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Our Favorite Epic Songs, Vol. II | Fan Favorites Episode 31 (Patreon)

Published:
2024-10-30 16:29:12
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Videos

Content

Hi y'all! I'm pleased to offer this month's EPIC Fan Favorites video. This month, we are listening to some of our favorite longer songs for the second time.

Music includes:

Ommadawn, Part 1 - Mike Oldfield

Hamburger Concerto - Focus

Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape - Bebop Deluxe

Supper's Ready - Genesis

Files

Fan Favorites Episode 31

Comments

Mark L

I agree with Doug about the guitar on Ommadawn. Being the weakest part. The tone often seems a bit thin or shrill. I would sharp, but not in the sharp/flat context. It is a fascinating piece of music , so this is a small quibble.

George Davis-Stewart

I bought Tubular Bells when it came out, because of the way the music had been assembled, and because it was the first release on the Virgin Records label, bought from a brand new Virgin store in Glasgow. I edited the music to omit the parts that I disliked, juggling pause and record on my reel-to-reel Grundig. I didn’t buy any further Oldfield music.

David Kingma

Hey Doug! I just watched the vid. Awesome as always, but a few answers to your questions on the Suppers Ready piece. Gabriel would shave that notch if you will, in his hair. Many pics online of him doing so. And he would do a LOT of stories leading up to songs; The Musical Box, I Know What I Like, Dancing With the Moonlight Knight, and other’s too.

Rhesus Perplexus

I believe the Christmas carol represents a gift...a present, the delivery of the well-done hamburger that we have been so patient in waiting for!

Adrian Goodrich

Three I voted for - and pretty well my three favourites by the three bands/artistes. SO glad to hear Hamburger Concerto - this album was my introduction to Focus back in 1974. Side 2 of superb Ommadawn is so very different to side 1! The building menace changes to beautiful, pastoral. Others will likely disagree, but my favourite ever piece of MO music. I just LOVE it - please include this soon, Doug! And you can see why the Prog Genesis fandom raves over the Gabriel era Suppers Ready live? And that was lovely by Be-Bop Deluxe! Not listened to them for years! First heard them with the great "Blazing Apostles", back in the day. Brilliant Doug - SO enjoyed this FF!!

Adrian Goodrich

On the subject of "epics". Has anyone heard "Where Opposites Meet", comprising all of the second side of from the first album by Sky? Written by Francis Monkman (ex Curved Air). I always hesitate ever to suggest it ever, because so few people seem to know of it. But when I first heard it, it blew me away. And still does. Listening to Hamburger Concerto just now made me realise there are similarities in structure, with an initial climax around 30% through, and then a final climax. I'd love to hear Doug's take on it, but appreciate that it needs someone to suggest it!

Bill Coonley

Peter Gabriel intentionally cut his hair like that for reasons that escape me at this moment. I never knew about this live version before, good stuff! The other songs were very good, as well, especially "Hamburger Concerto"!

Chris Gadsby
>>153819602

This will be interesting when I get round to watching. I’ve not listened to Ommadawn for years, but I remember it was the guitar sound that attracted me over Tubular Bells or Hergest Ridge. Wonder if that will be the same?

Jim Reeves

Thanks to Pete T for bringing the grade A "meat" to this program!

Jim Reeves

Doug, I hope you'll add "Sleep That Burns" by Bebop Deluxe to your list!

Peter Tutak

Just lovely, all of it. And yes, the audience at Genesis shows at this time were positively enthralled into attention. We thought they were the most incredible thing happening and drank it in like a new, mystical, enlightening, intoxicating, utterly alien sacrament.

Jeff Norman
>>153819602

I will curious to see why Doug thinks that! I love the guitar on this album. Eventually, I hope side 2 is featured: the conclusion features some absolutely FIERY guitar playing.

Tom (the soggy one)

See, Doug? Now you have an excuse to do the whole "Hamburger Concerto" album; to have another listen to the main course (see what I did there?).

Tom (the soggy one)

You mentioned Adiemus- yes, I truly believe Oldfield had to be an influence on Karl Jenkins, who at this time, was still performing with Soft Machine, along with Mike Ratledge (Adiemus percussion programmer). Yes, that was sister Sally (with Bridget St. John) doing the vocals on Ommadawn.

Tom (the soggy one)

You will love the rest of Ommadawn, but be blown away by the previous album "Hergest Ridge". You are correct, it didn't do well on first release, but continues to be performed regularly to this day. "It's the same, but different." Yup- that's Mike Oldfield, can't keep a theme the same for more than two repetitions.

