Mike Oldfield- Incantations Pt. 3 (First Listen) 

I love the guitar after the long vibraphone section in part 4. This is a magical album.

Totally agree. In the Space Movie it perfectly matched the transitions from launch attempts and explosions to the serenity of achieving orbit.

HaHa perfect!

Mike is a classical composer of the modern era. The difference is he gets to use modern instruments and sometimes non musical instruments for example in Amarok a mechanical typewriter and a manual toothbrush amongst others. Mike is a genius who I’ve enjoyed listening to since 1974

@@markwakefield8533 Interesting about Amarok and his use of non musical instruments. I have that CD- I'll have to give it another listen!

Oh awesome!

Pics or it didn't happen ;)

Yeah, it´s total auditive epic psychedelic hardcore!! :-) :-)

Downwind is a good choice for Justin to react to as well.

I'm hip, Gong is very curious. David Allen lived in a famous hotel in France with the famous beat authors, Ginsberg and Burroughs. Then he ended up in the Wild Flowers, the mother of all the Canterbury bands. I feel Gong started very psyedelic space rock, then went the fusion route, then returned to their roots. You know Mike Ratlidge was displeased with with the fusion direction Soft Machine turned into.

Pierre was also one of the final straws for Mike's neighbours at The Beacon. The complaints about him playing the timpani with the windows open during the making of Ommadawn strengthened Mike's determination to install his next studio within a more isolated house!

Guilty was Mike Oldfield does disco. The title was a tongue-in-cheek pre-emptive to suggestions that he may have sold out by going with such a commercial sound.

Platinum is good. Some only really dig the 1st 4 Instrumental albums . But for me from now on I really start enjoying the shorter pieces and vocal tracks.

Pierre's brother Benoit Moerlen also contributes vibraphone playing on the album as well.

OMG. yeah, I had completely forgotten about Guilty. Not sure if I liked it at the time, but I'd give it a go now!

I have to agree that 'QE2' is not as bad as its reputation. Despite some cringeworthy cheese (an ABBA coverversion? "Musical Wonderland"??) there are some absolute stunners and some of Mike's most beautiful melodies on there.

That's a deal-breaker for me, as that intro is SOLID GOLD.

My first introduction to this album was with one of those shortened CD's in the mid 80's...I had no idea Part 3 started like that until one of my friends was playing his later version copy - I was gobsmacked I had been missing that exuberant opening for some years! I have still got the shortened version for posterity!

Ty so much Trinidad! I appreciate you watching and listening with me!

Great to see some analysis showing the real compositional cleverness of this class of music.

Excellent! Ty Alan

Ty so much Alvaro, his music is indeed incredible

@@JustJP he also made great pop songs like moonlight shadow, islands or Heaven's open (he sings that one himself).....Cheers from Barcelona!!!

Thanks so much for sharing that Maria, he is indeed amazing

@@JustJP At that time electronic equipment in Poland was scarce. I spent HOURS visualizing technicality of making Tubular Bells, trying to imagine how much time and how many sound recorders (called magneto phones) and synthesizers were needed to combine these single beautiful scores into one magnificent symphony. Until this day even looking at Mike on You Tube playing, I can't comprehend, that is humanly possible for ONE person, still at his teen years to master that many different instruments...

For me it is the goddesses incantation in part one that most outstays it’s welcome. Although there is some change throughout the section it never seems enough to justify the length to me, unless I am missing something? Update: Thanks Bookhouse Boy for your recommendation of 'Exposed'. I'll look into getting hold of it .(I couldn't reply directly to you as, despite me getting an email notification, your reply to me has not appeared here).

Interesting, never saw that before and didn’t know planes made him move away. Ironic as he grew to love flying.

Ty Frederick! Definitely a great road trip album!

in Exposed album this part shines by itself

A wonderful labyrinth indeed!

I think it's really about the 4 parts, not only part 2, they all contain quite a bit of repetition. But I think that's neither a good nor a bad thing, because that depends on the listener, so some will find it a bit too much while others will ask for even more, and I try to respect and understand both views.

