One record at a time: 325. Mike Oldfield - Voyager

I bought "Voyager" on CD when it was released in 1996 but soon realised that, stylistically at least, it was not a follow up to its predecessor "Songs of Distant Earth". This record is actually more of an album of folk music executed in a vaguely Celtic style. 

Whist this description might not sound appealing to a lover of electronic music, there is just enough synth and effects being thrown around keep me interested. I must enjoy the album to some extent as I bought this LP ten years ago when it was released on vinyl for the first time - but I think I have only listened to it once.

There is a mix "traditional" and original compositions on the record with the title track and "Women of Ireland" being two of the best. Unlike many of Mike's albums, this is one you can dip in and out of and not feel like you are missing out on a wider experience. This is just as well as there a quite few songs that are prime for skipping.

"The Hero" is pretty lifeless and "Mont St. Michel" tries too hard to be atmospheric and ends up being boring. I think the fact that there is relatively little synth on this record means I don't enjoy large chunks of it. A mixed bag with slightly more disappointments than delights. 2/5

One record at a time: 324. Mike Oldfield - The Songs of Distant Earth

Having enjoyed "Tubular Bells II" in 1992, I was keen to hear Mike's next album when it was released a couple of years later. I originally bought the CD of "Songs of Distant Earth" and fell in love with it immediately. This album is, for me at least, Mike's best work and in my top ten favourite albums by any artist. 

I bought this repressing of the LP in 2014 as I couldn't resist owning one of my favourite albums on vinyl. Lots of people seem to enjoy this pressing but my copy suffers from static induced crackles and flaws in the vinyl cause loud clicks. Things get better as the record progresses, but the first fifteen minutes of each side can be hard to listen to.

The album opens quietly and slowly (well quietly from a digital source anyway) before launching into the beautiful "Let There Be Light". This track is driven along by a beat Enigma would have been proud of and sprinkled with vocal samples that augment the amazing guitar work. The music segues seamlessly into the next track "Supernova" which builds the most wonderful atmosphere. As the music flows along we reach another of my favourite moments "Only Time Will Tell" which has some amazing guitar melodies amongst the aural fireworks. 

The second side features the inevitable homage to the "Tubular Bells" theme but the music on "Tubular World" is so good I don't care if it is recycling the idea. Equally I like "Crystal Clear" so much that I don't care if it uses the ubiquitous (and slightly cliched) "When the Levee Breaks" loop. Like "Tubular Bells II" this album is best when given your full attention and heard from start to finish. This is amazing stuff and I hold this album dear - just not this particular vinyl. 5/5

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For a few years Mike seemed convinced that the future of music lay in interactive CD ROM experiences. As a first foray into this field, later pressings of this album on CD were capable of generating images to accompany the music. Unfortunately this functionality used QuickTime video and was reserved for users of the Apple Macintosh computer. As ~90% of computer users at the time (myself included) couldn't view the content, it's easy to see why this idea never took off. 

Today we may scoff at the notion of a Mac only CD ROM being the future of music, but Mike also said this back in early 1995:

"We should have a 'pay to play' entertainment system where you can download whatever you need — music, films, interactive — from a central media library over a telephone line or something similar. I don't know how the billing will work yet, but everything points to that being the system of the future."

Maybe he did know what he was talking about after all.

One record at a time: 323. Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells II

This might not be the worst sounding record I own, but it is most definitely the quietest. I need to turn the volume on my amplifier up to about 50% to even hear what is playing on this vinyl. 

Unfortunately turning up the volume means that the crackles (few), pops (more) and rumbling noises (lots) present on this pressing are also amplified. This 2014 version was released alongside a few other albums from Mike's back catalogue and they all sound pretty disappointing - I would avoid them if I were you.

I originally bought the CD of this album in 1992 and enjoyed it immensely. In fact, it's a good job CDs don't wear out as my original copy would be on its last legs by now. 

There's something magical about the music on this album and the fairy dust added by Trevor Horn elevates it to a new level. There's a great atmosphere to this recording and the ideas are strong - there are no samples of screaming monkeys or General MIDI telephone noises used this time around. "Sentinel" and "Sunjammer" are two of my favourite sections but I have always been a little bit disappointed by the climax of the fist side titled "The Bell".

There are plenty of highlights on the second side with synth heavy "The Great Plain" and the atmospheric "Maya Gold" rising above the rest. Today I am slightly less tolerant of elements such as the bagpipes on "Tattoo" and the banjo driven bluegrass of "Moonshine", but nothing that would drive me away permanently. This isn't not an album you can dip in and out of; this is a journey you should take from start to end. An hour lost in "Tubular Bells II" is time well spent. 4/5

One record at a time: 322. Michael Oldfiled - Heaven's Open

When this album was being recorded Mike Oldfield was desperate to fulfil his contract and escape the clutches of Virgin Records. For this final outing, Oldfield returned to the tried and trusted formula of putting songs on one side of the record and a longer complex piece on the other.

However, to break the monotony, Mike attempted something new: he decided to sing. Despite not being known as a vocalist Mike's singing is reasonably accomplished and is certainly no worse than some of the guest singers on his previous albums. 

The songs themselves are all pretty good and only the faux reggae of "Gimme Back" sounds a bit clunky. Mike devotes one measly page of his autobiography to this album and the best he can say of it is that the title track "wasn't too bad". This summary is something of an understatement as "Heaven's Open" is a great song and Virgin even saw fit to release it as a single. I also like the drama of "No Dream" and the withering critique of  "Make Make" is hard to resist.

