What does it sound like?:
42 years after the release of his third album Ommadawn, Mike Oldfield returns (SWIDT?) to the format that made him famous – longform musical pieces split into two parts. The original album saw Oldfield dipping his toes into what later became ‘world music’, incorporating Uillean pipes, pan pipes, bazoukis, the bodhran, and African drumming.
‘Return To Ommadawn’, his 26th album, references several of these elements – Part 1 begins with panpipes over what sounds like a harp tinkling away gently in the background, while halfway through the drums propel the piece to the end. There is even a brief burst of the Penrhos Kids for those fans of “On Horseback”, the unlisted song that closes the original album.
Oldfield’s nylon string guitar is the dominant instrument for much of parts 1 and 2, with the occasional electric stab (Oldfield has stated that the album marks a return (did it again!) to the “acoustic style” of ‘Tubular Bells’, ‘Hergest Ridge’ and ‘Ommadawn’).
The whole thing flows along nicely – Oldfield (who played all the instruments) layers each part skillfully, the playing is impeccable, and it SOUNDS great, even streaming through my crappy PC speakers (the production on this album is amazing…)
And yet….there is something lacking. The whole piece lacks the energy that the original possesses. As with much of Oldfield’s later work, there is an all-pervasive new-agey sheen over the whole thing (luckily no ill-advised forays into Ibiza-style trance music though, for which we can all be grateful).
I do like the album, though (it’s on pre-order) – it’s a very pleasant way to spend 40 minutes or so, but I can’t see it appealing to the casual buyer.
(thanks to @bargepole for the stream)
What does it all *mean*?
It’s nice to see Oldfield is still capable of creating longer pieces of music without resorting to endlessly reworking Tubular Bells
Goes well with…
headphones, a good book, a comfy chair…
Release Date:
Might suit people who like…
Albums with gatefold sleeves; Mike Oldfield before he started putting “songs” on his albums and putting out (shudder) “singles”.
Nice review.
I have to say, Paddy Maloney’s heart-rending Uilleann pipes solo on the original Ommadawn album is my absolute favourite Oldfield moment (other than possibly the Viv Stanshall finale to Tubular Bells). Is there anything to rival that here?
I love that pipe solo as well – sadly there’s nothing on the new album that compares. As I said, it’s all very pleasant, and a nice listen, and maybe therein lies the problem. The original is (to me anyway) an urgent, intense piece of music, perhaps a ‘fuck you all’ from Oldfield after the lukewarm response to Hergest Ridge?
The original album had a hint of the exotic and unfamiliar about it too – you didn’t hear Uilleann pipes or African drums on many records then.
Have mine on order and looking forward to it. Original Ommadawn is excellent and hoping this is a worthy addition after years of Oldfield treading water.
Mike Oldfield fans of his early albums should also check out the two Sanctuary albums by Robert Reed. They are, depending on your viewpoint, an homage or a ripoff, but lots of fun all the same.
I look forward to hearing Mike’s new one.
The original album was a coherent unified piece – parts of this give the feel of some nice tunes strung together for no obvious reason and with no real connection. Having said that, as others have pointed out, this is certainly a very pleasant listenable album – it’s just that there seems to be a certain undefinable quality missing that the original had in abundance.
Finally got round to buying this.
There are touches of the old magic there, but in my heart of hearts I know it’s a pale shadow of Oldfield in his 70s prime.
I think one big issue is the sound palette is too restrictive. Too much Spanish guitar and reverb-y washes of sound. Oldfield’ 70s albums were quite sparse by modern standards, but always had something surprising jumping out at you (such as the caveman yells on Tubular Bells, or the guitar army on Hergest Ridge).
Still, it’s good enough. Feels like a familiar friend you haven’t seen for years. People ignorant of Mike’s work might just dismiss this as flotation tank music, but those of us with trained ears will know what we are listening for.
Just enough magic to bring a wistful tear to your eye.
And I’ve grown to like that cover. Pure prog.
I keep coming back to this LP. There are a good few earworms on it – little magic melodies that linger in the back of your head.