Now 57, and I still copy Ommadawn onto my car's player every once in a while. And a good day ends best with driving home and... Ommadawn. Sends shivers down the spine. This is a very-very exciting version, I'll buy it and swap it for a while. Thanks.
I have to say that heregest ridge followed by ommadawn and then incantation, not forgetting platinum, helped me survive my teens in 70s and early 80s. I miss the 70s so much. ( my school yrs) and ambient music. Long live david Bedford also.
@@joebrown756 When Hergest Ridge came out I loved it - well, side one anyway. I thought that side was every bit as good as TB. Ever since, I've been surprised at the lack of love it gets.
Fin the Fail 👍 You're spot on. In connection, Mike doesn't consider himself a songwriter. He says that he just "does" what's inside him. This comes from recent filming from his home in the Bahamas. Not from some old archived video. Man On The Rocks filming.
Funny. I listened and thought, "Meh, okay." Then I remembered and put my LEFT earbud in as well. I'm a purist, and rarely do I think "alternate versions" are worthy. THIS is amazing!
How lucky were you. I got my first pair of long trousers. I know what I would have preferred. Certainly another year in shorts so I could own an album by oldfield.
Fancy an eleven-year-old being given such a sophisticated musical piece as Ommadawn. And loving it. I wonder, were you prepared a bit by hearing classical music or jazz in the home before?
What a wonderful alternative version of my favourite album of all times. Didn't know it existed. I wouldn't have liked it from anybody else than the master himself. Well, maybe except for the conversation between two drunken farmers in a muddy field, which is possibly an acquired taste.
Amazing version of this masterpiece, thanks a lot. A refreshing rediscovery of a tune whose every note I know by heart. I shall certainly consider buying this album if it's still to be found.
Mike was learning to play the harp for this album and it is clear that he had better command of the instrument in the album version. The synth theme is interesting, but also not quite as good as how the final version ended up. I could go on, but the upshot is that this is a very interesting look at his creative process. A lot of this sounds like it could have been part of Hergest Ridge. That's not a bad thing, just a nod to the fact he hadn't put his second album entirely behind him. It is interesting to compare with his original "Opus 1" recording of Part 1 of Tubular Bells that he presented to Richard Branson. It was a prodigious accomplishment for a 17 year old, but clearly unpolished and cliche ridden.( ua-cam.com/video/WRpHgLHG1q8/v-deo.html) Obviously this early version of Ommadawn recorded a good five years later still suffers from a certain juvenile lack of attention. Mike Oldfield as a composer can stand with the greats of modern music, but he is not without his weaknesses. This particular outing makes me think of the sort of bombast that Rick Wakeman has been capable of in his worst moments. The original version of the album also included "Horse Song" which it would have been better off without. That song properly belonged on the B side of a single and to his credit it is no longer included on the current release of Ommadawn. I admit that I run hot and cold with Oldfield. I find his pop songs mostly obnoxious although there are many big fans in Europe that consider those the most important part of his life's work. "To hell with Ommadawn, give me Moonlight Shadow!" De gustibus non desputandem, I suppose. He did finally hit a wall in his longer instrumental pieces continually being dragged back to Tubular bells. He and I are only a few years apart in age. I wonder how it feels to be in your late 50s still grinding over a bit of madness you generated when you were 17! I give him a lot of credit for not shooting himself.
“Mr Heller, you’ve never written another novel as good as Catch 22” “Who has?” “Do you think of Bohemian Rhapsody as a millstone round your necks?” “Yes, but at least it’s a diamond encrusted millstone” There are ways of dealing with that feeling.
the final closing part is beautiful it would be a good section on the original opera. mike tried to look for a folk demential irony into a smooth but raw realistic scene, but he was too tragic inside to find out a way for humour. ommadawn is a nonsense word for a fool or maybe drunken state or dance
a very interesting version i quite like it. but i say i say i say. not as much as the final cut . and that gets played very often clearly one of mike,s best albums !
The sound quality of the original Ommadawn seems to have suffered from the hundreds of overdubs because Oldfield wanted to play all of the instruments himself. This sounds a little brighter and better.
Do you ??... I bet you like Taskmaster and Insert Your Name Here... Comedy so incredibly unfunny that you can easlly contemplate euthanasia to escape the mediocrity and the fact that other humans actually find it amusing.
