AMAROK

I love Mike Oldfield, but I've always found his personal health warning to the "cloth-eared nincompoops" to be a thinly veiled, childishly defensive preemptive strike against critics who may be of the opinion that they were listening to an artist short of ideas. An artist ripping off his own past glory as the basis for this somewhat contrived mess of an album. He felt the need to let listeners know that they might not be enlightened enough to follow him down the road he was about to take them. Not as effective as the standard rock musician line about making music to please myself, and if others like it, great, if not, that's great too. Mike opted for the preemptive insult instead--which I guess is an invitation for critics to be more frank than they might otherwise. Going a step further and comparing the oft-mentioned album covers of Ommadawn and Amarok (for people often consider Amarok an update of Ommadawn), one will notice that the Ommadawn cover shows an Oldfield at peace, rightfully pleased with the work finished I'm sure. The cover of Amarok on the other hand looks like a Mike Oldfield who just read an Amarok review written by one of his nemesis "nincompoops." He looks anything but pleased. But we move on to the all important music. Amarok is of course an hour long (tortuous) extravaganza (throw everything at the wall and see what sticks), a work that takes classic Oldfield musical sprites and arranges them in a "fresh and exciting" way (gimmick album.) You have a chaotic tapestry of bits glued together, guitar licks, keys, some vocals, lots of noises, odd instruments, and the kitchen sink. It's well done of course as is every Oldfield album, the artist being a fantastic musician as well as a studio wizard. I'm a huge fan of his earlier albums but found him occasionally floundering for substance in later periods. This is a monster regurgitation of past "impressions" gussied up to be something deep and profound when it is neither, a "weak and disjointed" composition as Easy Livin' notes. Being provocative and seemingly edgy does not always result in a great piece of music, acclamations I believe are sometimes given too easily to artists who do something "louder or weirder."

What absolutely does work here is the performance of Mr. Oldfield on his guitar. You will find these exquisite little snips of brilliance here and there, moments where you wish you were hearing Oldfield attempt another grandiose idea in another true epic composition. Then of course the moment crashes and burns in yet another pointlessly jarring noise (ticking clock or ringing telephone anyone?) or simply letting the brilliance die into another manic musical twinkie. For here ideas do not progress or evolve to states of developed bliss---instead they are born, scream briefly for attention like a musical toddler, and then die within the space of seconds or if you are lucky, perhaps a minute. It comes complete with a spoken-word ending which is cute on the first play and tiring by the 5th play. My opinion is certainly the minority at ProgArchives as many thoughtful reviewers compare this to masterpieces and great albums like Ommadawn, Hergest Ridge, or Incantations. For me Amarok is nothing but an occasionally amusing play for his ardent fans. A parody of Mr. Oldfield offered by the artist himself, giving it a great degree of authenticity, while not nearing the heights offered by his more thoughtful, original works. Even the caveman is back for an embarrassing cameo that feels as necessary as having Steve Martin host SNL one more time. Just as in cooking, a musician can attempt to impress with flash and presentation. It is far more difficult to slave over that stove, adding and tasting just the right ingredients for hours to create that special family dish that nourishes and stays with your gut. Oldfield's best offerings (and there are many) are the work of a wise old soul with a hunched back over a large cauldron of the finest stew you ever had, served with great crusty bread and some fine ale or vino. Amarok feels like the work of a first year pastry chef on their final exam for class---lots of oohs and ahhs but 30 minutes later you're still starving for some real food. Again, most find this album to be fantastic so judge for yourself. But be warned, a few of us see it as a mirage to be bothered with only after his 1970s masterpieces have been devoured, and then only with your heartburn pills.

Share this MIKE OLDFIELD review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Finnforest
• Report this review (#243339)
• 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 Amarok page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for MIKE OLDFIELD related discussions