Chimes

The Best of the Original Mono Recordings is a single-disc distillation of 2010’s nine-disc box The Original Mono Recordings, picking 14 tracks from the eight albums on the box and adding the non-LP single “Positively 4th Street.” The inclusion of this 1965 Top Ten hit makes this disc enticing to collectors, although it does suggest that the box would benefit from a brief bonus disc of singles containing that song, “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window,” “If You Gotta Go, Go Now,” and “Mixed-Up Confusion.” But this disc is intended to be nothing more than a sampler hinting at the treasures within the big box…

Elements is a beautifully packaged four-CD box set that essentially covers every aspect of Mike Oldfield's 20-year span as a multi-instrumentalist. The discs are housed in a sturdy, oversized slip case with an extensive booklet containing biographical information, as well as a breakdown of each of the instruments used throughout the 15 albums represented…