Incantations is the fourth studio album by English musician, songwriter, and producer Mike Oldfield, released on 1 December 1978 by Virgin Records. Following the release of his previous album Ommadawn (1975), Oldfield moved into a new home in Bisley, Gloucestershire, where he set up a new recording studio. He started on a follow-up in 1977 which took form as a double album with one, side-long track on each side of the LP record. Oldfield wished to use real incantations in the music, but ended up using folklore as a loose running theme, such as Dianna the Huntress. Though primarily instrumental, lyrical sections are adapted from works by poets Henry Longfellow and Ben Jonson. Oldfield completed the self-awareness seminar Exegesis while recording Incantations.
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 incantations to exert a benign magical influence on anybody who heard it".[2] He intended to base the music around real spells and chants, and asked the A&R department of his label, Virgin Records, to invite the head Druid to his home and discuss it further. The visit was unsuccessful; Oldfield's request for magic spells was turned down and he got the impression that the person was more interested in converting him to the movement. Keith Critchlow then introduced Oldfield to various "strange people" to gain inspiration, including poet Kathleen Raine, whose poems failed to conjure strong enough music, and a "shaman, gypsy-type woman" who remained silent all through her meeting with Oldfield.[3] Then, a Virgin employee researched into British folklore and suggested Gog and Magog, from which Oldfield was able to find incantations that worked, specifically about Dianna the Huntress, which he then used as a running theme through the album.[4][2]
Oldfield had been listening to a greater amount of religious music than before, which he credited to keep him "calm and sane" as he described himself as "very disturbed" during this time.[5] He also examined the styles of music of his previous albums; rock with a classical music format on his debut Tubular Bells, Celtic music on Hergest Ridge, and "more African" styles on Ommadawn.[5] For Incantations, Oldfield wanted to present "some magical things", which influenced his decision to use a string section and flute.[5] The album marked Oldfield's first attempt with a string section and he wrote the orchestral arrangements himself. He hired the group of around eighteen musicians to play in his studio. After some early cuts were produced, Oldfield started work on a more complicated sequence which featured various time signatures and every key on a music scale, which reminded him of the nursery rhyme "Frère Jacques". It developed into the double vibraphone section on "Incantations (Part Four)".[6] This section was one that Oldfield described as "the closest I've ever come to self-expression" and deemed it, along with the electric guitar solo that follows it and a flute solo elsewhere, as the most important part of the album.[7]
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
Througham Slad Manor, where the album was recorded
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.
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.[14] The lyrics to part one repeat the name of three Roman goddesses: Diana, Luna, and Lucina. The second half of part two features chapters 22 and 12 (in that order) of the 1855 epic poemThe Song of Hiawatha by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The lyrics in part four are from "Ode to Cynthia" from the satirical stage play Cynthia's Revels by Ben Jonson.
Artwork
Cala Pregonda
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.
Incantations was released in the UK on 1 December 1978. It received a strong initial commercial response, reaching platinum certification by the British Phonographic Industry two weeks prior after receiving over 300,000 preorders.[16] It peaked at No. 14 on the UK Albums Chart. The album was promoted with the release of "Guilty", a non-album track that was released in April 1979 with the four-minute "Excerpt from Incantations" on the B-side. The single reached No. 22 on the UK Singles Chart.
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.[18] A CD reissue from 1988 included the complete track.[19] A remaster completed by Simon Heyworth was released on HDCD in 2000 with updated inner sleeve artwork and a short essay by Dave Laing.[20]
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.
Michael Gordon Oldfield is an English musician, songwriter, and producer best known for his debut studio album Tubular Bells (1973), which became an unexpected critical and commercial success. Though primarily a guitarist, Oldfield plays a range of instruments, which includes keyboards and percussion, as well as vocals. He has adopted a range of musical styles throughout his career, including progressive rock, world, folk, classical, electronic, ambient, and new age music.
Tubular Bells is the debut studio album by the British musician Mike Oldfield, released on 25 May 1973 as the first album on Virgin Records. It comprises two mostly instrumental tracks. Oldfield, who was 19 years old when it was recorded, played almost all the instruments.
Sally Patricia Oldfield is an Irish singer-songwriter. She is the sister of composers Mike and Terry Oldfield.