Tom (the soggy one)
>>153819602

I hadn't considered that until Doug mentioned it, but the guitars (Mike's forte) do seem to distract on Ommadawn. But they are definitely the Focus on his other work. (Boy, I'm on fire today!)

Ron Swirson

Just a quick note. You mentioned Peter's hair and wondered if at that early age his hair was receding. In typical Peter fashion, he shaved just that part of his head, minutes before a live performance never mentioning it to the band as the lore goes. There is a photo of him in the Genesis book shaving it. Here is the photo link on Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/petergabriel/comments/uklx5c/why/ . He did it to make people feel uncomfortable and back in 1973 it certainly did (in a good way). What Peter was doing on stage appears cartoonish when looking at it through a 2024 musical performance lens. Foxtrot put them on the progressive map so at that time they didn't have a larger budget for a big stage show, Peter had to be creative, thus the somewhat cartoonish yet captivating performance.

FallingLeaf
>>153819602

I quite like the guitar sound. What struck me about the album, having gone back to listen to both parts, first time in nearly 50 years, was how folky it is, a real mix of British Isles and Irish folk dance tunes and hints of world folk as well. Side 2 is a must listen, very relaxing, and I'm sure Meg will enjoy it immensely. Here's a clue, Paddy Moloney.

Ralph Darvill

Some excellent choices there...well done Patrons! I remember Be Bop Deluxe's "Sunburst Finish" album being in the charts at the same time as "Seconds Out" and really loving it. Never properly followed up, but will be putting that right with coming purchases. That's a great performance of Supper's Ready, very atmospheric. Steve's playing on there was absolutely brilliant. Only ever saw them play the song on the Abacab tour (with Daryl on guitar), and at the "Six of the Best" show in Oct 82...which was memorable for a lot of reasons- not least the fact that it rained all day, but still didn't dampen the glee of the crowd at seeing Peter backing the band.

Tim van der Leeuw
>>153821595

I know that I can't stop going on about it, but do you know the 1970s Orchestral Tubular Bells? That is my absolute favourite Tubular Bells version, my best liked Oldfield music, and one of my most favourite pieces of music overall.

George Davis-Stewart
>>153821595

Brace yourself because you’re likely to be at risk of feeling offended, which is the one thing I do not have in mind. I only describe my personal experience and responses. I’m afraid I find most attempts at orchestration of music by contemporary musicians to be a bland attempt to fill concert halls. That said, I very much enjoy, for example, the Five Bridges album by The Nice (a band curiously neglected since it heavily features one Keith Emerson). Or again, you might follow the trail of Karl Jenkins from Soft Machine to maker of some of the music for King Charles’ coronation. [I notice elsewhere amongst the comments that MO could be regarded as an influence on KJ. Maybe, but given KJ’s upbringing and musical training prior to their working together, I think I’d need to hear it from the horse’s mouth 🤔😉] The one flaw in the logic of your enthusiasm for Mike Oldfield’s music is to think that I enjoy it too. Sad to tell, this is not the case; that’s not to disparage or belittle anyone else’s tastes and joys, just how it resonates amongst my other musical adventures.

Adrian Goodrich
>>153876030

Has Doug covered any Karl Jenkins yet? Interesting about possible influences. "Benedictus", especially, from "The Armed Man" still blows me away, no matter how often I hear it. Two Cellos performance one of the best. Not listened to Adiemus for years - have just remedied that!

Adrian Goodrich
>>153897271

I'll never forget when I first heard "Blazing Apostles", off "Sunburst Finish!" I used to have the album on tape, back in the day. I'd forgotten how good BBD were!

Ralph Darvill
>>153833449

The first two Sky albums are really good, I prefer the second one as they had settled down to being a proper Proggy outfit. Doug should definitely check them out.

Adrian Goodrich
>>153833449

I agree both are really good! I confess, I felt they lost a lot of what made them special when Francis Monkman left - and his full-side pieces "Where Opposites Meet" (Sky 1) and "FIFO" (Sky 2) are my Sky favourites. If anyone cares to dig around in the YouTube archives and find "The Long Strait", from the original BBC TV series "Great Railway Journeys of the World", all the music is from Sky 1 and Sky 2, especially "Where Opposites Meet". When I first watched that, around 1981 I think, I was blown away - and was down the record shop first thing next morning buying them!

