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Amarok is Mike Oldfield's best recording by a considerable measure. You won't get it at first, but by the 20th play you will be saying "wow".
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
Excellent sound quality! HDCD not used enough now on remasters!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
Great album in HDCD format
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
An extraordinary 60 minute continuous piece of music from the man famous for (or made famous by?)Tubular Bells. It is a constantly varying piece, a succession of different, often brutally contrasting musical styles none lasting more than a couple of minutes but with around 8 different themes and motifs repeated throughout. Many styles can be directly compared with sections of his previous works, notably the Jabula African Drummers' contributions (Ommadawn - one section even has them repeat the patterns from the 'end of side 1' of that LP), some electric guitar and bass (and even a hornpipe) from Tubular bells and, of course, a blatant tribute cum reference to that piece played on the instrument itself. But there are African choral parts, Flamenco-style guitar, spooky footsteps, a strange breathless character who rushes on stage from the right at 2'25" (followed by one of the catchiest recurring themes), an airfix kit, a brutal stabbing, the Piltdown man, somebody getting ready for bed and a garbled combination of a description of the traffic on the London orbital motorway, the album's track listing and 'not to be listened to by cloth-eared nincompoops' to enjoy too. Folklore has it that Oldfield fell out big time with his Virgin record label and refused to record a follow-up to Tubular Bells. Amarok was his last-but-one album for Virgin and, as a musical two-fingered salute, Oldfield has included a Morse coded message, played on synth muted trumpet from 48'04" which is not terribly polite. The final two characters of the code, RB, leave no doubt as to who it is aimed at (Richard Branson himself) - I'll leave you to decode the preceding insult! To add further insult, Oldfields first album for his new label, WEA, was, in fact, Tubular Bells 2. This is, however, a serious composition, thoroughly developed and very cleverly put together. It is, understandably, a much more mature and accomplished composition than Tubular Bells while following the same thinking and multi-instrumental arrangements. The standard of musicianship is often breathtaking, the recording clarity exemplary. It is also great fun and, despite the evident ill-feeling, Mike has managed to convey a sense of humour throughout, ending with our best-loved female UK Prime Minister talking us through the ending in her own inimitable style (though clearly imitated by Janet Brown). The album received little promotion and no radio airtime since it was deemed impossible to cut a single from it, so it remains one of rock music's best kept secrets. However, I defy anyone to hate it, even if it takes several plays to get the measure of it. To get the best out of it, you should be prepared to sit and listen - it doesn't really work as background music. There are some genuinely gorgeous bits: my personal faves are the Jabula/vocal section from about 49'20" including that catchy theme repeated, once with a male 'u Sondela' backing and again with matching female 'u Sondela' building through some lovely modulations and key-change to a typical screeching guitar false ending, and the vocal progression at 52'05" into a classic bit of whatever the auditory equivalent of deja vu is (Ommadawn) followed swiftly by another (Tubular Bells, sadly sans Stanshall this time). Check out the pedal notes if your system allows. Truly fantastic and a must-listen, even if you didn't think you like Mike Oldfield. Happy? Hahaha! .sngRead full review
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