Ommadawn [Original recording remastered]

I grew up in a house soundtracked by Mike Oldfield's albums as my Dad was a huge fan, and since then we've both eagerly awaited each release, and keenly discussed each record after our first listens. "Ommadawn" was always a big favourite of my Dad's ("The Songs of Distant Earth" was his absolute favourite - "Amarok" mine) so this reissue was a must for both of us.

First of all it looks splendid - a three disk set (2xCD, 1xDVD) in a cardboard case protected by a thick plastic sleeve, and even the David Bailey artwork seems to have been given a bit of attention. The booklet is definitely worth a read, telling the story of the making of the album, in which several interesting snippets are revealed, such as that part two of "Ommadawn" was written and recorded in a week, and the overwhelming wall of guitars at the start is made up of 1,984 tracks! I was surprised to find a typo in the credits ("purcussion") but that aside it's an enjoyable read.

But what of the music? For me, "Ommadawn" was always far more consistent than "Tubular Bells" - for me that one tailed off badly in the second part - and is altogether a more pastoral sounding record, almost folky in places. It's a wonderful piece of music, eerie in parts due to the female vocals, powerful in others, particularly the last eight minutes or so when the African drums come in and Mike opens up with the guitar. The 2010 mix sounds great, some small details finally rising from the murk (drums in the "reggae" section which I'd never heard before) and by the end I was reaching for the play button once again to have another go. Part two isn't quite as good, dominated by drone-like guitars and uilleann pipes for long sections, but is still excellent in its own right, particularly the jaunty section at the end. "On Horseback" still raises a smile, but is far from essential Oldfield.

Elsewhere in the package there are a few tracks previously issued on the "Boxed" compilation many years ago, and the second disk features the original mixes of "Ommadawn". There is also a demo of "Ommadawn", previously thought to be lost. It is almost as long as the finished part one and is surprisingly close to the end result in places, but very different in others. It's a fascinating listen, marred only by a bizarre section where Mike (I presume) is telling bad "I say, I say, I say" jokes, which is reminiscent of the Janet Brown section on "Amarok" many years later (of course, Mike originally saw "Amarok" as being "Ommadawn 2", which explains the cover artwork and the similar construction in some areas). It won't replace the final version of "Ommadawn" in my affections, but it's still interesting to hear.

The DVD contains a 5.1 version of the 2010 "Ommadawn" mixes and, although I don't have a 5.1 setup my Dad does and he's informed me that it sounded great to him, but that the visuals - still photos of Mike back in 1975 - aren't up to much.

Always one of Mike's best albums, "Ommadawn" is an essential purchase. Roll on the rest of the remasters, and hopefully more new music soon.

In my opinion Ommadawn was by far the best Mike Oldfield album and this 2010 edition is even better than the original. I would have settled for just a clearer sound but this surpasses all my expectations. On a surround sound system it is spectacular and dynamic and all the electric guitar sections cut through beautifully. Even the section at the start of side 2 is more melodic and easier to understand compared to the original which received a lot of criticism at the time.
Overall, a brilliant revamp of a classic recording.

Ommadawn is the first album where Oldfield made the transition from multi-instumentalist noodling away in his bedroom to fully fledged composer / producer / genius - and we can only really judge this from this reissue. Back in 1976, Oldfield replaced the original mixes of Hergest Ridge and Ommadawn with the remixes from "Boxed". In the case of Hergest Ridge this was a radical change, resulting in a much subtler and less involving piece. In Ommadawn the changes he made were less brutal, but they can nevertheless be heard, especially in the first five to ten minutes. The second disc here presents the 1975 for the first time on CD - and is worth the purchase price on its own.

Oldfield's remix sounds crystal clear and is interesting to fans in that it reveals layers of the texture, consisting of a myriad overdubs that were Oldfield's trademark at the time. Ommadawn utilized many overdubbed guitars, often fed through harmonising effects units, to create scintillating textures, rendering each instrument almost unrecognisable within the texture. These days all you need is a decent synth patch to produce the same effect, so in the new mix Oldfield has chosen to focus on details within textures. Sometimes I found this disruptive, but never at a loss to my enjoyment. It is like hearing a very good live interpretation of a well known classic. In general, Oldfield opts here for a warmer, more three dimensional sound.

The liner notes are excellent, although I was disappointed by the occasional error -"In dulci jubilo" and "Througham Slad" are misspelt throughout. However, the inclusion of the lost version of Ommadawn more than makes up for this. The notes explain that as Oldfield worked on the first draft, the tape began to wear out, resulting in him having to re-record the whole of side one. Up to now, the only record of this original version had been a few tantelising snippets from Tony Palmer's film "All You Need Is Love". Here though, the abandoned recording is presented in full, ammounting to approximately 18 minutes of original Oldfield, never before released in any audio format. It explains so much - for example, why was Herbie credited on the Northumbrian pipes, when the only pipes to appear on the final recording are Uilleann, played by Paddy Moloney from The Chieftans. Why was Pierre Moerlin credited with playing Timpani - no hint of which mad it through to the final version. All is revealed when you listen to this lost recording. I must admit that with a few exceptions I felt that this work benefitted hugely from the tape wearing out. The ideas presented here have an unfinished feel to them.

Obviously, had the tape held together, Oldfield would have revised certain features and reworked some of what is presented here, but I can't help feeling that being forced to rethink the whole piece produced a more mature, satisfying recording.

Every Oldfield fan should buy this - even if they own the original on CD. It also serves as a perfect introduction to new enthusiasts, either for Oldfield or for the genre of "World Music", of which this is one of the absolute pioneers.