Fast vier Wochen nach der Veröffentlichung der LP, erschien im November 1985 die Doppel-CD von “The Complete”.

Die Doppel-CD kam damals in Deutschland noch als richtiges dickes Ding auf den Markt, so das man immer den Platz für zwei CD´s benötigte.

“The Complete” ist die zweite Compilation nach “Boxed (1976) und das zweite Album mit Liveaufnahmen, nach Exposed aus dem Jahre 1979.

Mike Oldfield interessierte sich wohl weniger für eine Compilation und überlies dem damaligen Promotion-Manager, Dirk Hohmeyer, das Ruder. Dennoch ist “The Complete” eine Produktion von “Oldfield Music”, die produziert und vermarktet wurde von Virgin Records Ltd.

Es gibt einige Unterschiede in der Auswahl der Titel zwischen der Vinyl-Scheibe, der Musikkassette und der CD. Eine genaue Erklärung gibt es dafür nicht. Vermuten kann man höchstens, dass der Platz für alle Tracks nicht ausreichte.

Tatsache ist, die deutsche Musikkassette und das Vinyl Album enthalten “The William Tell Overture” und “Cuckoo Song”, die englischen Ausgaben jedoch “In Dulci Jubilo” und “Portsmouth”.

Die CD beinhaltet dafür alle vier Titel. Auf der Zweitauflage der LP wurde “Pictures In The Dark” durch “Mistake” ersetzt. Auf der CD wurde “Pictures In The Dark” erst gar nicht veröffentlicht.

Andere Länder, andere Sitten. In Frankreich wurde “Tricks Of The Light” anstelle von “Shadow On The Wall” gepresst und Auszüge aus “The Orchestral Tubular Bells” und “Taurus II” statt der Excerpt´s aus “Tubular Bells” und “Ommadawn” verwendet.

Die Liveaufnahmen stammen von bis dahin nicht veröffentlichten Konzertaufnahmen.

Sheba, Mirage und Platinum könnten vom 01.04.1981 aus der Grugahalle in Essen. Mount Teide könnte in Bremerhaven 1982 aufgenommen worden sein. Dies lässt zumindest eine Hörprobe annehmen, wenn man das Ganze mit den heimlichen Mitschnitten vergleicht.

Auffällig ist bei der CD auch das Detail, das die einzelnen Bereiche nicht mehr “…-Side” heißen, sondern “…-Section”. So wurde aus der ersten LP Seite die “The Instrumental-Side” in “The Instrumental Section” umbenannt. (etc.)

Einen schönen Fehler gibt es beim Abdruck des Geburtsdatum von Mike Oldfield. Hier wurde der 25. May und nicht der 15.Mai 1953 abgedruckt.

Veröffentlicht am:	18.11.1985
Veröffentlicht in:	Deutschland
First Release:	21.10.1985
Medium:	Compact-Disc
Label:	Virgin Records Limited
EAN:	5012981233525
Artikel-Nr.:	CDMOC 1 – 610 620-223

Tracks

CD 1

I The Instrumental Section

01. Arrival (02:47)
02. William Tell Overture (03:55)
03. Cuckoo Song (03:13)
04. In Dulci Jubilo (02:50)
05. Portsmouth (02:02)
06. Jungle Gardenia (02:37)
07. Guilty (04:04)
08. Blue Peter (02:07)
09. Waldberg (The Peak) (03:24)
10. Wonderful Land (03:39)
11. Étude (03:07) single version

II The Vocal Section

12. Moonlight Shadow (03:36)
13. Family Man (03:47)
14. Mistake (02:55)
15. Five Miles Out (04:19)
16. Crime Of Passion (03:37)
17. To France (04:33)
18. Shadow On The Wall (05:08) 12″ version

CD 2

III The Complex Section

01. Excerpt from Ommadawn (06:59)
02. Excerpt from Tubular Bells (07:59)
03. Excerpt from Hergest Ridge (04:20)
04. Excerpt from Incantations (04:41)
05. Excerpt from The Killings Fields (Evacuation) (04:11) edit version

IV The Live Section

06. Sheba (03:30)
07. Mirage (05:12)
08. Platinum (14:28) suite
09. Mount Teide (04:34)

Text im Booklet:

“For a man still in his early twenties, the possibilities now seem virtually limitless.”
With these words, in 1975, the Guardian’s rock critic summed up his feelings in a review of “Ommadawn”, convinced that there was still a lot of music from a young player who had already given much. “Tubular Bells”, under its working title “Opus I” set the direction for Mike Oldfield, establishing him as one of the most creative and original of contemporary composers. but the accuracy of the Guardian’s judgement has been thoroughly underlined by all of his work since.

Born on the 25th May, 1953 in Reading, England, Mike Oldfield first attracted attention at the age of 14, alongside his sister Sally in the folk due Sallyangie. Even then, however, the young guitarist was interested in more complex forms of expression and he separated from his sister after only a short collaboration to start his own band, Barefeet, which proved to be equally short-lived. He found moresatisfying possibilities for artistic expression in Kevin Ayers And The Whole World, a group he joined in 1969, originally as bassist. In this unit Soft Machine founder Ayers had gathered together such radically different musicians as Robert Wyatt, David Bedford and Lol Coxhill. The varied talents of this eccentric, colourful troupe, whose repertoire overturned cliched forms of rock music and threw in smatterings of jazz and minimalism, had a considerable influence on Oldfield’s later solo work. The group’s archetypically English sense of humour – ranging from whimsical to ionoclastic – also lingered. Oldfield left Ayers’ group in 1971, working mostly as a studio musician but also taking time to develop an idea he had sketched out – a piece of music that was destined to bring him instant worldwide fame in 1973. It was “Tubular Bells”, a composition of which he can still justifiably say today “I’m very proud of it as a piece of music and always will be.” His subsequent releases, with the same degree of artistic intensity, have continued to reflect his restless creatvity, his shifts of orientation and his evermaturing musicianship.

On extensive tours Mike Oldfield has also presented his works live. Among the most spectacular of these concerts were his 1983 London Jubilee, his 1979 debut tour, undertaken with an almost 50-strong backing band and the London live premiere of “Tubular Bells”, held in June 1973 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. The cast assembled for that first public performance read like a Who’s Who of the progressive underground of the day. Musicians from Henry Cow and Gong, the Edgar Broughton Band, Kevin Ayers, Bonzo Dog boss Viv Stanshall, Mick Taylor (then a Rolling Stone, later Dylan’s guitarist) and avant garde composer David Bedford, all took part in this event made rock headlines.

Ten years later, in June 1983, Mike Oldfield adminitered the finishing touches to a creative decade with the memorable “Crises” concert at the London Wembley Arena.
To mark his jubilee he also founded his own record label. The first release on Oldfield Music presented an artist whose work had influence Mike and who had supported him from the beginning: David Bedford. His “Star Clusters, Nebulae and Places in Devon/The Song Of The White Horse” was issued in the summer of ’83.

Since then Oldfield has focused increasingly on the possibilities of electronic sound production. He built up his “Discovery” album by harnessing the technological potential of the Fairlight computer and concurrently composed the film score for “The Killing Fields” on which he uncovered exotic harmonies and unorthodox combinations of sounds. These works from the basis of a new search for expressive forms. The title “Discovery” also had a symbolic meaning in 1984. What the future holds remains to be seen, but there is still no limit in sight for all those glimpsed more than a decade ago.