. . . and "First Excursion".

@@schuylersouthwell2554 plus several more I forgot

@@linusfotograf among them "North Star" part of Platinum, song by Philip Glass

@@MarkusErmert Well, that’s part of an album which I hope he does too.

I can enjoy this with my electrolux too.

@@vdggmouse9512 Vacuum Cleaner Culture is a Minefield of Hyperbole. My Miele is ...'underrated'. The Budgie of the hoover world. As opposed to the overhyped Sab / Led / Purple Dysons of this world. JP, any thing to add?

Miele? You must be a high roller! Here in my Edge of the world (Los Angeles) Miele's are the top of the toppermost! I envy you. I bet your Miele comes in real handy when JP does his Kansas reviews.

The mighty Miele roar. The ease of how it rolls over the thickest of shags. The sleekest of bodies combined with the most voracious of appetites makes the Miele the unstoppable picker-upper. I can only bow down and acknowledge your obvious greatness. I'm humbled.

@@vdggmouse9512 Ha! Kansas were disappointing on here i must admit. It’s a low end budget Miele honest, which is in the process of wrecking my back . I’m obviously unaware of who’s who in the vacuum league . Oldfield sweeps Kansas under the carpet music-wise though i think. The question i ask myself now is Am i brave enough to give Vital a spin? If yes , which side then...? (Bear in mind I’m still a trifle cabin fevered lockdown dizzy 🎷🎻🥁🎹)

The only kind of bug I wanna catch these days!😃

He has to explore Tangerine Dream if he likes Mike.

At the moment, this one actually 😃

Each Incantation part has its own movements. part 3 has 3 or 4.

@@MarkusErmert That's not what a movement is. There may be multiple themes in each seperated movement.

In my experience... is exactly the contrary. At first glance, oldfield music isn't easy... but it turns better and better the more you listen the same piece of music... once you know how his music flow and also knowing when it will change the rithm, then your anxiety caused for the repetition vanished, allowing you to enjoy a lot more the journey the more you listen it again. And always discovering a new hidden sound in the background. And It works best when you are doing something else at the same time, like reading a book or driving your car. It's like a mantra.

@@felipefasel1762 There's two ways to listen to music. Passive listening (doing something while listening) and active listening (focus on music/lyrics fully immersed). When I bought albums in my youth (I'm closing in on 65) - I leaned towards progressive music and gave my full attention to the album I was 'studying.' It really was like homework and I studied the music/lyrics. When doing that with Mike Oldfield albums I felt they weren't as deep/substantial/enthralling as VdGG/PH/Genesis/Yes/King Crimson/Gentle Giant/Camel/Pink Floyd/Cardiacs/Banco/Le Orme/PFM/ELP/Jethro Tull and still others. Those artists I just mentioned have albums that to me are 'growers.' They keep getting better with age. Exactly as you describe your experience when listening to Mike Oldfield's albums. Sadly - I wish it was the same with me - but Mike Oldfield albums are good to ok when I first experienced them - and later when I revisit them - alas, they're still good to ok. They don't excite/enthrall or captivate me. I also agree - if you listen to music while doing other things simultaneously - you probably will hear things that you previously didn't. When I saw Mike Oldfield live in the 70's - it was fantastic. Great energy. Listening to his albums - less so. Never bad - just not top shelf!

@@vdggmouse9512 I very rarely listen to music while doing something else, and some of Mike's music (not all by any means) indeed has gotten better for me the more I have listened, certainly more than, for example, Pink Floyd, and I listen to it with relative regularity. We need to consider that when listening to music there are 2 elements, the music and the listener, and the latter is as important as the former, and that both, let's say, have to "match"; the enjoyment of music is extremely subjective, so I try to avoid talking about it in absolute terms, which is not easy at all (that's why practically everybody says "this music is good" when they actually mean "I like this music"). Also, there are several "ways" of enjoying music (you may like the sounds, the lyrics, the chord progressions, the aggressiveness, the accompanying visuals, its construction in a theoretical sense). If what you mean is that you do know music theory, have studied Oldfield's music, and consider it to be simpler in a theoretical sense than other progressive rock, I won't be able to offer an argument against that at this point, though I don't think it means much about its capacity to make people enjoy it. I would be honestly interested in an elaboration, though, even if my music theory knowledge is veeeeery limited, since in an interview with Tim Cross (the keyboardist that toured with Mike at the start) he seemed to suggest that Mike's early music was more complex than its easy listening would suggest.

