Incantations (album)
Incantations | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1 December 1978 | |||
Recorded | December 1977–September 1978 | |||
Studio | Througham Slad Manor, Bisley, England | |||
Genre | Progressive rock, new-age, postminimalist | |||
Length | 72:44 | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Producer | Mike Oldfield | |||
Mike Oldfield chronology | ||||
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Incantations is the fourth studio album by English musician, songwriter, and producer
Incantations peaked at No. 14 on the UK Albums Chart, becoming Oldfield's first album not to reach the UK top-five. It was supported by Oldfield's first concert tour as a solo artist, which featured all four parts of Incantations performed on stage with a band, orchestra, and choir. Parts of this tour were recorded and released as the 1979 live album Exposed. Incantations was reissued in 2000 and 2011; the latter release features a new digital remaster and additional content, including Oldfield's 1979 disco-influenced non-album single "Guilty" and footage from Exposed.
Background and writing
By the end of 1975 Oldfield had released his third album, Ommadawn (1975), which, like his previous two albums, Tubular Bells (1973) and Hergest Ridge (1974), had reached the top-five of the UK Albums Chart and helped to solidify Oldfield's popularity as a musician. The three albums were similar in structure, formed of a single composition split into two parts of the LP record. The release of Ommadawn marked the end of Oldfield's time at his home near Kington, Herefordshire, from which he moved to Througham Slad Manor near Bisley, Gloucestershire and set up a recording studio there.[1]
When work on Incantations began, Oldfield recalled that his initial goal was a record that contained "real
Oldfield had been listening to a greater amount of
In its final form, Incantations took shape as a double album and separated into four distinct parts, each one taking up one side of an LP record. Oldfield had felt guilty that he had not released new material in three years, which influenced him to make a double.[7] Oldfield named composer and electronic musician Terry Riley as a big influence on Incantations, particularly his use of ostinato.[8] At 72 minutes in total length, Incantations remained Oldfield's longest album until his 2005 double album, Light + Shade.
Recording
Incantations was recorded at Througham Slad between December 1977 and September 1978, during which Oldfield faced professional and personal difficulties. After some 20 minutes of music was recorded, staff at Virgin Records asked Oldfield to hear what had been done. Oldfield recalled that one day, "a delegation arrived at my house", including label founder Richard Branson.[9] Upon hearing the music, and telling the staff that Incantations was to be a double album with what Oldfield called a "mathematical and classical-sounding" piece, Oldfield wrote: "They quietly sat around the place listening; at the end, Richard was his usual cheerful self but everyone else filed out in silence".[9] Oldfield theorised that the incident helped to convince Virgin management to switch from being a predominantly progressive rock label and to begin supporting punk bands, who were becoming popular. In addition to the lack of support from his label, Oldfield became a target in the music press as being outdated and no longer in fashion. These events drained Oldfield's inspiration and enthusiasm for Incantations and recording slowed.[10] He started to drink heavily, becoming more aggressive and withdrawn which ended his relationship with Critchlow's daughter Louise. He looked back on this time as when life was "really at rock bottom".[11]
In June 1978, after a road trip to Italy and Greece with his brother and time at home with his father had failed to help his situation, Oldfield was recommended to attend an Exegesis seminar by the wife of his studio engineer. After the three-day assertiveness course Oldfield said he felt "nothing but absolute relief and euphoria".[12]
Along with some other pieces of Oldfield's work, a different version of "Part Four" was used for the soundtrack of Tony Palmer's The Space Movie.
Content
Oldfield based the musical ideas he had for Incantations on the
When the CD version was released, early pressings unnecessarily have "Part Three" shortened from 16:59 to 13:49 by cutting the beginning. When 80-minute CDs became the norm and quality control was increased, the full cut of "Part Three" was restored. All modern pressings have the full version of the track.
Parts one, two, and four of the composition feature lyrics; part three is instrumental.
Artwork
The album's cover was designed by photographer and artist Trevor Key, who had also designed the sleeves for Tubular Bells and Hergest Ridge. The front photograph was taken at Cala Pregonda beach on the Spanish island of Menorca. It is unclear whether Oldfield was actually on the beach at the time it was taken, though it is possible from looking at other photographs from the shoot. It is assumed that Key cut and pasted the image of Oldfield onto a slightly different background for artistic reasons. Early pressings of the LP included a poster showing a subtly different photograph from the one used on the cover. The 2011 reissue of the album was given new artwork, showing a new photograph of the same rock formation depicted in the background of the original, but no image of Oldfield.
Release and reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [15] |
Incantations was released in the UK on 1 December 1978. It received a strong initial commercial response, reaching platinum certification by the
The Boston Globe noted that "the string arrangements are the most tasteful Oldfield has ever written... Unfortunately, he still has a tendency to dwell on simple ideas".[17]
Reissues
Incantations was first issued on CD in 1985 by Virgin Records. This release features a cut version of "Incantations (Part Three)" for a running time of 13:49.