This version is a bit rough around the edges (to put it mildly) but i think in essence was what he originally wanted plus tweaks here and there (like shortening and improving "that" guitar solo) that he probably made on the final mix recorded on the degraded tape. I wonder how this rough mix got lost...how the hell do you loose a tape and then suddently you end up making pretty much a new album out of trying to piece it from head. Maybe this mix was just a demo sent to Virgin just to show "work" and they archived it and never thought of "Hey here is your rough demo mix back...so you dont have to try to remember..." And yes i agree we got a better album in the end.
Some years back I read that Mr. Oldfield ruined the original tape by over-dubbing so much that it became unusable and had to start over. Perhaps with today's digital technology the original recording(s) were able to be recovered.
Fragmented and episodic describes most of Mike's best work. Notably Amarok, which was Ommadawn 2 once upon a time. But yeah, Ommadawn stands out as one of the more coherent pieces.
The hiStOrY plays out as follows,,, the Original recordings were lOst due to the magnetic tape degrading in the overdubbing process in the recording and mixing down the tracks
From booklet: "For many years it was thought that the early recordings made by Mike during this time had been lost forever, until research for this new edition of Ommadawn revealed the existence of a rough mix of the original multi-track tape which had been archived by Virgin records in the Spring of 1975. This mix is presented on this expanded edition for the first time."
Listening for the first time... it sounds like a modern mix and has a lot more air/reverb than the released version. Seems to be a fair bit of (Arp2600?) tinkly sound effects on this one. Nice rhythms as well... However, I'm glad he redid it because I think the pacing is better and this has a more Hergest Ridge vibe at times. I think this served as a great demo for what was to come.. . one of the things I liked about Mike's use of the synth is that I was never that aware of them.. he used them in such an organic way... Still really cool to hear this. The sound of genius at work.
He had no choice but to. He wore out the tape, as well as himself, as Richard Branson said on _All You Need Is Love_ , and thus had to start all over again.
It's hard to be objective when you've got vanilla version in your mind and body. Try to have fresh ears and traveling on this version was impossible to me. Always try to find where the differences are. (For exemple, the first solo on distortion electric guitare was very different and more atonal.)
Thanks Xylaquin. How do you know that? It doesn't sound like him to me! It's interesting and amusing and I wonder why it was included on this 'lost' version. How much do you know about it?
I was pretty sure it was him too, but I'm wondering now how it is I knew that haha. Maybe if you compare with the Caveman part of Tubular Bells and his vocals on Crises ("Crises! Crises!"), you can hear his gruffer voice. (Gruffer is a word, apparently)
I don't know much about it, although it does sound like him (there's not many recording of Mike's voice at this stage of his career mind you, but that does sound like him...must be the accent lol). Plus, it being a demo recording he wouldn't have had any collaborators yet. Perhaps the guys over at Tubular.net can shed more light on it tubular.net/forums/ommadawn-lost-version--?act=ST;f=13;t=9665;st=0
In an interview or documentary I watched on Oldfield, they commented that he wasn't a good singer & they wanted him to practice at it. They started small by disguising his voice until he felt better & got more experience. In a different commentary regarding "Five Miles Out" it said that the pilot voice is Oldfield himself. They used something to distort his normal voice. It also fit in well with what one might expect from an airplane mic communication. He's a man of few words. A unique blend of genius & humility. His compositions do the talking.
Since the tape for Part 2 didn't get gummed up like Part 1, it didn't have to be redone from scratch (because 1975), so there isn't a "lost version" of Part 2. And with that in mind, it seems to me miraculous that this somehow made it to UA-cam.
I didn't know about this embryonic version of Ommadawn until today. I think the final album recording has more impact and flow of composition, though - my favourite of all Mike's LP's
Ommadawn is one of the best albums of all time.
Thanks Mike, years and years of pleasure for me. 37 years or so, wow I'm old
I absolutely love this verisin of ommadawn until 12.42 when,I'm afraid, goes down hill. No need for the voice over. Sorry Mike.
Et moi 56 ans! Omadown est ma jeunesse! Je ne m'en lasserai jamais !
Not to old. I 64 .
А мне 75 и я не старый!
Basically too good to be admitted into the pantheon of 'critically acclaimed' popular music. A genuine masterpiece.
I don't know if Mike Oldfield has been 'admitted' to the Rolling Stone Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I hope not. It doesn't deserve him.
Now 57, and I still copy Ommadawn onto my car's player every once in a while. And a good day ends best with driving home and... Ommadawn. Sends shivers down the spine. This is a very-very exciting version, I'll buy it and swap it for a while. Thanks.
