COLLECTOR'S EDITION BOX II

For some strange reason, this second set of Oldfield albums skips his fourth album "Incantations", and brings together albums 5, 6, and 7. Thus we have "Platinum", "QE2", and "Five miles out". As with the first set, which contained Oldfield's first three albums, there is nothing collectable here, just the three albums in their original CD release format.

Unlike the first set however, these three albums are far from essential. "Platinum" marked the turning point in Oldfield's relationship with Virgin and Richard Branson, who decided to change the track listing. It features members of Gong, but although there is a four part LP side long suite, the music is decidedly average. The second side is far more song based than we expected.

"QE2" was intended to appease Virgin, including at their suggestion a couple of covers. It features the first of the "Taurus" pieces, and also the use of a vocoder, a device which Oldfield would over exploit here and on "Five miles out". This is though the best of the three albums, Oldfield exploiting the talents of his guest musicians to compensate for his own lack of motivation.

"Five miles out" is often described as Mike's most progressive album, a plaudit it can be hard to ratify with the contents. Certainly the 25 minute "Taurus 2" is a fine piece which improves as it moves towards its conclusion. Apart from the eclectic but dull "Orabidoo" though, the other tracks are short and rather average.

In short, if these three albums are missing from your Mike Oldfield collection, there is no need to panic buy them. There are no bonus tracks here, and the albums are the original mixes. Those who remain interested though will find this to be a reasonably priced solution.

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