| Incantations | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Mike Oldfield | ||||
| Released | 24 November 1978 | |||
| Recorded | December 1977 – September 1978 at Througham | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock | |||
| Length | 72:44 | |||
| Label | Virgin Mercury (2011 reissue) |
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| Producer | Mike Oldfield | |||
| Mike Oldfield chronology | ||||
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [1] |
Incantations is the fourth record album by Mike Oldfield, released in late 1978 on Virgin Records.
The first Oldfield to be divided into more than two movements, it is the second longest work Oldfield has ever released. Originally released as a double album, the current CD issue fits the entire album onto one disc.
Contents |
Despite being the longest single work by Oldfield, much of the album can be described as being compositionally minimalist, featuring melodic lines played by only a few instruments at a time.
The album as a whole is unusual in that it makes extensive use of the circle of fifths as an accompaniment to many of the musical ideas. Since this musical structure requires that each idea be modulated through twelve keys, before the next is introduced, more time is required to develop each idea, so that each section unfolds more slowly than is usual in Oldfield's work. A byproduct of this musical structure is that most of the album is not in any one key, but cycles continuously through them all.
Incantations was recorded at Througham, Mike Oldfield's home after he completed Ommadawn. It was his desire to create an album that would make use of a small orchestra, and some of his own statements indicate that he may have moved into his new house simply because it had room for one. He had used "extra-instrumental" ensembles previously, such as the brass ensemble on Ommadawn and the string/choir group on Hergest Ridge before that, but they form a major part of Incantations.
It was during the creation of Incantations that Mike Oldfield underwent the assertiveness training course Exegesis, and between the earlier parts and the later parts of the album there is a definite difference in style, possibly due to the course. The course may have had added effects to bolster his confidence, as it was almost immediately thereafter that Oldfield went on his first solo live tour around Europe with Incantations.
The lyrics in "Part Two" are taken from Longfellow's "The Song of Hiawatha", though rearranged in places to conform more to the music.
The lyrics in "Part Four" are Ben Jonson's "Ode to Cynthia" from Cynthia's Revels, but adjusted again to match the music.
The cover was once again done by Trevor Key. The beach in the cover photograph is Cala Pregonda, in Menorca. The current CD sleeve has a different typeface than the original LP artwork (which is shown at the top of the page). Early copies of the album came with a poster featuring a subtly different photograph from the one used on the cover.
The cover photograph used may have been altered by Key. There have been some theories about why this may have been done, although the claim that Oldfield was not actually on the beach is easily contradicted by other photographs from the shoot. It is assumed that Key simply cut and pasted the image of Oldfield onto a slightly different background for artistic reasons.
The album did not enter the top 10 in the United Kingdom, unlike Oldfield's previous studio albums of the 1970s, peaking at number 14. In 2011 the reissue charted at number 70 in the UK.
| Chart (1978) | Position |
|---|---|
| UK album chart | 14 |
| Norwegian album chart | 14 |
With, alphabetically:
The album was re-released by Mercury Records on 25 July 2011 as part of a deal in which Oldfield's Virgin albums were transferred to Universal's label. Standard and Deluxe versions were available, as well as some signed vinyl copies from MikeOldfieldOfficial.com. The standard edition contained a remastered mix of the album, as well as "Guilty". The Deluxe edition contained the disc from the standard edition as well as a second disc containing singles and other smaller pieces, and a DVD with 5.1 mixes, promotional videos and a live version of the album.
Unlike the first three re-issues in the campaign, there was no surround mix of the album on the DVD, only of the five remixed edits on the 'bonus' CD. Oldfield explained during an interview for BBC Radio 6 that this was because the original multi-track tapes for the album had either badly deteriorated or been lost.