In July 2011, Incantations was reissued by Mercury Records in standard and Deluxe CDs and limited edition vinyl signed by Oldfield. It also contains new cover artwork and a 16-page booklet with an essay. The standard edition contains a remastered stereo mix of the album with "Guilty" as a bonus track. The Deluxe package contains material from the standard edition, an extra CD of singles and previously unreleased tracks from the album's sessions, and a DVD with a 5.1 surround sound mix of some of the latter tracks, promotional videos, and live footage of Incantations from 1979 originally released on the Exposed video.[21] The 2011 reissue does not contain the album in 5.1 surround sound, as the original multi-track tapes had either badly deteriorated or been lost.[22] The 2011 reissue went to No. 70 in the UK.
Track listing
All music by Mike Oldfield. Lyrics on "Incantations (Part Two)" by Longfellow and "Incantations (Part Four)" by Ben Jonson.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Incantations (Part One)" | 19:08 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Incantations (Part Two)" | 19:36 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Incantations (Part Three)" | 16:58 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Incantations (Part Four)" | 17:01 |
Personnel
Musicians
- Mike Oldfield – various instruments (except below)
- Mike Laird – trumpet
- Pierre Moerlen – drums, vibraphone on "Incantations (Part Four)"
- Benoît Moerlen – vibraphone on "Incantations (Part Four)"[3]
- Maddy Prior – vocals on "The Song of Hiawatha" on "Incantations (Part Two)" and "Ode to Cynthia" on "Incantations (Part Four)"
- Sally Oldfield – vocals
- Queen's College Girls Choir – vocals
- Sebastian Bell – flute
- Terry Oldfield – flute
- Jabula – African drums
- Orchestra
- David Bedford – strings and choir conductor
Production
- Mike Oldfield – production
- Paul Lindsay – engineer[5]
- Trevor Key – cover artwork
Charts
Chart (1978) | Peak position |
---|---|
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[23] | 27 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[24] | 41 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[25] | 19 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[26] | 14 |
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[27] | 5 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[28] | 32 |
UK Albums (OCC)[29] | 14 |
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI)[30] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
References
- ^ Dallas, Karl (25 October 1975). "Beyond the Ridge: Portrait of a Genius". Melody Maker. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
- ^ a b Kennedy, Andrew (2 August 2011). ""If people go one way I instinctively go the other" - DiS meets Mike Oldfield". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
- ^ a b Oldfield 2008, p. 193.
- ^ Oldfield 2008, p. 193, 194.
- ^ a b c d Oldfield 2008, p. 192.
- ^ Oldfield 2008, p. 192, 193.
- ^ a b Dallas, Karl (25 November 1978). "Mike Oldfield: This is the Year of the Expanding Man...". Melody Maker. Retrieved 29 July 2020 – via Rock's Backpages.
- ^ Oakes, Tim (June 1980). "Mike Oldfield". International Musician and Recording World. Retrieved 17 February 2020 – via Rock's Backpages.
- ^ a b Oldfield 2008, p. 197.
- ^ Oldfield 2008, p. 197, 199.
- ^ Oldfield 2008, p. 199.
- ^ Oldfield 2008, p. 200.
- ^ Oakes, Tim (June 1980). "Mike Oldfield". International Musician and Recording World. Retrieved 19 June 2020 – via Tubular.net.
- ^ "Mike Oldfield - Tubular.net - Incantations Lyrics". tubular.net.
- AllMusic
- ^ "BRIT Certified - Certified Awards Search - Mike Oldfield - Incantations". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
- ^ Simonds, Robert (4 August 1980). "Records / Reviews". Calendar. The Boston Globe. p. 1.
- ^ Incantations [1985 Reissue] (Media notes). Mike Oldfield. Virgin Records. CDVDT 101 – via Discogs.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Incantations [1988 Reissue] (Media notes). Mike Oldfield. Virgin Records. 0777 7 86730 2 6 – via Discogs.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Incantations [2000 Reissue] (Media notes). Mike Oldfield. Virgin Records. MIKECD5 – via Discogs.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Incantations [2011 Reissue] (Media notes). Mike Oldfield. Mercury Records. 533 463-7 – via Discogs.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Embracing Change: An Interview With Mike Oldfield". The Quiet Us. 2 August 2011. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Mike Oldfield – Incantations" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- ^ "Charts.nz – Mike Oldfield – Incantations". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Mike Oldfield – Incantations". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- ISBN 978-84-8048-866-2.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Mike Oldfield – Incantations". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- ^ January 1979/7502/ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- ^ "British album certifications – Mike Oldfield – Incantations". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
Sources
- ISBN 978-0-753-51307-1.