Cavalier (Lost Version)
Group: Members
Posts: 598
Joined: Nov. 2010 |
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Posted: Sep. 14 2013, 10:49 |
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When I mark the milestones of my time following Mike, it's been easy to forget that Five Miles Out was my first album. For anyone who might be furrowing their brows as they read that, or crying out: "Liar!", you will indeed find evidence within these forums that The Complete Mike Oldfield was my very first purchase, back in 1986; so FMO heads the studio album list. 1992 saw the next big leap forward with 4 fine, fine cassettes bought, so the significance of the intervening years sometimes fades from my immediate recollection.
As I've said before, part of the reason for that is that I liked Complete so much, and didn't feel a need to explore more. The greater part was a reluctance to prioritise one artist over others when there was so much other music I felt I should also be buying, and so much else that I spent/wasted my money on. I did get a few teasing episodes with other examples of Mike's work - the first was a couple of listens to TB as squeezed onto a friend's C-90 tape (which consequently cut out during the guitar noodlings on part 2 - no great loss). The next was an uncharacteristic borrowing of an LP from my library - I don't remember ever doing it again - and that happened to be Five Miles Out. In the couple of weeks that it belonged to me, I discovered it to be a pretty decent album, and absorbed it enough to find Taurus II going through my head as I took photos of cars within the Deutsches Museum in Munich. If not dissatisfaction with the music, a prime reason why I didn't repeat the experience was going away to university soon after that.
There, the opportunity to borrow cassettes from that local library service led me to try Earth Moving at some point in 1989. Big mistake, and it stopped me from taking the chance on the next two albums that appeared in shops. But in that meantime, at Woolworths in 1990, a familiar-looking cassette with a budget price caught me at the right time and I was reacquainted with the decentness.
Taurus II - solid, excellent and magical in places. Family Man - familiar from Complete, still likeable but not essential. Orabidoo - less substantial than the other long track, but when it caught me in the right mood, absolutely lovely. Mount Teide - the shadow of the liner notes from Complete have always loomed large in my recollections. Carl Palmer's presence and drumming on this didn't tantalise me in the least - which meant the live version kicked this one out of any stadium he may have graced. Five Miles Out - striking, forceful, already a long-term favourite. I have the impression that I heard it back in 1982. I wasn't buying any singles back then, others have to take responsibility for its mystifying absence from the Top 40 in the UK.
The cassette player was still going strong in 2000, so last week saw my first upgrade to discs. My ignorant ears consider the sound quality to be very good. It's been my fault that I've not heard three of the tracks in full for so many years and I've enjoyed catching up. Bits of Orabidoo have seemed even lovelier, and Taurus II is still my favourite of the long instrumentals in that era. What's really embarrassing is how much I'd forgotten Waldberg (The Peak), but I guess I only ever thought it to okay to listen to. The FMO demo is another kettle of fish. It's an excellent version of a very distinctive song. I'm not sorry that this one was reformed into the eventual release, bar one aspect; the rhythm of the long outro is much better.
The live bits of the album aren't too bad but will take some getting used to, as these things do. I haven't always enjoyed Maggie's accompaniments on the live releases so far, but I wouldn't say that they're sub-standard here. I'm more surprised that Tim Cross misses some of the feeling in Taurus II's lullaby - I could do better and that's really saying something! Fair dos though, as he helps make this the best version of Tubular Bells in recent releases - my eventual listen to the Crises version notwithstanding.
5.1 is till just a fraction to me. Whatever effect I get playing the DVD and hearing the sound through my television alone, I've largely enjoyed what I hear. Better drumming from Carl, at least! I certainly get that change in emphasis two thirds into Taurus II. In my opinion, as all of this is of course, the guitar that's been brought to the fore isn't up to the task of being a strong enough counter-melody. If it had hit heights earlier it might have made it...
Visually, it's a strange one. Hergest Ridge was excellent, Incantations okay, but there wasn't much to Ommadawn. There's more going on here from various sources but who couldn't grasp the logic of a single left-to-right pan and scan of the track sheet during the song in question? And what has it got to do with Mount Teide?! The spinning picture disc is something to do all right, but I think pinching an impression of the official video for Five Miles Out would only make sense if the original didn't follow straight after in the options.
And lastly, if I had seen the mimed then live performance back in 1982, would I have made the jump to fan status several years earlier. Umm...
-------------- "Who was that?" "That was Venger - the force of Evil! I am Dungeon Master - your guide in the realm of Dungeons & Dragons!"
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