Trolling the “Stacks of Wax†in my collection, I stumbled upon this LP by Mike Oldfield. Five Miles Out was part of Oldfield’s transition from progressive rock/multi instrumentalist artist to someone who was interested in penning pop songs.
Oldfield’s ode to marital fidelity, “Family Man,†was covered by Hall & Oates back in 1983 and they did pretty well with the song (it was in the top 10), but Mike Oldfield recorded a version a year earlier that featured Maggie Reilly on vocals.
Like most folks in the U.S., I really only knew of the Hall and Oates version (and why wouldn’t I since MTV was playing the video every other hour back in the day), so I didn’t know it was a cover when I first heard it. Years later, J and I were shopping at “Rooks and Becords†on Polk Street (this would have been the late 80s) and she was asking the owner about getting Five Miles Out on CD. He said it was only available as an import and was something like $25 or $30. While she was mulling over whether to plunk down her credit card, I sauntered over to the used records and found a copy for $5.00. Nice! The owner didn’t even know he had that copy, so it was a minor win for us. J wanted a clean CD copy, but the LP copy had a few pops, but no major scratches. She bought it, we listened to the album a couple of times, and that was the first time I heard the original version of “Family Man.â€
Oddly enough, as I was putting together this post, I couldn’t get snippets of the Hall and Oates videos out of my head. So, I hopped over to our trusted friend of video pop culture (i.e., You Tube) and I re-watched the video. My God! What a stupid video. I mean, did the director really think this video would somehow show the band in a “good light?” Jesus! I can’t believe Hall and Oates actually paid for this. But you know, after re-watching the video, I’m glad they don’t really air music videos anymore ‘cause I would have to watch crap like this more often. Then again, watching this video is preferable than having to hear “Hey There Delilah” by Plain White-Ts.
“Family Man†Mike Oldfield (Download)
“Family Man†Hall and Oates (Download)
–PK
[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=cQdu4UOCUZc[/youtube]
10 thoughts on ““I Could Give A Rip”: Mike Oldfield & Hall and Oates”
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I think I may like the H & A version of the song better, but I still remember my surprise that someone was covering it!
Thank god I didn’t plunk down all of that cash for the CD. The album is OK, but not worth THAT kind of money.
The first time I went to that record store was with Sandy, the friend who introduced me to that same album…do you think that was his copy of the record? 😉
AHHHHHHHHHHHH, to “Here there Delilah.” Zoe loves that song and I find it painful to listen to. Almost as bad as James Blunt.
Isn’t it amazing how stupid some of the videos were in the 80’s? Some of them were ok though. Hall and Oates was always a bit…..what’s the word I’m looking for. Oh yeh, lame.
Ted, I wish you could have seen the look on my face when I heard Oldfield’s version starting up, something akin to sucking a lemon. (This is the first time I’ve ever heard it.) And I’ve known (and loved, I admit) the H&O version for years, so this isn’t going to replace it anytime soon. It kind of sounds like the H&O version on helium.
Thanks for sharing it, though…I’ve always been curious about Oldfield’s version, but apparently never curious enough to seek it out for myself. 🙂
That video is just plain ole awful! Amazing what we used to watch back in the day. ICK!
Lew likes Hey There Delilah, but I want to rip my ears off and run down the street screaming every time it comes on the radio. Aren’t I nice? 🙂
I just went in and listened/watched…now I remember why I was surprised that that song was remade. Both versions suck!
Ahhhh… I LOVE, “Hey there Delilah”! Well of course I do, don’t I?
Those are some HOT graphics in that video. But really, you’ve got to love the absurdity of the 80’s music video! Of course, the videos of today may cost much more money, but are they really much better?
Ok, maybe they are.
Ok, I wasn’t impressed with the Mike Oldfield’s version. The water drop effect was…um…ahhh…lame. Too much eletronic music for my taste. I think that is why I don’t watch music videos anymore.
Jason has it about right when he said that the Oldfield version engenders a “sucking a lemon” face. It’s not a good version, and the H&O version is just slightly better — if only for Hall’s voice saving it.
And yeah, LP, that “water dripping” sound is pretty lame.
Cherry: I think videos still generally suck — even though they spend a lot more money on them.
And J, you’re probably right about how that used copy of “Five Miles Out” got into $5 bin. 🙂
Hubba-hubba, for reasons I cannot fathom, loves that Delilah song. I hate it.
I remember this song. That video does not ring a bell. It was really 80’s though. Some of the videos made today are really bad too. I was watching a couple this morning and I thought, good grief what happened to using your imagination?