OMMADAWN

If Mike Oldfield had only released only one album through his career and it happened to be Ommadawn, I would still hold the same, tremendous amount of respect for this musical genius that I do now. It's hard for me to come up with my favorite albums of all time, but if I really got down to it, Ommadawn would easily place in the top three.

The emotion presented by Ommadawn is palpable. From the haunting beginning to the wildly exciting climax of part one, I am left speechless. Part two begins and slows things down with sheer beauty, creating a very nice contrast from the end of the first part. A very satisfying but unfortunately abrupt ending closes off the album with some more guitar flair.

Oldfield is best known for Tubular Bells, undoubtedly, and it's a fine album indeed. However, after listening to Ommadawn I can easily say it deserves a great deal more respect and attention than Tubular Bells ever got. Along with Amarok, Ommadawn is the definitive Oldfield experience.