Artist: Mike Oldfield
Title Of Album: The Complete Mike Oldfield (2CD)
Label: Virgin
Years: 1985
Genre: Rock-Pop-New Wave
Source: CD

Playing Time CD 1: 61:48
Total Size CD 1: 345,88 MB

Playing Time CD 2: 55:58
Total Size CD 2: 282,14 MB

Quality: FLAC+Cue+Log+Info+M3u8+Cover[Front Back CD]
Bitrate: Lossless

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                      Tracklisting
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CD 1

The Isntrumental Section

1. Arrival [02.47]
2. William Tell Overture [03.55]
3. Cuckoo Song [03.13]
4. In Dulci Jubilo [02.50]
5. Portsmouth [02.02]
6. Jungle Gardenia [02.37]
7. Guilty [04.04]
8. Blue Peter [02.07]
9. Waldberg (The Peak) [03.24]
10. Wonderful Land [03.39]
11. Etude (Theme From The Killing Fields) (Single Version) [03.07]

The Vocal Section

12. Moonlight Shadow [03.36]
13. Family Man [03.47]
14. Mistake [02.55]
15. Five Miles Out [04.19]
16. Crime of Passion [03.37]
17. To France [04.33]
18. Shadow On The Wall (12'' Version) [05.08]

CD 2

The Complex Section

1. The complex section-Excerpt from Ommadawn 1975 [06.59]
2. The complex section-Excerpt from Tubular Bells 1973 [07.59]
3. The complex section-Excerpt from Hergest Ridge 1974 [04.20]
4. The complex section-Excerpt from Incantations 1978 [04.41]
5. The complex section-Excerpt from The Killing Fields (Evacuation) 1984 [04.11][/color]

The Live Section

6. The live section-Sheba [03.30]
7. The live section-Mirage [05.12]
8. The live section-Platinum [14.28]
9. The live section-Mount Teide [04.34]

This was originally released in 1985. I bought it then, shortly after 'Discovery' the year before, and I loved it. It is the best Oldfield compilation up to that time and one of the best of all time. The enjoyment factor is still there over twenty years later.

The first section consists of short, charming instrumentals before the second section of vocal tracks. We are treated to his best songs which have a pop/rock/folky feel to them: the smash hit Moonlight Shadow with its blistering guitar solo, 'To France' with more great guitar work, the delightfully strange 'Five Miles Out', and so on. It's a shame that the five minute version of 'Shadow on the Wall' slightly outstays its welcome.

Part three consists of excerpts from his early complex pieces. I think that, overall, the high points are there, even though I think that the best of 'Hergest Ridge' is probably the first nine minutes. Anyway, we get eight minutes of 'Tubular Bells' (the end of the first half of the original), seven minutes of 'Ommadawn' including some haunting chant before some trademark guitar work from Oldfield, four minutes from 'Hergest Ridge' and another four minutes from 'Incantations'.

The final section consists of four live tracks. They are all brilliant, especially the fourteen minute rendition of all four parts of Platinum.