I think this album is an absolute masterpiece. I've heard it hundreds of times and it never gets old. I first heard it in the late 1980s and I'm now an absolute hard core Mike Oldfield fan.

Got this album the week it was released. Played it regularly ever since.

This album Gail is one of my favourite Mike Oldfield albums ever also so s Ommadawn too

Definitely need to listen to Hergest Ridge

This is probably one of the most skillful pieces of music ever written

I've never had any problem listening to this without thinking about "The Exorcist".

An Acquired Taste I acquired 50 years ago. Love this album.

Welcome to Oldfield’s world , there’s so much to discover in his music and his arrangements ; think of this as an album that was composed by a crazy 19 year old guy creating a new genre

I don't hear determined despair, I feel perseverance, pushing on constantly then bursting through in triumph, with a little quiet contemplation - but so much more, constantly changing, but always positive

The bass drop at around 19 minutes is just gorgeous.
Ommadawn is a must.

Bear in mind, he did the demo for this album at 17 years of age, whilst working as a session musician, using a portable cassette player and a piece of card to blank out the tape head to record up to four tracks on one tape! It's far to easy to just press a button these days to get the same effects, without the practical creativity. That puts this albums conception into a different league! Enjoy. William Friedkin asked for the rights to use the introduction for his film, which gave the album a boost in America. For another MO album, one of his finest, Amarok will keep you on your toes! A 60 minute track, which was the last album he did under contract for Virgin and a two fingered salute to Richard Branson.

Thank you for uploading side 1. I think Mike Oldfield brought inventive arrangements, textures and colours here, with the occasional bite. A remarkable use of multitracking. Vivian Stanshall provides the commanding instrument announcements.

You may want to know that this album is precisely what made Branson's fortuine, starting with Virgin Records.

Im a big Quo fan and jean michel jarre fan and have commented on your vids before but this album has to be one of the best albums ever

Yes the transitions are clunky - but the more you listen to it they become less idiosyncratic and more the charm of the piece.

The main reason is because back then Mike was a complete unknown, just a jobbing gig and session guitarist but he had all these musical ideas he wanted to put down on tape.

He had made a very rough demo and whilst on a job at Virgin's new Manor Studio convinced the engineer Tom Newman to get Richard Branson to allow him to make a more professional polished product. They gave him 1 week to record what you just listened to!

Absolutely no one, least of all Oldfield himself ever expected that it would become as famous and successful as it did hitting the Number 1 spot in 1974 after his 2nd Album "Hergest Ridge" had just hit that mark! As far as Oldfield was concerned this might have been his only chance to record his own music professionally and he could use it as a demo of his skill and prowess with instruments and composition to get new work.

Subsequent albums show a much more cohesive structure though still maintaining an episodic nature.

He revisited the album in 1992 creating a whole new composition but based on the same structure as the original - a much smoother and refined album. Tubular Bells 2 also reached No. 1

Mastepiece debut album from Mike Oldfield.  So much more than the Exorcist theme in this one.  Love side two as much as side one.

The musicians you listed are actually from the first live performance at Queen Elizabeth Hall, not the album (except Jon Field and Sally Oldfield, indeed Mike's sister). In the album, Mike plays most of the instruments, except upright bass, flute and drum kit (in Part 2).

"Dies Irae" at 11:43

If you want to react to something out of the ordinary try
An Ubhal as Àirde by Runrig which was used in a TV advert.

This is one of the greatest and most unique albums ever made, it is still the biggest selling instrumental album ever too😮 The musicians list you read out was from a live version, on this original album version, Mike Oldfield plays most of it himself, over 20 different instruments. He is a genius composer, and one of the most skilled musicians ever, he is a wonderful guitar player, he plays fingerstyle in a very unique way. Listen to his 2nd album next, Hergest Ridge.
Also, this album started Richard Branson's Virgin empire, as this was the first release on Virgin records.