New edition of the folk-prog-rock-ambient instrumental work or: The curse of the good deed.
When the 20-year-old multi-instrumentalist delighted the world with this debut in 1973, the surprise was great. The shy genius – the term “nerd” was not yet in common use – had created a monster and incidentally fueled the career of young entrepreneur Richard Branson, especially since the work was the first release on his label Virgin Records. Not that Oldfield would have refused further actions after that, only none could build on this initial success.
Parts II and III were released in 1992 and 1998, followed a year later by THE MILLENNIUM BELL and in 2003 there was even a new recording of the classic. An inflationary exploited concept, which can certainly cloud the mood. However, this does not detract from the qualities of the original, which has now been released again on CD and double LP: what Oldfield composed, arranged and staged almost single-handedly at the time is a remarkably dynamic and pleasingly varied piece of music, the soundtrack qualities of which became apparent early on were recognized. When sequences appeared in the horror thriller The Exorcist in late 1973, Oldfield and Branson were made men.