Absolutely masterpiece. I can't believe even today, after hearing for more than 50 years (I'm 72....), that such music could be done by an human been...
Ommadawn is probably my favourite Mike Oldfield album. I love how on the original album the chant just builds, becoming more and more powerful. If anybody is interested here is a translation of the chant. Daddys in bed, the cat is drinking milk. I'm an idiot and I'm laughing. They were written down at random in English by Clodagh Simmons who is the vocalist on the original album. They were translated into Gaelic by her mother. In fact the title Ommadawn is based on the Gaelic word for idiot.
Maggie Reilly's singing is absolutely extraordinary on this extract ! And like Mike Oldfield, she's always here more than 25 years later, with the same pure voice. Her latest album ROWAN is a jewel, don't miss it !
So many performances get 'fixed' for DVDs, that I kinda like the honesty of this 'warts & all' release. And, really, the few mistakes are easily forgiven. It's a long set and Mike's constantly working - often complex pieces. I don't think many that watched the concert would deny the phenomenal level of playing.
Never listen better music than Mike Oldfield 2 masterpieces Ommadawn and Hergest Ridge. Definitively my top 1 all time over every other music ever written.
Cierto que ha sido y es un genio adelantado a su tiempo. Es como Mozar en tiempos modernos. Uno de mis músicos favoritos Un monstruo capaz de transportar la mente de cualquiera a otro mundo con su genialidad musical.
Superb performance! What Mike does with guitars, skipping from one instrument to the next is simply awesome. Thank you whobearUK for sharing all 3 parts, specially this one! "Ommadawn" is more than a musical masterpiece, it´s what you´d call an "spiritual" experience, something beyond physical senses. I´d like to share a visual interpretation based on part 2 on the album (the continuation to this live performance here), you can find the video by typing "Ommadawn Visions". Peace!
@sphereballs Wikipedia says the line up was: Mike Oldfield - Guitar Mike Frye - Drums and percussion Morris Pert - Drums and percussion Rick Fenn - Guitar and bass Tim Cross - Keyboards Maggie Reilly - vocals
kinder than kind..my wee heart loves Hergest Ridge too (his first) which was very celtically loverly and all too overshadowed by the wonderful TB und this
Ommadawn da capa ao conteúdo é uma obra-prima. O trabalho é uma viagem, incontáveis foram as vezes que o ouvi. É imensamente prazeroso vê-lo e ouvi-lo ao vivo.
Can't help but sigh over the stupidity of the cameraman: to hold the camera on Maggie humming same several notes instead on Mike during the final solo, perhaps the most potent solo in his whole repertoire. He's being born at that moment and we can't see it. This is the sad stereotype: the singer's singing, so it's the most important person and we need to show only her.
Without the help of tons of other musicians, the live performances can never measure up to the studio albums. Still, it's great to actually see Mike play.
No soporto a Maggie y menos aún al editor, que está todo el rato enfocándola; como si no estuvieran pasando cosas bastante más interesantes en el escenario. Es incomprensible
He plays that guitar like it's a freaking violin! It even sounds like a violin. What a tone... it's totally nuts! His vibrato is totally uncommon, never seen anybody plays like this. And the right hand, the fingerpicking style... also the scales that he is using while soloing are so uncommon and differ from a boring blues/rock pattern that the 99% of all guitarists use. He's so fluent and melodic. This is probably the most original guitar playing I have ever seen, and I've seen a lot stuff. So original and uncommon!
although he siad himself, that he used half-speed recording on the studio-album, which gives double-speed in playback, he was able to do it live then. wow. Ommadawn was may first CD.
@purplefurball:, i don't think of it as boring, its such a delight to listen to this album and even better watching him at his performances, then you know that it is real. heh.... best regards
I absolutely agree. Besides we can see on the DVD that Mike was sweating almost all the concert long, it must have been very warm on the stage and I would rather wonder how he managed not to make MORE mistakes ! :-)
I have to be thankful though, because (despite finding nowadays the most of his stuff mere average) it was the beginning of a long way that would take to New Age, Minimal Music, and afterwards to Avantgarde, Jazz, some World and Ethnic Music, and back to classics. Without being an annoying hardcore Mike Oldfield for a couple of years in my teens it probably wouldn't have happened (that way, at least).
Au même titre que l'aventure de Genesis, de Pink Floyd ou encore de Kate Bush, celle de Mike Oldfield est unique. On accroche ou pas : il faut un login et un mot de passe pour entrer ! Mais pas besoin d'être un baba cool attardé pour y trouver plaisir et intérêt, ne serait-ce que comme alternative/complément à la psychothérapie. Mike m'a aidé à vivre voire à survivre dans ce monde qui "craint".
In a brandnew interview he said he will not do this again...to perform his compositions live on stage takes about hundred musicians and that's what almost ruined him back in the ommadawn days.But he also said never say never...;-)
4:15 to 6:53 is my favorite part of this great piece of music. Oldfield describes it as a "round" in another video. IMHO, the best rendering of that part is in the Knebworth live concert where percussion shines in full power. Here, Maggie Reilly pulls it because she is just awesome but I would have liked more of the drums. Incidentally, I would love to see Gary Wallis playing that piece.
