spartak

Wonderful! The album. The comment a bit less...

From a certain point of view: great review, I would have added: But don’t you have it yet??? How do you live? Back to the work: side A is one of the most beautiful things ever, majestic, well thought out. Side B is absolutely unwatchable or unlistenable being music; a few minutes at the end are redeeming, but the first 12-13 minutes are among the worst of Mike's first four... Anyway, absolutely a must-have, absooooooo lutely! By the way, the remastered version was released this year, which adds a demo version and a cleaned-up version, very interesting.

A small detail, Oldfield is English, not Scottish. Perhaps his mother was Irish, if I’m not mistaken, but he was born in Reading, west of London. Anyway, details.
As for the album, being an oldfieldian enthusiast pre-92 (meaning I haven’t followed him since ’92), I find this album one of the most interesting, one of the best. Its only flaw is perhaps some parts being a bit too long, others maybe too short; the limitations of the four sides of 18-20 minutes certainly penalized it, but overall it's one of the best at the levels of Omadawn and Tubular Bells, and perhaps even superior in terms of the complexity of the work.
I managed to grasp its complexity by watching one of the concerts (on DVD) from that era, where he presented this work. The only flaw: the synthesizers, which I have always hated...
A must-have!

I like lambrusco, but I also like Van der Graaf...

You piqued my curiosity because I had known of him by reputation for ages, since the eighties, when I lived in Germanic lands, but not in Germany... I wouldn’t call him National-Popular, even though his albums are always at the top in Germany. He’s a talented singer-songwriter, not commercial like Nena or others. I listened to the song first, then the album, and I was surprised—truly very good! Thank you. Spartak.

Hey, blucamel, did they replace the c with a k on your keyboard?

I'll add my own... five

"I love the Velvet, but I don't know this album." from lariana.... maybe it's better, I listened to it briefly and it didn't seem that great compared to the first three. hi spartak

To Robert Fripp and Blackdog: I agree with you about Red, for me it's the best album I have, and I've been listening to it since '92, so many years of listening, they're not few. In Ferrara in 2003 they played "Red" live, shivers, and there were lightning (from the storms) behind, something to die for. I also like the album "Starless & Bible Black", while "Larks" I like at times, generally only the more "easy money" instrumentals. Islands is a true masterpiece, but I think it may only appeal to those who listen to it as it should be. The first copy I had I sold, then I had all of them except Islands, so I found a French pressing (the other was Italian) with amazing sound (I’m still talking about vinyl) and I went crazy. It quickly entered the top of my rankings, where Red and "II" by Soft were fighting for first place, now "Islands" and "Red" are battling for the top... and it depends on my mood for assigning it, usually leaning towards one or the other. De gustibus always, ciao spartak.

To Ole-Einar, personally I recommend the second Caravan album, the one called "If I Could Do...", it's really beautiful. The first one (rare, very rare on vinyl) is a bit weak, but at times it shines. Personally, I don't care for the subsequent ones, aside from "In the Land", which is at the level of "If I Could Do...", I like Waterlu, but it sounds very fake, too pompous and overly polished. I also had the fifth "For Girls...", but it was horrible. To stay on topic, following the "Sinclair" thread, I recommend (if you don't already have them) the two by Matching Mole, then the second by Hatfield and the North (Rotter's Club), which is one of the most beautiful albums in the entire Canterbury scene. Anyway, regarding my judgment on the 4th and 5th Caravan albums, all due respect and tastes (a Meurglys), I don't know Cunning. Thanks, Spartak.