OMMADAWN

'Ommadawn' is the third studio album by Mike Oldfield. It was released in 1975 and much like its predecessors, it's split into two "parts". Oldfield, only 22 at this point, was already a worldwide star after the success of his first album, 'Tubular Bells', and much in the same vein as before, he plays the majority of the instruments here, while covering a variety of folk, celtic and new age themes.

However, while I liked 'Tubular Bells', I thought Oldfield's follow up, 'Hergest Ridge' was a huge, huge let down, and 'Ommadawn' is only just slightly better than that. While the music is certainly well written, setting a nice atmosphere and progresses interestingly while maintaining a similar theme throughout, I just struggle to stay engaged all the way through.

In particular, the first part is really good, with lots of hauntingly beautiful melodies and varying dynamics. But the second half is where I completely switch off. Everything just seems so messy and uninspiring. At least five minutes of it is just a smorgasbord of noise, and by the time that dissipates, all interest is gone.

There's also a quick song tacked on at the end; 'On Horseback'. It has a spoken verse and a short, sung chorus. It's nothing fancy, and the lyrics make no sense to me, but it's catchy nonetheless. Not enough to save this album, though.

Overall, this is only just a step up from 'Hergest Ridge', and even then, it's much too similar for my liking. Oldfield has been one of my biggest musical inspirations, so I know better things are coming, but I think 'Ommadawn' is an album that I'll probably never come back to.