In my opinion, Mike Oldfield is one of greatest composers and musicians of the late 20th Century. He has yet to get the full credit and recognition he is due, but that will come some day, I hope.
In the meantime, we can enjoy his highly underrated music, as well as what few interesting covers that have been of it over the years. One of the most interesting ones is from 2000 and was recorded by Italian synthpop/dance outfit Bamble B. It was promoted with a black-and-white video that put me in mind of early Mario Bava films... which makes it a perfect choice for a Musical Monday and the ongoing string of cover tunes.
As some of you out there might know, I began my professional life as an entertainment writer, focused mostly on music reviews. I did that for roughly four years, after which I was so burned out on music that my car radio stayed tuned to talk and news-stations from 1993 through 2000... and I hardly played any music on my system at home. To this day, I still have not been to a life concert, or even watched one on television.
Major exceptions to my time away from music were certain works by Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams, Beethoven, and/or Handel... and everything by one of the 20th century's great composers and guitar players, Mike Oldfield.
I have loved Mike Oldfield's music since I first heard "Ommadawn". I prefer his long-form instrumentals over his pop/rock songs, but everything he's done is good. Even his weakest releases are far, FAR better than the best that many other modern song-writers and musicians produce.
Mike Oldfield turns 70 years old today. I honor him on his birthday, and I thank for enriching my life, inspiring my creativity--characters and storylines have all sprung into my head while listening to Oldfield--and bringing light into my world during my darkest times.
This post also celebrates over five decades of brilliant music composed and performed by giving you a chance to listen to some of my favorite songs from him, along with a few videos. Only a few of them actually that fit the black-and-white format around here, starting with a fan-made one (which features a little nudity, so be careful where you watch it), but I hope you'll be inspired to check out more of his music and come to love his work the way I do.
Here's another fan-made video, mostly abstract and set to some very pretty Oldfield tunes.
"Five Miles Out"--the title track from the 1983 album that is Mike Oldfield's greatest masterpiece. "Taurus II" (a 27-minute long track that occupied most of Side 1 of the LP record when it was first released) is his very best work, containing some of his greatest themes and melodies.
.jpg)
.jpg)
