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Sammy Group: Members Posts: 43 Joined: Aug. 2011 Posted: Aug. 20 2011, 11:55 Well, this could actually be extended to people who like Mike Oldfield's 70's output in general - now, almost everyone knows "Moonlight Shadow"... and perhaps many are at least vaguely familiar with Tubular Bells, but I've found that especially with Incantations, it's terribly hard to come across anyone who likes it (or even knows of it) - present on-line company excluded of course! Perhaps I've just had bad luck but I've never met anyone IRL who would have had the album, or liked it so it's been a lonely road being a fan. I wonder if anyone else has had the same experience - at least I've noticed that if you like a piece of music a lot you're bound to try and make others see the beauty of it, too - pretty soon you'll find out that foaming at the mouth while doing so is not a very good start but even if you try not to preach, or push your opinion to others, what you'll quite likely experience when playing stuff like "Incantations" to your friends is that they'll look at you askance and go "hmm, okay... erm... what other albums have you got?" In other words Incantations could be described as "party killer no. 1 - guaranteed to send the guests home before you can say Jack Robinson [or Mike Oldfield]" There's a serious side to my post - on this forum where talking about the glories of Incantations is best described as preaching to the converted, it's easy to forget that (at least to my experience) we are a vanishing breed, we who know and love this album. It's interesting to speculate whether a large percentage of the new 2011 master record sales actually consists of us old tested and tried fans buying another version of the bally thing... or whether there are "new fans" out there. I mean.. I just thought, what would be the motive of a modern-day youngster for example to purchase a copy of Incantations? Is't it almost as if it were the epitome of "dad-rock" - or even worse, since it's not strictly speaking even "rock"? I'm finding it surprisingly hard to come up with any sensible answer. (I'm 42 myself so I do not definitely count as a "youngster" - a drooling, blithering Incantations fan since the early 80's) So... are we all a bit peculiar, a bit mad to like it? At least I think I am; just a bit, but still Back to top

wiga Group: Members Posts: 2113 Joined: Sep. 2008 Posted: Aug. 20 2011, 15:32 Quote (Sammy @ Aug. 20 2011, 16:55) So... are we all a bit peculiar, a bit mad to like it? At least I think I am; just a bit, but still Hi Sammy. Yes I think so.     I used to feel a bit freaky until I came on here. My frends and family were non-plussed with Incantations.   -------------- Barn's burnt down - now I can see the moon. Back to top

Sammy Group: Members Posts: 43 Joined: Aug. 2011 Posted: Aug. 21 2011, 14:16 Quote (wiga @ Aug. 20 2011, 22:32) My frends and family were non-plussed with Incantations.   Join the club! Then again, there's perhaps also a degree of enjoyment in all this - you can consider "Incantations" as your own private wonderland so to speak. ...plus, you can secretly look down on the hordes of uncivilised barbarians who cannot appreciate its beauty   (only joking there but perhaps there's a tiny bit of that in it as well, whether we consciously want to acknowledge it or not) Back to top

wiga Group: Members Posts: 2113 Joined: Sep. 2008 Posted: Aug. 22 2011, 02:54 Quote (Sammy @ Aug. 21 2011, 19:16) you can consider "Incantations" as your own private wonderland Yes - it's a magical winter wonderland! All for me.   -------------- Barn's burnt down - now I can see the moon. Back to top

0+1(I1) Group: Members Posts: 418 Joined: Mar. 2011 Posted: Aug. 22 2011, 06:36 I know what you mean Sammy & Wiga but its sadly all part of being gifted with a set of fully operational ears with a mind that is in tune & wired in correctly, EY?. Joking aside (if that was a joke?) I have been over the years lucky enough to have found friends that have through my love of Mikes sounds gone on to actually purchase albums of his for their own use, yet I could probably count them on two hands over the near 40 years I have been championing his works. Well I think as with many of his longer pieces its a question of having the time to really get into the flow of these works & being able to be immersed & concentrate for lengthy periods, some people need things to all happen quickly. From my own point of view incantations is best on the Exposed album as I yearn to hear the audience response at the end.  My father would drift down to my room as it reached the end of the crescendo & say MARVELOUS lets hear it again only louder! this and the end of Amarok were the only two pieces of music we shared a love of, however he could not stay still or quiet for long enough to fully appreciate the journeys in their entirety. On this note I think is where Mike meets his largest hurdle a pretty unsurpassable one I am afraid, in that the young seem to be in either a constant state of fidgeting/bored, or in an erratic state of motion in their tech & consumer driven lives, they never seem to relax or concentrate on just one thing, this maybe a slight overgeneralization of the young.  Yet to my eyes it does appear to be the trend, however hopefully not spelling out their end in evolutionary terms but I do fear it might be Mikes, or at least his greatest Nemesis. -------------- L◎ST ◎MMADAWN VERSI◎N RIDDLE ANSWER  mIChaeI GOrDOn OIDfIeId. =  I C   1  G◎D   OO ID I I or replace the L's that were turned in to I's & 1 gets ID◎L G◎LD ID◎L (4 ANSWER IN FULL + EXPLANATION, C ALBUM SECTION/☮MMADAWN/i-say-i-say-i-say-i-say-in-answer4XXX4Acr⊕ss Back to top