@@trisibo Thanks for your reply, Trinidad. I am by no means anything but an average listener who has his own strong opinions. I have these opinions based on over 50 years of listening experience BUT I am neither a musician or an expert in music theory. If I wasn't clear before I'll try to be clear now. While I do like Oldfield albums - I don't feel I get that great musical climax that crescendo that special moment of greatness that I perceive I do get with Thick As A Brick, Shine On, Man-Erg, Close To The Edge, 21st Century..., Lady Fantasy and other prog classics. For whatever reason - Oldfield albums are just nice journeys with both complex and interesting soundscapes that seem to promise bigger more conclusive greatness than they ultimately deliver. I unquestioningly prefer Oldfield to the likes of Kansas, Rush, Styx, and the Foreigners of the so-called prog world but when it all comes down to ultimate enjoyment - I have always felt that Mike Oldfield albums lead me to the mountain but not to the summit. I - as just an average man with an average brain and no technical skill whatsoever just feel that way. Yet when I saw Oldfield live - it was a fantastic and unforgettable live show.

@@vdggmouse9512 Yeah, I think more or less I understand what you mean. I'm also a completely average man (though maybe with a childish brain, but that's for another discussion 😅), I have studied a very teeny-weeny bit of music and can play a pair of pieces horrendously, but other than that I'm completely lost with music theory (it's an absolutely crazy subject, like an infinite labyrinth), so I can't say more than "I like this" or "I don't like that". I hope I didn't sound like I was lecturing you or anything like that, it wasn't my intention at all! I'm 25 years younger than you, and when I started listening to things like Oldfield, Pink Floyd, or other kinds of stuff similar or different, that music was suppossed to be for a minority of older people that couldn't appreciate the new cool music that dominated at the time, and which I was suppossed to like. So when people asked me what I liked and I said "Mike Oldfield", most of the time they literally laughed at me and looked at me with disdain, so for some time I just stopped telling people what I really liked, I was embarrassed... But at some point I started to think about what the hell was going on, and I came to the conclusion that the issue is that when we think that some music is objectively good in some sense and that's why we like it and why everybody else should like it in the same way as us, what is really happening is that we like it... and that's mostly about it; there's probably some objective part in it, which music theorists (maybe even biologists?) can no doubt explain, but a lot is due to subjective reasons of several types. And that's when everything clicked in my mind, and when I started being quite a bit picky and maybe even annoying when talking about enjoyment of music and other arts in ways I perceive to be too absolute. I also do that, though, I can be stubborn with myself. That's all my opinion, of course. So, as I said, I think I understand what you mean with Oldfield's music. It definitely works for me to get me to the summit (again, not all of it, not even most of it), and there's some part of me that wants to say "you don't understand it, it's the best music and you should completely love it, AAAARGGGGGHHH!", but I would be in the wrong, whatever you enjoy the most you are right in your reasons to do it. I'm a bit jealous that you got to see one of his first concerts! I only managed to be in a NOTP concert in 2007 in which he just played a few shortened pieces, but, damn, my ears almost melted to hear some of his music live with a big orchestra, specially Ommadawn with a chorus, it all came and went too quickly.

Git ya some headphones , sit back in a nice recliner with a shot or two and whatever else you may partake in and relax....suspending judgement and expectation Go with the flow...let the waves wash over you Simply "Be"

I have to agree with tom mac. I like some of Oldfield's music - Ommadawn is excellent - but this is too repetitive for my taste. To my ear, each piece is the same riff with minor variations that goes through a series of chord changes. Glad I listened to it, but I doubt I'd go out of my way to listen to it again.