Mike Oldfield - Amarok (Studio Album)
1990 - MP3 - 192Kbps - 84Mb
This record could be hazardous to the health of cloth-eared nincompoops. If you suffer from this condition, consult your Doctor immediately
Total Time: 60:02
Line-up
- Mike Oldfield / acoustic, classical, electric, Flamenco, sitar, bowed & clorfindel guitars, bouzouki, bass, mandoline, ukelele, banjo, acoustic & electric pianos, organs, sound f/x, marimba, glockenspiel, clay drums, bodhran, triangle, finger cymbals, Northumbrian bagpipes,
tambourine, bell tree, sticks, melodica, psaltry, Jews harp, spinet, whistles, spoons, Pan pipes, violin, cabasa, bongos, bass drums, tympani, kalimba, synthesizers, tubular bells
+ Julian Bahula / African drums arrangements
- Janet Brown / vocals
- Paddy Maloney / Uillean pipes
- Bridget St.John / vocals
- Clodagh Simmonds / vocals
An album like this comes along but once in a lifetime and we should all feel privileged that it came along in ours. After ten years of compromising his music to satisfy record company A&R men, in 1990 Mike Oldfiled burst out of his chains and produced a work of true unshackled genius. Amarok is a tour de force in compositional ingenuity: one hour of continuous music in which a few themes are intertwined and woven together to form a rich sonic tapestry of considerable complexity and beauty. Stylistically the music crosses over continents: Celtic/Irish; African, Greek, Bluegrass, country, reggae ambient, 12-bar boogies, soaring orchestral peaks, simple pentatonic folk melodies, all blended together and "Oldfield-ised" to produce some of the most life-affirming music ever recorded. Apart from African drums and choirs and some penny whistle, Oldfield plays everything on this album. The guitar playing is particularly exceptional -- Oldfield really is one of the most unique but sadly underrated guitarist around. The album's also full of unusual instrumentation and sounds effects, none of which are samples as many people mistakenly believe. In my opinion Amarok is one of the greatest artistic achievements of the last century. If you haven't heard it, I urge, nay, COMMAND you to go and give it at least TEN listens then try and tell me I'm wrong.