Mike Oldfield - Ommadawn rare 7'' single version, remaster

In 1975, after the huge success of his first album and the not-so-successful following album, the young 22 year old genius, somewhat dissappointed with the negative reaction to his second effort, returned to the studio to, in his own words, give it his best. Thus Mike created a masterpiece called Ommadawn. The title may be an iteration of a Gaelic word for a fool, or an insinuation to a genious who understands more than many do, while actually running the show. A fitting title for a work of art of this magnitude. Enigmatic, yet light hearted. Perhaps self-mocking or alluding to Tarot. Who knows. Only Mike. But like Kubrick's 2001 or Mercury's Bohemian Rhapsody, the best art is always left to the consumer's imagination and interpretation.

Taking over the producer's and technician's place himself, along with playing most of the instruments, Mike even used his bare feet to control the recording tape while simultaneously playing and recording. Overdubbing was so extensive that the magnetic tape was worn out all the way to trasparency, rendering it unuseful, what forced Mike to throw the whole sesion out and start over from scratch. That early version is still available online and refferred to as Ommadawn, the lost version. I am, however, personally baffled by this rare single version - a 7'' mix, or rather, an alternate take of the Part I finale, only available on the rare French 45-rpm vinyl single.

The differences from the album version are audible mostly in the vocals and guitars and the raw mix that gives this piece the sharp edge that, for me, takes the cake.
Ommadawn was performed live and some of these performances can be found online. Each one is different, fluidly accomodated to the current band lineup or orchestra, depending on the occasion. Each one is amazing in it's own right, as Ommadawn is a magical musical piece that just keeps on giving. During the recording of Ommadawn, Mike suffered the loss of his mother, finding the only comfort in this new piece of music that he made. You can feel the sincerety. You can sense the creativity of a young genius. I've heard it a million times and I still get the goosebumps every single time. A piece of music like this comes once in a lifetime.

Since this is the best version of the 45 vinyl rip that I could find, I tried to clean up the crackle, pop and hiss noise of the record, spread the stereo image and limit the signal without losing the sonic spectrum in hope to boost it up a little bit, and get it sounding somewhat clearer and louder, to my own taste. I made an honest mistake in my previous upload of this, crediting the vocals to Sally Oldfield instead of Clodagh Simonds. I stand corrected, and thank everyone who commented. This led me to more personnel research and digging up the Jabula ensemble that did the African drumming. A proper picture of Eddie Tatatne was impossible to find, but he is most likely one of the people in the Jabula group photo that I included in the video. If anyone can be of help in detecting him, it would be nice to give proper credit to all musicians who contributed to this timeless work of art.

If you dislike the remaster, you can still find my previous upload of this here (the untouched vinyl rip), but keep in mind Sally is not singing the lead vocals:    • Mike Oldfield - Ommadawn rare 7'' sin...  

All images found on Google, video footage taken from YouTube upload of the "Making of Ommadawn" documentary - I do not own any of the reused material and all copyright and ownership belongs to it's original holder and rightful owner. This video is not monetised and is aimed exlusevly to fans, for enjoyment of this wonderful piece of music. I am certain it comes from out of this world.

Uploaded purely for promotion of art in music, all rights and images belong to their respectable owners.