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
