Melange

Nature.
 

Nature.
 

May I also recommend the original version:
 
 

Old school favourite of mine, here. 
 
First off, my favourite performance of this is not on YouTube, one by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, under Sir Charles Mackerras.
 
(link)
 
I'd heard lots of performances of it until I got that one, but the one on that CD nailed it somehow.
 
However, this one on YouTube does a fine job, and a similar tempo to the one I love.
 
I'll never tire of what is 5:15 on the performance below, the way it comes out of nowhere again, the sheer flailing madness. 
 
And 5:27 was responsible for more arm flailing fist clenching demon faced air conducting in my teens than anything else I reckon. 
 
 

Nostalgia moment here.................
 
Dug out a treasure of mine tonight, the cassette of Ommadawn which my Dad Father purchased decades ago, the very same tape I heard him playing when I was knee high to a grasshopper, and then played for years myself many many times after being hooked by it, played in a variety of audio players in houses, portable cassette players, car cassette players, etc. It is a testament that this cassette is still intact. It has been everywhere, probably all over Britain in its time. Yes sometimes it was left in cars during cold nights and explains how the label has moisture bubbling, but the last time I played this it was still ok though the sound now quite muffled after many years of wear from heavy play. You'll notice that it is half way through, and that is because my old cassette player has a habit of mangling cassettes now., so I won't take the chance with this one.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
So, that address sticker I was curious to look into. Old photos of the store it was purchased from.............
 

 
 

80s Sunday....................
 
 
 

God! 

Ommadawn is the range of his childhood, in my opinion; the tenderness, wonder, but also a primal scream of traumas.
 
I mean, that end of Part One is a total 'experience' which grabs the listener and make them into a Berserker!
 
I have no hesitation in calling it my favourite work of music, ever. If I could only own one CD, it would be Ommadawn.
 
Did you know that he's releasing a new work in January 2017 called Return to Ommadawn.?
 
I didn't, and only stumbled across it on YouTube tonight, currently unsure from what I heard, if this is a good idea.
 
One excerpt reminded me of Telstar, funnily enough. I guess it all depends what Oldfield is aiming for with this new work. 
 
Ommadawn captured Oldfield mid crisis, and that can't be fabricated decades later so I'm guessing this is a 'closure' thing?

It is more extensive than my Spanish, and you are well understood 
 

Ha, now that you say that I can also imagine Neil Tennant with a deadpan voice being spoken during that track. 
 
"So what did it mean, this TIME that we had? Oh I know you, you're just a CAD!!!" or something of that sort.
 
(I'm thinking the - "But in the back of my head I heard distant feet....Che Guevara and Debussy to a disco beat" voice, on Left to my own Devices)
 
Or - "Left to my own timepieces", in this case. 
 
 
Agreed. I see it somehow as a flawed work in the same way that I feel that he started in a certain style with Revolutions but switched his approach mid stream, with a concert in mind, but it has some superb moments. Several tracks are very - "Meh" for me, but the first is an absolute winner. I'm sure I've related my Wembley 1993 experience on here before about that track and how it affected me experiencing it live. It was a mystical experience, a defining moment for sure.
 
I felt like Deckard being 'melded' in ST:TMP. 
 
 

Y'all know me.

Not sure what you're getting at, Mel, but you get a "like" for posting JMJ 

Following my earlier Abba submission, a slight twist. 
 
 
The twist being, I often feel that Jean Michel Jarre tapped into something of The Day Before You Came, for his Chronologie 3
 
Specifically, starting at 2:27 - 3:00 in the video above..........
 
 
Perhaps the same could be said for the deliciously wistful Chronologie 6, that wistful-ness made me a fan of Jarre. 
 
1:56 onwards.........
 
 

I remember your gummy bear. Now you will remember mine!!!
 

 
 
 

This was recommended to me by Jilal, and might be my favorite piece of classical music I have ever heard:
 
 
Just like Williams' works, there are major moments that grab me but also, importantly, smaller more incidental ones too. I just get this feeling of overall perfection in every moment, just as I do with many Williams works. 
 
In particular, just a few of the great moments:
 
- The opening figure was my favorite part on first listen (specifically 0:16), with those little brass echoes. 
 
- The swashbuckling bit starting at 4:54 absolutely kicks ass. I've noticed that many conductors seem to take this piece slower, but I think that's a very bad thing, and this little bit here is one example. A slow tempo totally wrecks the awesome swashbuckling quality of this moment. 
 
- 5:53 and what follows is one of those random moments that I've really liked.
 
- I've had the Forest Battle-like ending (7:19 and beyond) stuck in my head at times today. 

Just try looking into that candy shop. You'll find me there, staring right back at you!

I remember your gummy bear. Now you will remember mine!!!
 

 
 
 

Ego te absolvo a peccatis tuis. I in pace mi fili.
 
Say three Hail Towners and two Lord Williams' Prayers and contemplate on your sins.