Ommadawn

by

Mike Oldfield

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Which is best? TUBULAR BELLS, HERGEST RIDGE or OMMADAWN? I could make a case for any of them. There is plenty of debate in these...reviews about their respective merits, but frankly it's like arguing over which is the most important bird species.

The simple fact is that you need to own all three albums. There are many who believe that Oldfield was put on this Earth to make OMMADAWN. If Oldfield had disappeared completely from the music scene after recording OMMADAWN, then his place in history would have been assured. Without this trilogy of albums, there would have been no market for the likes of Andreas Vollenweider, and a much smaller audience for composers as diverse as Tangerine Dream, Steve Reich, Arvo Part and even late Jan Garbarek.

With TUBULAR BELLS, Mike Oldfield opened up what would be known as New age music to a mass audience. With OMMADAWN, he sealed his place in music legend, and perhaps unwittingly discovered a new audience by composing a suite of melodies with immense appeal to children. Some time after this, Oldfield was hired to re-work the theme tune to the BBC children's programme, BLUE PETER.

OMMADAWN represented a departure from his previous solo, multi-tracked recording technique. Other musicians were involved, not just in the recording but in the composition and arrangement too. Influences from the folk music of Ireland, Africa and Eastern Europe can be clearly heard. Paddy Moloney of the Irish band the Chieftains contributed the distinctive uillean pipes. It was way ahead of its time, and for me, it confirms the 22-year-old Oldfield as not just one of the great classical guitarists in rock, but as one of its greatest composers.

Everyone peaks at some point in their life, and Oldfield did it between the ages of 19 and 22. What sort of a life can you lead thereafter? Oldfield has enjoyed his wealth and tried to recapture the glory of his prodigious musical achievement, but not with total success.

OMMADAWN is Oldfield at his peak. The 1970s provided the nurturing environment needed to create this extraordinary recording. We are unlikely to witness either again.

Simply put - Ommadawn Part 1 is good enough that it alone scores the album a five-star rating. Part 2 is mostly shrill and wandering, with the occasional aural relief of an actual melody temporarily moving the discord out of the way. The Horseback piece? I thought it was cheesy when I first heard it in 1975. Today, it's almost comical. Part 1, however, is so melodic, so inspired, that I would and have recommended the album for this piece of music alone, with the warning to play part 2 at the listener's own jeopardy. Like I said, there is an occasional melody or phrase that lets us know it's still Mike at the helm, but they are too few, short, and seldom in part 2.

Part 1, however...

PS - Check this out - the six tracks (TB pts 1&2, HR pts 1&2 and Om pts 1&2) of the first three Mike Oldfield albums are shorter and shorter as though he was gradually running out of ideas or inspiration. After a hiatus, he did come back with the double album Incantations, so that trend reversed, but he then started with the less-orchestral smaller-tracked albums. The point of that preamble was to demonstrate how, while tuneful and inventive in parts, Ommadawn was just not up to Tubular Bells or Hergest Ridge.