OMMADAWN

The essence of progressive rock is its ability to absorb and assimilate music from different fields, always looking for innovation, experimentation and the search for new paths. This is what Mike Oldfield does, at least in his early works. And this Ommadawn is a good proof of that. In this work, the main influence comes from world music, with rhythmic and tribal elements that serve to develop melodic motifs of great strength and consistency.

From the first moment powerful melodies are combined with the folk elements to create a complex ecosystem that develops and varies throughout the first part, making the tension grow until it reaches a brutal climax at the end of this first part and that includes one of the most spectacular guitar solos of Oldfield's entire career. The second part is, by contrast, much more relaxed, exploring more the folk vein to which musicians of the stature of Paddy Moloney, the leader of the Chieftains, contribute, playing the Irish bagpipes or his brother Terry playing the flute, in addition to the group of African percussion Jabula, also protagonists of the amazing end of the first part.

An album, in my view, exceptional in its development and its content. Music that is pleasant to listen to, without taking away its extraordinary originality.