Chris Gadsby
>>153819602

Just watched the vid and still really like the guitar sound. To me it’s like it’s coming from another room and trying to break in, almost like cutting through glass

Adie
>>153819602

I actually love the guitar on Ommadawn. To me the guitar at the end is like a lightning rod, and is exactly what a solo instrument in a concerto should be (and that is the context of how I hear it).

Adie

So delightful! Three of my all time favorite pieces in one session. I agree that Ommadawn is better than Tubular Bells, and I listened to Tubular Bells every single day for a year! I also agree that this video is the best way to 'get' Supper's Ready (pardon the pun), probably the best evocation of the Peter Gabriel era Genesis. BTW - yes, Peter Gabriel did make a feature of telling fantastical stories in between numbers in Genesis gigs. It started as a way to fill time while instrument changes were made, but became a much loved aspect of a Genesis gig, and perhaps led the way from ancient mythology as a setting for their music to the "Alice in Wonderland" settings as they progressed. I'm so glad Bill Nelson's Be Bop Deluxe got into this. The Hamburger Concerto has a place in my heart as being the most ambitious piece by Focus, and certainly the album is my favorite Focus album. It took me three listens to get through this, so all hail Doug for the stamina to digest this banquet in a single sitting.

Claudio Fernandes

I'm so glad to have 4 of my favourite artists in 1 go!!! In my late teens I listened to Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells a couple times with friends but it didn't sit in. It was only in my early 20s I was introduced to Ommadawn by another friend and I was sent to a fantastic epic journey. Part 1 is amazing but you need to listen to part 2 to get the whole thing. And, yes. This is my favourite Oldfield album. Hamburger Concerto was also my gateway to Focus. I only got to listen to Moving Waves and Hocus Pocus a bit later. Plus, what a grateful surprise to listen to Adventures in A Yorkshire Ladscape in a Fan Favorites video. Thank you so much for that. I'm a big fan of Bebop Deluxe and I think Bill Nelson is probably the number one unsung guitar hero. Nobody mentions the guy and he's got amazing technique, incredible sense of harmony and he's very creative as well. His solo career is unbelievable. As for Supper's Ready that is one of the prog classics I would listen on a daily basis when I was younger. I remember to be in awe when I had the chance to watch that same performance on a poorly recorded copy of a VHS tape. Sound and image were way worse, but the feeling of amusement of watching Peter Gabriel performing his antics live (which I had seen only pictures before) was just thrilling!!!

Hetfield Ninno Davide

Mike Oldfield is a "one-man army" musically , it's quite amazing what he could pull off mostly doing it all by himself. He's one of my biggest inspirations musically with this very interesting mix of rock/classical/folk and electronic elements (later to be called "New Age music"). He was quite a musical genius , the bagpipe section on the second side of the album always managed to make me cry for how beautiful it sounds (and I never thought I'd cry to a bagpipe of all instruments!) as well as the ending of Hergest Ridge's first side. This man had things to say that words/lyrics could not express.

Hetfield Ninno Davide
>>154173512

Also the "Hamburger Concerto" by Focus is such a great piece. I'd suggest listening to the whole album it is worth it , especially "La Cathedrale de Strasbourg" and its glorious whistle solo by Thijs :D

Ruth James

This video is just great. Never heard of Bebop Deluxe but bug fan of Genesis, Mike Oldfield and Focus and really loved your reaction to those. Supper's Ready studio album version was the one that got me into The Daily Doug on YouTube and I have never looked back 🙂👌👍

Jojojojo

What a great time! By the way Doug, that part in Ommadawn you thought was a banjo was actually a bouzouki. He also uses it in part 2. In 2010 Oldfield rereleased it with a new mix, many instruments and parts that were prominent here are now a little more buried in the mix, while other instruments are more prominent. He did the same thing with Hergest Ridge, although there it was his second time remixing it and the digital remaster is arguably the best of both worlds.

Prog Rock Piano Bar

Finally getting around to watching this one - to respond to your comment about Apocalypse in 9/8 and feeling it in 9/4... The pattern they're playing is 9 eighth notes with hard accents on 3, 5 & 9. To confuse matters, Tony's solo is in 4/4 so it's constantly flipping between on the beat and off the beat. Phil is in and out of the time with his Phil-fills. Makes it very difficult to play as a solo piece without 2 independently functioning brains, believe me, I've tried!

Mark Hehir

Why is it that when I search for the Bebop Deluxe Adventures In a Yorksire Landscape tune on Tidal, it's only 3 minutes and 23 seconds??