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Fact: Mike Oldfield is a hugely successful and influential composer of eclectic instrumental music. Opinion: Mike Oldfield is a genius. With arguments for and against the latter still raging after more than four decades, there seems little point in buying into the debate here. Rather than giving us a better appreciation of Oldfield’s muse the “genius” tag has done nothing but polarise Oldfield’s detractors (those in the rock press who defend cherished notions of street cred) and his most fawning, die-hard fans (who would give Oldfield’s guitar strap a ten minute standing ovation). This retiring Englishman is, however, a distinctive and original talent. Forever passionate about musicianship, Oldfield was among the first musicians in the West to convincingly combine the sounds of rock, folk, ethnic and classical music, stretching and a times completely changing their context while remaining appealing to a mainstream audience. As a father to various strands of ethno-ambient and world fusion music, those genres would be all the poorer were it not for his considerable talents. His career started performing in a folk duo with his sister Sally, followed by a stint as guitarist with a band led by ex-Soft Machine bassist Kevin Ayres. By 1972 Oldfield had set out on his own, brandishing a tape of a long, ambitious instrumental composition he had been working on in his home studio for some years. Alas, most of the record companies rejected it, but salvation eventually came in the form of flamboyant British entrepreneur Richard Branson who chose Oldfield’s work to be the first release on his new label Virgin Records. The resulting album was, of course, the legendary Tubular Bells, an unprecedented symphonic-style fusion of rock, folk, minimalist and classical elements with Oldfield playing a mind-boggling array of acoustic and electric instruments. As much loathed as it is revered as a watershed in progressive rock, the album remains one of the most surprising commercial success stories in contemporary music. True, rock audiences at the time were already hip to extended instrumental workouts thanks to groups like Pink Floyd, Soft Machine and The Grateful Dead. But Tubular Bells appeal reached beyond the rock milieu and no one, least Oldfield himself, expected a record by a complete unknown to reach make Top #5 on the album charts in both England and the USA. By the end of the millennium the album had sold around 20 million copies worldwide, making it the highest-selling contemporary instrumental release ever. For most of the 1970’s Oldfield retained the sophisticated, melodic but rarely heavy-handed style of his debut: repetitive motifs developed through a series of different movements, occasionally returning to a central melodic theme. Though Tubular Bells has stood the test of time rather well, its runaway success has eclipsed the fact that the three albums which followed it are also fine works. Hergest Ridge, a more pastoral and folk-derived piece, was initially released to a cooler critical reception. But hindsight reveals the first half to be a lyrical, powerful, profoundly beautiful piece of music. The occasional throwback to its predecessor is forgivable: Hergest Ridge succeeds brilliantly in capturing the Celtic heritage of Britain that so obviously inspired it. If Ommadawn is better, it’s only because it sustains its musical invention for the full forty-five minutes. This time around there’s thundering African drums, more upfront wordless vocals and some of Oldfield’s most passionate lead guitar playing. Also notable is the acoustic guitar/uilleann pipes duet with Paddy Moloney of Irish folk group The Chieftains. A three year break separates Ommadawn and his epic 1978 release, the double-length Incantations. Here Oldfield’s experiments with choral arrangements and exotic-sounding percussion come to full flower, enhanced by an orchestra and his typically fluid guitar lines. Incantations is a highly accomplished work and marks the end of a sequence of classic albums. Oldfield’s move in the late 70’s from an eclectic orchestral approach to a more pedestrian rock style was puzzling. Whereas his earlier music had been hailed as original, visionary and distinctive, his 80’s albums often display none of these qualities. On records like Five Miles Out (1981) and Islands (1987) Oldfield ropes in assorted guest vocalists - Maggie Riley the most prominent - to perform songs characterised by his usual instrumental precision but a decided lack of soul and purpose. Compounding the problem is the fact that sitting rather awkwardly right next to them are instrumentals which are often completely forgettable. In fairness, the hit single “Moonlight Shadow” from Crisis (1982) is a great pop song by any standards, but it’s very much an exception. Most of Oldfield’s efforts from this period show him hedging his bets: part eclectic instrumental records, part pop/rock records, unsatisfying as a whole. Ironically, when at the turn of the decade he finally did come to his senses the results were almost overwhelming. Amarok marks a welcome return to roots, his first thematic instrumental album since Incantations and perhaps his most ambitious work ever. The 60 minute suite works through a bewildering range of sounds and moods, eventually climaxing in a joyous African stomp. Dense and complex, Oldfield perhaps overreaches himself here by packing in too much variety and detail; all but the most patient of listeners may be left gasping for air. But it's a striking listen nonetheless, and Oldfield’s wonderfully droll sense of humour comes to the fore in a hilarious parody of Margaret Thatcher. While 1992's much ballyhooed Tubular Bells II and its further sequels smack of a rather cynical cash-in, The Songs Of Distant Earth redeems him again. Based on Arthur C. Clark’s science fiction novel, the album marks a kind of new age update of Oldfield’s sound and is arguably his most cohesive, satisfying work in two decades. It’s a seamless 17-part suite forged with multi-layered keyboard harmonies, ethereal vocals (Gregorian chants, a boy choir and pygmies to name a few), dramatic orchestral sweeps and sonorous guitar lines. Blessed with moments of rapturous beauty - notably “Let There Be Light” and “Supernova” - The Songs Of Distant Earth was the sound of Mike Oldfield at peace with the 90’s. But his first four albums from the 70’s remain definitive and, in all likelihood, will remain for ever so |
