The Complete Mike Oldfield

Appearing in '85, this compilation remains one of the best available to those of who believe in the strength of his earlier work, when compared to the weak 'Earth Moving', for example. Spread over two CD's as opposed to the flabby 'Elements' package, you get the classic short instrumentals ('Blue Peter', 'Guilty' etc), the best songs ('Moonlight Shadow', 'Crime of Passion' etc) on CD 1. CD2 brings generous snippets of the early full-length works - 'Tubular Bells' & the seminal 'Ommadawn', but these are supplemented by four live tracks, from a 4-year period ending in '84. Listen to 'Mount Teide' - LOUD - and tell me straight you don't believe in the power of live music - even in a recording - to move the soul and send shivers down the spine. Awesome. A genuine Five-Stars.