Sammy Group: Members Posts: 43 Joined: Aug. 2011 Posted: Aug. 23 2011, 09:09 Quote (0+1(I1) @ Aug. 22 2011, 13:36) On this note I think is where Mike meets his largest hurdle a pretty unsurpassable one I am afraid, in that the young seem to be in either a constant state of fidgeting/bored, or in an erratic state of motion in their tech & consumer driven lives, they never seem to relax or concentrate on just one thing, this maybe a slight overgeneralization of the young.  Yet to my eyes it does appear to be the trend, however hopefully not spelling out their end in evolutionary terms but I do fear it might be Mikes, or at least his greatest Nemesis. You may have something there - it seems any piece of music lasting +3 minutes is nowadays doomed hopelessly to the marginal, to be found only by those who prefer that kind of music anyway. So it's almost like preaching to the converted rather than finding a new audience for longer musical pieces. I'm also a bit pessimistic about this, but luckily it does seem that at least to some extent "prog rock" is not so much of a swearword nowadays as it used to be in the 80's especially. Not that I'd regard my fav MO albums as "rock" in the strict sense of the word. Back to top

Ghostmojo Group: Members Posts: 94 Joined: Mar. 2009 Posted: Aug. 27 2011, 07:28 I like Incantations but only with certain caveats. It is a double album that probably should have been stewed down to its essence on a single album. There are many sections that go on far too long and quite a bit of instrumental filler (particularly guitar solos and drum beats) which suggest that the ideas weren't strong enough to really fill four sides and so things get stretched out a bit to compensate. Side One is the essential bit. The rest is superfluous in many respects. -------------- " ... if you feel a little glum - to Hergest Ridge you should come ... " Back to top

Sir Mustapha Group: Musicians Posts: 2802 Joined: April 2003 Posted: Aug. 27 2011, 11:17 There are always "new fans" of Incantations, of Mike Oldfield, and everything else. There will always be a new fan around. You just need to look out and see that humanity is not, after all, this homogeneous mass that it seems to be sometimes. There are always people trying to stand out, to be different, to run away from the norm. There will always be the punk "rebel", there will always be the metalhead, there will always be the classical music snob, and so on and on. They may change shapes and forms slightly sometimes, but diversity always exists, and music never disappears -- especially in this digital age, in which recordings don't deteriorate with time. There will always be people finding Mike Oldfield and discovering something amazing in it -- like it happened with me, about 8 years ago. I say this with quite a lot of confidence. There are WAY much more obscure artists than Mike that also gain new followers all the time, so not all is lost. Also, Mike Oldfield's Facebook profile started posting A LOT of videos on YouTube, including Amarok in its glorious entirety. I even wondered if that was his real profile, but I just guess that Mike saw the true potential of the Internet and set out to gain a new following. Kudos to him, if that's the case. -------------- Check out http://ferniecanto.com.br for all my music, including my latest albums: Don't Stay in the City, Making Amends and Builders of Worlds. Also check my Bandcamp page: http://ferniecanto.bandcamp.com Back to top

0+1(I1) Group: Members Posts: 418 Joined: Mar. 2011 Posted: Aug. 27 2011, 11:54 You are not alone in doubting the true ID behind some of these face-book and Skype user IDs yet a highly reputable source told me the other day that I could have faith in at least two of them!. With regard to Amarok it has been there in all its glory since early April (and had it been 3 day earlier it would of been fair to say one would of been a FOOL to miss it! ) for the few fans who have not been with funds or ability to acquire a bona fide copy I will be posting a link to it  under the forum Albums section under the Amarok album:- TOPIC-- AMAROK ON U-TUBE--(ENTIRE 60' ALBUM). -------------- L◎ST ◎MMADAWN VERSI◎N RIDDLE ANSWER  mIChaeI GOrDOn OIDfIeId. =  I C   1  G◎D   OO ID I I or replace the L's that were turned in to I's & 1 gets ID◎L G◎LD ID◎L (4 ANSWER IN FULL + EXPLANATION, C ALBUM SECTION/☮MMADAWN/i-say-i-say-i-say-i-say-in-answer4XXX4Acr⊕ss Back to top