On the second side the track "Music from the Balcony" is one of the weakest pieces Oldfield ever wrote. This song sounds like he simply found a sample disc and decided to go to town with it. Terrible, terrible stuff. On the whole this isn't a bad record, but it definitely runs out of ideas after the first side. Still, once the album was delivered, Oldfield was free...2/5

One record at a time: 321. Mike Oldfield - Amorok

Having kowtowed to his record company when creating his previous album, Oldfield elected to go his own way for his next effort.

I have read that Oldfield teased Virgin Records that his new work could be "Ommadawn 2" and they became excited enough to suggest he should create the much anticipated follow up to "Tubular Bells"; but in the end his new work was neither of these. 

"Amarok" is one continuous piece that saw Oldfield go back to his prog rock roots. This move pleased his many fans but Virgin Records were less impressed and elected not to promote the album. 

Most of the sections on this album last about two minutes and, on the first side, "Fast Riff" from 18'00'' and "Fast Waltz" at 21'57'' are my favourites. There are some quite jarring stabs and effects in the music and the listener can never really relax. "Amorok" isn't always an easy ride. Whilst intended to be uninterrupted, the LP format necessitates an edit halfway through the piece and this robs it of a little momentum when compared to the compact disc.

The second side encompasses an infamous morse code message, an impression of Margaret Thatcher and "long thin metallic hanging tubes" - but it hardly sets the world on fire. To me this record has always felt a bit like Mike was just going through the motions to fulfil his recording contract. Yes, he still cared about the end product and the artistry that went into it, but this lacks heart and I find it hard to understand why it is so popular with his fanbase. 2/5

One record at a time: 320. Mike Oldfield - Earth Moving

The first I heard of this record was when the video for the title track was reviewed on a TV programme I was watching. The general consensus on the show was that Nikki Bentley had a good voice but the song was nothing special. As a teenage record buyer of the time I agreed and spent my money on S'Express or Pet Shop Boys singles instead. Yet, only a couple of years later, I did buy this album and I found plenty in it to interest me.

Having spent years badgering Mike Oldfield to record a follow up to "Tubular Bells", Virgin Records eventually switched track when the success of "Moonlight Shadow" proved he was more than a one trick pony. "Earth Moving" was released in 1989 in response to a demand for hit singles and, as a result, it features ten pop songs with no concession to the long form pieces traditionally associated with Oldfield.

Songs such as "Holy", "Far Country" and "Bridge to Paradise" have good melodies and even "Innocent" has its charms if you can forgive its slightly hokey lyrics. Elsewhere, songs such as "Hostage" and "Runaway Son" smack of a particular brand of clichéd rock that the melodies can't shake. Maggie Reilly is wasted on the lacklustre "Blue Night" and why the last two songs are listed as if they are part of the same composition is a complete mystery.

I was always a little fascinated by this record as it is one of few instances in which I can clearly hear presets from the Roland D-10. As I have mentioned on this blog before, the D-10 was one of the first 'real' synths I ever played and to hear the same kit being used by someone like Mike Oldfield was quite a revelation. Unsurprisingly there is also a fair few D-50 presets on here and there is also a splattering of Korg M1 - but I can't really discern much Fairlight. Anyway, the production was a little old fashioned for 1989 and despite some good songs, this album doesn't really impress too much. 3/5

One record at a time: 319. Mike Oldfield - Islands

From what I have read, there was some expectation that "Islands" would sell rather well when it was released in 1987. As a prelude to this success the title track was released as a single, but unexpectedly, it sank without a trace.

Given Mike's track record, I can see why people at Virgin Records would be confident of success. Yet, as we have seen with other artists, they just didn't read the bellwether. 

As "Islands" was released almost 15 years after Mike's debut, his core audience was clearly getting older and had potentially reached a stage in life where music represented an investment in time and money they could ill afford. Lots of people drift away from music as life becomes more complicated and this lead single was not likely to draw them back. 

As for new listeners, this record was released at a time when a generational change was occurring. The charts of the era were full of Stock, Aitken and Waterman and artists such as Steve 'Silk' Hurley and MARRS were signalling the emergence of dance music as a commercial force. This new pop audience were never, ever, going to buy a ponderous ballad sung by someone as 'uncool' as Bonnie Tyler (I know because I was part of this new generation). "Islands" was doomed on both fronts.

If we put the God awful title track to one side, there are some highlights to be found on this record. Side one is occupied by "Wind Chimes" Part 1 and Part 2 which have flashes of real genius amongst their many phases and ideas. To some extent "Part 2" is a big tease as it plays with a few of the motifs from "Tubular Bells" in a way that suggests the much anticipated "Tubular Bells II" was within reach. This must have pleased and frustrated Richard Branson in equal measure.

The b-side of the record has 5 pop songs which feature various singers. Anita Hegerland's vocals are a pretty close match to those of Maggie Reilly except for the strange pronunciation of certain words such as "north" which is off putting. Kevin Ayers' larynx are stretched to breaking point and beyond by the verses of the otherwise catchy "Flying Start" but the faux heavy rock of "Magic Touch" is a car crash in denim and poodle hair. This is a strange album with one side I enjoy and another that I really do not. 2/5