Quite an amazing record by Mike Oldfield recorded when he was 19 years old. It was the first release of Richard Branson,s new record label Virgin. The first few piano notes remind me of The Exorcist in which it was used. I saw the movie in the theatre in early 1974 and the music was used in the promo for the film that ran on the T.V. A single was also a top 40 hit back then. Of course I bough the album but it got to be in pretty bad shape and I threw it away. Boxed is a four record box set released in 1976. The records were encoded in the Quadrophonic Stereo Matrix system and comes with a ten page booklet of photos and liner bnotes from each record as well as comentary about each album. It has his first three records and a fourth of collaberations with David Bedford.I bought this box set used in 1989 when I was living in Upper Darby at the record store on the Main Line that I believe was called Plastic Fantastic. The record itself is instrumental except for sister Sally’s voice in a couple sections. Mike plays almost all the instruments himself. The sections change from pastoral to jarring and seem to have no collective theme. Side one ends with Vivian Stanshall naming the instrument as they are added to the mix. Side two has some quiet, beautiful sections. I especially like the acoustic guitar and bass after the “Piltdown Man” section.The record ends with the traditional “Sailors Hornpipe” with this edition of the album adding Oldfield,Stanshall and producer Tom Newman stomping around Bransons Manor Studio,where the album was recorded,drunk at three in the morning with Oldfield playing it on the mandolin and Stanshall commenting on objects in the studio like a tour guide. They decided to leave that off the original release. The record won a Grammy in 1974. I recently heard it played on WXPN’s Echoes show one night driving back from work. Oldfield has re-recorded the album several times ,once with an orchestra.