Mike Oldfield - Boxed (1976) {1989 Reissue}

Review by Steven McDonald
A curious four-LP set consisting of the original version of Ommadawn, a vastly remixed version of Hergest Ridge, a remixed/remodeled version of Tubular Bells, and a platter called Collaborations in which Oldfield's bits on the recordings of others were excerpted, often with the result that sans context, the excerpts made little sense (certainly the case with Oldfield's work alongside David Bedford). The altered Tubular Bells is most startling at the close -- instead of the familiar "Sailor's Hornpipe," there's a long, rambling bit involving Viv Stanshall, engineer Tom Newman and Oldfield, remotely miked, wandering around the Virgin Mansion, Stanshall drunkenly commenting on the various objects they encounter while Newman and Oldfield play the "Hornpipe." The remixing of Hergest Ridge, drastic though it is (even the sleigh bells vanish), is rather less upsetting.