INCANTATIONS

Structurally speaking, this one is Mike Oldfield's Tales From Topographic Oceans, being as it is a double album of just four side-long pieces. And like Tales From Topographic Oceans, it's a divisive one, with people who had been won over by his single album-length compositions put off just as others embraced it.

To be honest, I think the running time is the major issue here - any album clocking in over 70 minutes is going to find keeping the listener's attention a challenge at times, and the material here is repetitive enough that I don't often find it as rewarding to listen to the whole thing in one sitting compared to Tubular Bells or Ommadawn. However, taken as individual tracks, the various parts of this whole are as good as ever. My advice: take it slowly, chew it over carefully, and give yourself a chance to digest it properly, and you'll get the best out of this one.