Oh dear. I'm the same age. I also have ommadawn and heregest ridge in the car . This is a beautiful version except for the annoying voice-over. Sorry.
This is the best album from the 70s, closely followed by Incantations. He nailed it with these albums.
I have to say that heregest ridge followed by ommadawn and then incantation, not forgetting platinum, helped me survive my teens in 70s and early 80s. I miss the 70s so much. ( my school yrs) and ambient music. Long live david Bedford also.
@@joebrown756 When Hergest Ridge came out I loved it - well, side one anyway. I thought that side was every bit as good as TB. Ever since, I've been surprised at the lack of love it gets.
Tubular bells was undoubtedly the best.
HRidge !
Incantations is beautiful
Wonderful and timeless . A visionary , a genius .
So incredibly beautiful !
I've always said that Mike Oldfield doesn't play the Guitar....he simply makes it sing for him, beautiful, unique, inspiring.
Fin the Fail 👍
You're spot on. In connection, Mike doesn't consider himself a songwriter. He says that he just "does" what's inside him. This comes from recent filming from his home in the Bahamas. Not from some old archived video. Man On The Rocks filming.
agree but HE IS THE GUITAR )0(
Just like Dave Gilmour. Two amazing guitarists
So well said
@@SyfollMO лучше!
Funny. I listened and thought, "Meh, okay." Then I remembered and put my LEFT earbud in as well.
I'm a purist, and rarely do I think "alternate versions" are worthy. THIS is amazing!
my Christmas present in 1975 I was 11 yrs still my favourite of all time.
How lucky were you. I got my first pair of long trousers. I know what I would have preferred. Certainly another year in shorts so I could own an album by oldfield.
Fancy an eleven-year-old being given such a sophisticated musical piece as Ommadawn. And loving it. I wonder, were you prepared a bit by hearing classical music or jazz in the home before?
omg it was mine as well 😁, I was 14 and already a huge fan ... brought up on classical and playing guitar since age 8
I say I say I say, this was a treat to listen to! Love you Mike
how sweet this lost version...its came back to the magic
I'm going to give this a few listens. It's often the version we are most familiar with that we like the best.
The Part that I listen to from time to time
ua-cam.com/video/heWIeznTG2Y/v-deo.html
What a wonderful alternative version of my favourite album of all times. Didn't know it existed. I wouldn't have liked it from anybody else than the master himself.
Well, maybe except for the conversation between two drunken farmers in a muddy field, which is possibly an acquired taste.
The best album ever recorded.
6:00 God how much I love that part
Syfoll it’s weird I used to hate that part when I first heard ommadawn, but now after hundreds of listens it’s one of my favourite parts
Amazing version of this masterpiece, thanks a lot. A refreshing rediscovery of a tune whose every
note I know by heart. I shall certainly consider buying this album if it's still to be found.
So beautiful...
I really like this gentle, softer version, a LOT. Thanks for the upload! 👍
I recommend to listen to Mike's Return to Ommadawn interview. There Mike explains the origin of this "lost version".
Arturo Garcia , thanks for that information.
sttgaegoaktd
Arturo Garcia , thanks for that information.
sttgaegoaktd
Excellent tip.
I found this version with Spanish subtitles.
ua-cam.com/video/j1RCfnruMDo/v-deo.html
Well, what is it?
I enjoyed Ommadawn for most of my life, but I did think Amerok was a better album, more polished. Mike Oldfield... the soundtrackof my life,
AMAROK-лучшее музыкальное произведение XX века ❗❗❗
It's good but we got a much better version after the tape broke.
Che bellissimo brano...e disco....peccato che non ne ha fatto altri così belli.....
i tempi cambiarono
E pensare che questa nn è la versione che usci sul vinile
Love the pipes at the end !
The Uilleann pipes were magic. accompanied with the harp, the bit before was rubbish.
Lost version to be saved of this masterpiece. Thanks.
Da li je ovo prva dama, koja sluša Oldfielda?
dont say you prefer it... just say its a compliment to what we think we know...
🤔🤗
So pure,so emotional strong ..a pearl !!!
