PLATINUM

The title track, taking up side A of this album (Platinum) is great, while the side B - a mix of throw-away shorts and covers - is pretty poor. This album sees Mike Oldfield in his post-Exegesis period, when he changed from being painfully introverted and shy to out-going. Tom Newman, the engineer at the Manor who recorded Tubular Bells with Oldfield, said he thought Oldfield lost some of his musical inspiration once he got over his pain and shyness. While the first three albums (and Incantations too to an extent) are introverted musical journeys, this album is light as a feather. It was recorded at the commercial height of disco, and is clearly influenced by it. Platinum, the title track, is formally broken into four sections, but is a seamless 19-min instrumental piece of music. It is definitely of a light-hearted vibe - fun, playful - yet still classic Oldfield, with similar melodic structures, bass lines, etc. It seems like Oldfield was having a lot of fun writing and recording this one, playing off the disco thing and the jazzy side of commercial music. And it is quite musical. Up there with the best of Oldfield post-Incantations. Side B is another story. The only song I can listen to here is "Punkadiddle", although it is also quite light. The cover of "I got Rhythm" is so totally not Oldfield - the contrast with everything that came before it will shock. Oldfield's first colossal failure. I would recommend still getting the first side of this album - it is an essential addition to the Oldfield catalogue. But side B is better left alone. I give Side A 8 out of 10. But side B only garners 3.4 out of 10. Since an album rating has to take into account the entire album, I can only give this 6.0 on my 10-point scale (slightly weighted to the first side, because the first side is longer than the second side on the original vinyl).

Share this MIKE OLDFIELD review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Walkscore
• Report this review (#1718278)
• Buy MIKE OLDFIELD music online with PA partners
• Show all MIKE OLDFIELD MP3/Stream
• Go to MIKE OLDFIELD page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Platinum page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for MIKE OLDFIELD related discussions