Sammy Group: Members Posts: 43 Joined: Aug. 2011 Posted: Aug. 27 2011, 13:17 Quote (Sir Mustapha @ Aug. 27 2011, 18:17) There are always "new fans" of Incantations, of Mike Oldfield, and everything else. There will always be a new fan around. You just need to look out and see that humanity is not, after all, this homogeneous mass that it seems to be sometimes. Sir Mustapha, of course you're right in all you say. I'm not quite that pessimistic about the thing as I might have implied in my original message, the fact still is that I've never really met anyone IRL who would have 1) had the album not to mention 2) who'd have liked it. Worse luck! Come to think of it - it might be a really satisfying feeling to introduce a piece of art like "Incantations" to someone and then see him/her go absolutely stir-fry crazy about it This reminds me of a time when I was working at a record shop, and once there was this girl who came to the counter and asked whether we have any copies of David Sylvian's Gone to Earth left. I was almost on the verge of answering "no not at the moment but I can order it to you - by the way, will you marry me?" Back to top

Hastengas Group: Members Posts: 319 Joined: Nov. 2010 Posted: Aug. 31 2011, 00:57 Agree Sammy...we are a weird bunch....Ive not met many people either who have heard it or when Ive played it for them, liked it. Still in MO's top 5 best albums ever for me. Back to top

Milamber Group: Musicians Posts: 2275 Joined: Feb. 2010 Posted: Aug. 31 2011, 03:09 I love it, it's not an acquired taste it's an inbuilt one IMO. Part three has got me back on the drums and playing along nicely too   Back to top

Scatterplot Group: Members Posts: 1981 Joined: Dec. 2007 Posted: Aug. 31 2011, 13:31 Yeah, there's nothing like "being there". In 1978 I had been waiting some time for output by MO. A cupla years earlier I passed on "Boxed" album set cuz I had the albums already. When I saw Incantations in the record store and grabbed it, I wrang that shammy for all it was worth on the turntable. It was a treat for a 17yo MO-starved kid. Jim -------------- We raise our voices in the night Crying to heaven And will our voices be heard Or will they break Like the wind Back to top

Hastengas Group: Members Posts: 319 Joined: Nov. 2010 Posted: Aug. 31 2011, 22:01 Quote (Scatterplot @ Aug. 31 2011, 18:31) Yeah, there's nothing like "being there". In 1978 I had been waiting some time for output by MO. A cupla years earlier I passed on "Boxed" album set cuz I had the albums already. When I saw Incantations in the record store and grabbed it, I wrang that shammy for all it was worth on the turntable. It was a treat for a 17yo MO-starved kid. Jim Do you remember the TV advertising? It made me burst with pride being just a little older than yourself...even then I used to get people say "Mike who". I bought "Boxed" and just about anything that featured Mike....right the way through the 70's and 80's, but by the time the early 90's came I just had to stop really..wasnt impressed with Islands or Heavens Open and the poppy phase...but I have to say I recently started to collect again especially as I lent some of my rare stuff to a neighbour in the mid eighties who never returned them...most of which Ive been able to replace, albeit it was hard work at times. I went to see Incantations live at Wembley Conference Centre and Arena a few days later....the whole set up made a real impression upon me and I still remember it like it was yesterday. Back to top

nightspore Group: Members Posts: 4770 Joined: Mar. 2008 Posted: Aug. 31 2011, 23:44 Quote (Hastengas @ Aug. 31 2011, 22:01) [quote=Scatterplot,Aug. 31 2011, 18:31]wasnt impressed with Islands   Vicki ..._ Attack!   Back to top

Hastengas Group: Members Posts: 319 Joined: Nov. 2010 Posted: Sep. 01 2011, 00:10 Quote (nightspore @ Sep. 01 2011, 04:44) Quote (Hastengas @ Aug. 31 2011, 22:01) [quote=Scatterplot,Aug. 31 2011, 18:31]wasnt impressed with Islands   Vicki ..._ Attack!   Perhaps I should delete that....seeing as it was 80's and I do actually ocassionally listen to it...as for Heavens Open....nah condemned to the bottom of my cd pile.....the first time I bought it I returned it in disgust.... :-) Back to top