Mike was learning to play the harp for this album and it is clear that he had better command of the instrument in the album version. The synth theme is interesting, but also not quite as good as how the final version ended up. I could go on, but the upshot is that this is a very interesting look at his creative process. A lot of this sounds like it could have been part of Hergest Ridge. That's not a bad thing, just a nod to the fact he hadn't put his second album entirely behind him. It is interesting to compare with his original "Opus 1" recording of Part 1 of Tubular Bells that he presented to Richard Branson. It was a prodigious accomplishment for a 17 year old, but clearly unpolished and cliche ridden.( ua-cam.com/video/WRpHgLHG1q8/v-deo.html) Obviously this early version of Ommadawn recorded a good five years later still suffers from a certain juvenile lack of attention. Mike Oldfield as a composer can stand with the greats of modern music, but he is not without his weaknesses. This particular outing makes me think of the sort of bombast that Rick Wakeman has been capable of in his worst moments. The original version of the album also included "Horse Song" which it would have been better off without. That song properly belonged on the B side of a single and to his credit it is no longer included on the current release of Ommadawn. I admit that I run hot and cold with Oldfield. I find his pop songs mostly obnoxious although there are many big fans in Europe that consider those the most important part of his life's work. "To hell with Ommadawn, give me Moonlight Shadow!" De gustibus non desputandem, I suppose.
He did finally hit a wall in his longer instrumental pieces continually being dragged back to Tubular bells. He and I are only a few years apart in age. I wonder how it feels to be in your late 50s still grinding over a bit of madness you generated when you were 17! I give him a lot of credit for not shooting himself.
“Mr Heller, you’ve never written another novel as good as Catch 22”
“Who has?”
“Do you think of Bohemian Rhapsody as a millstone round your necks?”
“Yes, but at least it’s a diamond encrusted millstone”
There are ways of dealing with that feeling.
A good assessment, thanks.
Glad this was lost and he did another version.
Love that magical section that starts at 3.25
wersja mocno alternatywna, mocno nasiąknąłem tą oryginalną z winyla - teraz jakbym słuchał tego któryś z pierwszych razów - emocje jak w '70.
To My Lady Miki with love ....soul and heart ....o parere doar ... Dna Mihaela Kostenczyk , a familiei cu acelasi nume ....La Multi Ani !
genius musician
the final closing part is beautiful it would be a good section on the original opera. mike tried to look for a folk demential irony into a smooth but raw realistic scene, but he was too tragic inside to find out a way for humour. ommadawn is a nonsense word for a fool or maybe drunken state or dance
a very interesting version i quite like it. but i say i say i say. not as much as the final cut .
and that gets played very often clearly one of mike,s best albums !
Sa musique touche au sublime
The sound quality of the original Ommadawn seems to have suffered from the hundreds of overdubs because Oldfield wanted to play all of the instruments himself. This sounds a little brighter and better.
Love the conversation toward the end.
Do you ??... I bet you like Taskmaster and Insert Your Name Here... Comedy so incredibly unfunny that you can easlly contemplate euthanasia to escape the mediocrity and the fact that other humans actually find it amusing.
Hahaha that was good, thanks! Never heard of those two things you named, but after I give this another listen, maybe I'll go check those out.
This version is a bit rough around the edges (to put it mildly) but i think in essence was what he originally wanted plus tweaks here and there (like shortening and improving "that" guitar solo) that he probably made on the final mix recorded on the degraded tape. I wonder how this rough mix got lost...how the hell do you loose a tape and then suddently you end up making pretty much a new album out of trying to piece it from head. Maybe this mix was just a demo sent to Virgin just to show "work" and they archived it and never thought of "Hey here is your rough demo mix back...so you dont have to try to remember..." And yes i agree we got a better album in the end.
Some years back I read that Mr. Oldfield ruined the original tape by over-dubbing so much that it became unusable and had to start over. Perhaps with today's digital technology the original recording(s) were able to be recovered.
Is it possible to get tired of listening to Mike oldfieild ?
NO!
In over 30 years of being l fan, I've yet to encounter that problem.
The vesrion we all know is less busy and is more harmonious. I don't think I've missed anything with this version but thanks anyway.
I bought it, and my wife took it. However Iwas glad I left.
This makes a better Return to Ommadawn than that fragmented, episodic cd he released more recently.
Can't accept that, Joe ;-) RtO has drawbacks, but with all MO's music repays (endless) listening...
Fragmented and episodic describes most of Mike's best work. Notably Amarok, which was Ommadawn 2 once upon a time. But yeah, Ommadawn stands out as one of the more coherent pieces.
This is better than RTO
I actually prefer its softer touch, but wish it didn't have those awful annoying voices messing up Clodagh's gorgeous voice.