Exposed is the first live album by English musician Mike Oldfield, released as a double album on 27 July 1979 by Virgin Records in the UK. It was recorded at various locations across Europe during Oldfield's debut concert tour as a solo artist, following the release of his fourth studio album Incantations (1978). The album features Incantations and his debut album Tubular Bells (1973) performed in their entirety, plus Oldfield's 1979 non-album single "Guilty" as the encore.
Hergest Ridge is the second studio album by English musician and songwriter Mike Oldfield, released on 2 September 1974 by Virgin Records. The unexpected commercial and critical success of his debut album, Tubular Bells (1973), affected Oldfield, who decided against touring and avoided the press with his newfound fame. Instead, he retreated to Hergest Ridge on the England–Wales border and wrote the follow-up, which he recorded in 1974 at The Manor in Oxfordshire, with Tom Newman returning as co-producer. Similar to Oldfield's first, the album is a single composition split into two parts covering different moods and musical styles.
Ommadawn is the third studio album by English musician, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Mike Oldfield, released on 3 November 1975 on Virgin Records.
Platinum is the fifth studio album by English multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Mike Oldfield, released on 23 November 1979 on Virgin Records. It was Oldfield's first album to include shorter songs and music written by others. A modified version of the album was released in the United States and Canada and titled Airborn.
Amarok is the thirteenth studio album by English multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Mike Oldfield, released in May 1990 by Virgin Records. Oldfield originally conceived it as an "angry protest album", showcasing his musical technique. It is presented as a single sixty-minute track of continuous, uninterrupted but constantly changing music.
Elements – The Best of Mike Oldfield is a compilation album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1993 by Virgin Records.
The Complete Mike Oldfield is a compilation album by Mike Oldfield, released on 21 October 1985 by Virgin Records in the UK.
"Guilty" is a single by English musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1979 on Virgin Records. It reached number 22 in the UK Singles Chart. It is notable for being Oldfield's first obvious attempt to capitalise on a current musical trend, in this case disco/dance music. The UK 12" edition was originally issued on pale blue vinyl.
"In Dulci Jubilo"/"On Horseback" is a double A-side single and third overall by English musician Mike Oldfield, released in November 1975 by Virgin Records. It features an instrumental version of the German traditional Christmas carol "In dulci jubilo" and Oldfield's second version of the song following an earlier recording released as the B-side to his previous single, "Don Alfonso". The song "On Horseback" is the final and previously untitled section to "Ommadawn " from his third studio album Ommadawn, released just one month before. The single is certified Silver by the British Phonograph Institute for selling 200,000 copies in the UK.
"Portsmouth" is a traditional English folk dance tune, similar to an Irish or Scottish hornpipe melody. It is sometimes referred to as the "Portsmouth Hornpipe".
Boxed is a 1976 compilation album of music written and performed by Mike Oldfield. It features four channel quadraphonic remix versions of his first three albums:Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge and Ommadawn. An additional fourth LP contains new musical collaborations with other artists.
XXV: The Essential is a compilation album written and mostly performed by Mike Oldfield and released in 1997. The Roman numerals XXV are to represent that this is a compilation of pieces of the first 25 years of Oldfield's work.
The Platinum Collection is a 2006 Virgin Records compilation album written and mostly performed by Mike Oldfield. It contains most of Oldfield's best known work, and some rare mixes of songs that had previously only been available as B-sides to singles.
The Space Movie is a documentary film produced in 1979 by Tony Palmer at the request of NASA, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing.
Elements - The Best of Mike Oldfield is a video collection by Mike Oldfield released in October 1993. It was released by Virgin Records on VHS and LaserDisc. A DVD edition of the video release, including additional extras, was produced in 2004.
The Mike Oldfield Collection 1974–1983 is a compilation album by Mike Oldfield, released in 2009, to coincide with the reissue of Oldfield's debut album, Tubular Bells, by Mercury Records.
Return to Ommadawn is the twenty-sixth and final studio album by English musician and songwriter Mike Oldfield. It was released on 20 January 2017 on Virgin EMI Records and is the sequel to his 1975 album Ommadawn. The CD/DVD-Audio set contains a 5.1 surround sound mix of the album. Return to Ommadawn is the last studio album Oldfield released before the announcement of his retirement in 2023.
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