compound eye Group: Members Posts: 13 Joined: Feb. 2010 Posted: Nov. 22 2011, 15:34 For me, when I heard Incantations for the first time - about 3yrs ago it was love on first listen... I was absolutely gobsmacked at how good it is. Think I even cued it up again the moment it finished... Which is all a bit strange really, given I previously only owned the 'classic trilogy' & Crises / heard enough snippets from 5MO, QE2, Platinum, Discovery and the like round my mate's house to know I didn't like them. Incantations represents such a huge departure from the albums I knew and liked before I'd be pretty much at a loss to explain my enthusiasm for it were it not for the realization that the cinematic / modern classical scale of the work fits very well with things like early Andrew Poppy, 'Venture' era Daryl Way / Peter De Haviland, and a whole slew of 60s/70s slightly off-kilter atonal or brass heavy fillum soundtracks I regularly play. Incantations would be my ultimate MO album IF the Hiawatha bit didn't dribble on for so long, and if the intro for part three wasn't so out of touch with the rest of the work, or was just edited out like the original CD release. It probably resides in my top three though. I recently invested in the re-release double of Incancations am absolutely stunned though at how little the extras add if anything... Superfluous even more drawn-out Diana/Hiawatha whinings with an unforgivable 'Hooked on...' style beat vomitted over the top of them, and a few isolated elephants from the album-true like the vibraphone sequence - which had absolutely no progression at all without the original overdubs and so becomes rather tedious after 2mins. Guilty? - well, I'm guilty of not liking it one little bit... sounds a bit like Mike trying to recover his cool, after all the Blue Peter exposure, and just sounding naff instead. So sadly, instead of adding to my love of Incantations, the reissue both barely improves on what was always a well mastered album anyway AND gives me a whole slew of new crap NOT to listen to also. Perhaps it is possible to have too much of a good thing? Back to top

Hastengas Group: Members Posts: 319 Joined: Nov. 2010 Posted: Nov. 24 2011, 15:33 Quote (compound eye @ Nov. 22 2011, 20:34) For me, when I heard Incantations for the first time - about 3yrs ago it was love on first listen... I was absolutely gobsmacked at how good it is. Think I even cued it up again the moment it finished... Which is all a bit strange really, given I previously only owned the 'classic trilogy' & Crises / heard enough snippets from 5MO, QE2, Platinum, Discovery and the like round my mate's house to know I didn't like them. Incantations represents such a huge departure from the albums I knew and liked before I'd be pretty much at a loss to explain my enthusiasm for it were it not for the realization that the cinematic / modern classical scale of the work fits very well with things like early Andrew Poppy, 'Venture' era Daryl Way / Peter De Haviland, and a whole slew of 60s/70s slightly off-kilter atonal or brass heavy fillum soundtracks I regularly play. Incantations would be my ultimate MO album IF the Hiawatha bit didn't dribble on for so long, and if the intro for part three wasn't so out of touch with the rest of the work, or was just edited out like the original CD release. It probably resides in my top three though. I recently invested in the re-release double of Incancations am absolutely stunned though at how little the extras add if anything... Superfluous even more drawn-out Diana/Hiawatha whinings with an unforgivable 'Hooked on...' style beat vomitted over the top of them, and a few isolated elephants from the album-true like the vibraphone sequence - which had absolutely no progression at all without the original overdubs and so becomes rather tedious after 2mins. Guilty? - well, I'm guilty of not liking it one little bit... sounds a bit like Mike trying to recover his cool, after all the Blue Peter exposure, and just sounding naff instead. So sadly, instead of adding to my love of Incantations, the reissue both barely improves on what was always a well mastered album anyway AND gives me a whole slew of new crap NOT to listen to also. Perhaps it is possible to have too much of a good thing? As I mentioned elsewhere just after the issue, I wasnt too impressed with the drum beat overkill, but love the bass intro which if anything I would have liked to have heard more of....Desiderata does add something as do the piano improvisation. I also like Cuckoo song etal as I only have them on vinyl, so having them on CD is a bonus. Overall, Im actually pleased to have bought the re-issue but doubt I will bother with any further re-issues in the future. Back to top

Sweep Group: Members Posts: 61 Joined: Sep. 2011 Posted: Nov. 26 2011, 06:48 I've only ever heard the Exposed version, never the studio one (I should do something about that). I liked it immediately. More to the point, I mentioned it to a couple of people at the time and yes, they'd heard it and were impressed with it. So it did seem to be getting attention at the time, at least where I was. I was amused by the comment in the original post about getting people at a party to go home. When Tubular Bells originally came out, my brother was at a party where someone put it on in the very early hours when no-one was dancing any more and people were thinking about going. There was a universal chorus of "What's this rubbish?" My brother bought the album from hearing it then. Interestingly, once it had become popular so did many of the people who called it rubbish on first hearing. BTW it's funny how everyone mentions Hiawatha, but no-one ever seems to refer to the Ben Jonson poem Queen and Huntress Chaste and Fair, and Jonson isn't credited, at least on Exposed. Maddy Prior mangled it a bit on Exposed, and it sounds like she didn't quite understand it, but it's still an interesting arrangement. I've always assumed it's on the studio version as well. Is it properly credited to Ben Jonson there? -------------- Website@: http://www.musicbysweep.com Twitter: sweep1 Bradnor Hill (in memory of David Bedford): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKeATjaMCgA Back to top

AUTOMATIC 18 Group: Members Posts: 30 Joined: Aug. 2012 Posted: Aug. 15 2012, 19:02 Don't laugh but when I first heard Incantations in 1991 I cried at the Hiawatha passage sung by Maddy Prior it was so beautiful. It one of my favourites and I love the Exposed DVD live version too! Back to top

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