here are great.

The second and last part of the second disk is my favorite from this album. It features live performances of some of his mid length pieces from the "Long" albums. While I do not normally like live recordings, the quality here is high. More important to me, the selections are rendered differently than they are on the original albums. This means that when I expected something to happen a certain way, I was surprised when it often went off in a new direction or was done differently. It provides more examples of his superb artistry.

This is a great one.

Yeah, you might get a few rarities here. And it's neat to have a lot of these short tracks in one place. But the idea of chopping up Oldfield's long-form pieces, which on a collection calling itself "The Complete Mike Oldfield", should be treated as a criminal act! To comply with FTC Truth In Advertising laws, this should be retitled "The Hacked-up Mike Oldfield, With Loads Missing That Should Be Here, But Which Isn't". Not even useful as an introduction to Oldfield's work. Stick with the original releases, and come here only if you just HAVE to have those rare tracks. You'll be glad you did.