10:17 ..........................without words!!!
The hiStOrY plays out as follows,,, the Original recordings were lOst due to the magnetic tape degrading in the overdubbing process in the recording and mixing down the tracks
OMG!
interesting- thanks.
Sounds like the young Mike Oldfield experimenting with different arrangements. The joke interruptions are awful!
sttgaegoaktd
Cool version. How was this lost, when/how has it been found - etc?
From booklet: "For many years it was thought that the early recordings made by Mike during this time had been lost forever, until research for this new edition of Ommadawn revealed the existence of a rough mix of the original multi-track tape which had been archived by Virgin records in the Spring of 1975. This mix is presented on this expanded edition for the first time."
Thanks!
It's easy, I lost my car in car park once,
Listening for the first time... it sounds like a modern mix and has a lot more air/reverb than the released version. Seems to be a fair bit of (Arp2600?) tinkly sound effects on this one. Nice rhythms as well... However, I'm glad he redid it because I think the pacing is better and this has a more Hergest Ridge vibe at times. I think this served as a great demo for what was to come.. . one of the things I liked about Mike's use of the synth is that I was never that aware of them.. he used them in such an organic way... Still really cool to hear this. The sound of genius at work.
@@afroamarok cool!!!
Very pleasant but the later version is far superior.
It's no wonder he rejected this mushy version for the vastly superior final cut.
He had no choice but to. He wore out the tape, as well as himself, as Richard Branson said on _All You Need Is Love_ , and thus had to start all over again.
The music is dreamy, very impressive, but the attempt at comedy around 13:00 is way out of place.
Wasn't expecting that bit! Would certainly have ruined the vibe I was on as an 17 year old now turning 50..
Its that bit of madness...the crazy touch of Amadan na Briona
It's very stressing
A reminder that Ommadawn was contemporary with Monty Python etc.
Well it’s obviously not lost
A few parts on this were better then Vanilla version but overall, I prefer the original vanilla
@@Absolutely_puck_fakestine this is rum and raisin
It's hard to be objective when you've got vanilla version in your mind and body. Try to have fresh ears and traveling on this version was impossible to me. Always try to find where the differences are. (For exemple, the first solo on distortion electric guitare was very different and more atonal.)
I was enjoying this until the jokes started. wtf??????????
does anyone know who the two voices are doing the 'I say, I say, I say' dialogue?
Blair MacEwan Crosbie that's Mike Oldfield himself ;)
Thanks Xylaquin. How do you know that? It doesn't sound like him to me! It's interesting and amusing and I wonder why it was included on this 'lost' version. How much do you know about it?
I was pretty sure it was him too, but I'm wondering now how it is I knew that haha. Maybe if you compare with the Caveman part of Tubular Bells and his vocals on Crises ("Crises! Crises!"), you can hear his gruffer voice. (Gruffer is a word, apparently)
I don't know much about it, although it does sound like him (there's not many recording of Mike's voice at this stage of his career mind you, but that does sound like him...must be the accent lol). Plus, it being a demo recording he wouldn't have had any collaborators yet.
Perhaps the guys over at Tubular.net can shed more light on it
tubular.net/forums/ommadawn-lost-version--?act=ST;f=13;t=9665;st=0
In an interview or documentary I watched on Oldfield, they commented that he wasn't a good singer & they wanted him to practice at it. They started small by disguising his voice until he felt better & got more experience. In a different commentary regarding "Five Miles Out" it said that the pilot voice is Oldfield himself. They used something to distort his normal voice. It also fit in well with what one might expect from an airplane mic communication. He's a man of few words. A unique blend of genius & humility. His compositions do the talking.
Well, part 1. I wonder about part 2?.. 🤔
Since the tape for Part 2 didn't get gummed up like Part 1, it didn't have to be redone from scratch (because 1975), so there isn't a "lost version" of Part 2. And with that in mind, it seems to me miraculous that this somehow made it to UA-cam.
@@Hammster69official Gracias!! 👌👌
"Gummed".. 🐭
where's part 2??
I'm sure he only did a demo for part 1.
Please listen to zhe original: ua-cam.com/video/0_igQKKqZ2s/v-deo.html
trop rapide
What's got 3 bottles, 5 eyes, no legs and 2 wheels?
sto cazzo
Absolute fraude
I didn't know about this embryonic version of Ommadawn until today. I think the final album recording has more impact and flow of composition, though - my favourite of all Mike's LP's