Return
to Ommadawn is Mike Oldfield's twenty-sixth studio album, and it is a
sequel to his third album, Ommadawn from 1975. It should be
emphasized again that the album is a sequel and not a re-recording.
He
began working on the new album in the later part of 2015, and
finished in November of 2016, and Mike Oldfield is pleased to present
the new album as a pure solo work.
“I’m
the only musician who is involved. I play everything. There are no
guest appearances whatsoever.” - Mike Oldfield
In
pre-release promotion for the new album he went on to say that the
suites that make up parts one and two were specifically designed for
the for the album vinyl format. Stating that “I tend to think of
them as being side one and side two of an LP. This was deliberately
done because I love vinyl and the way it brings people closer to
music. As far as I’m concerned, if you listen to downloads, that
has the same impact as what you hear in a lift! Of course, the album
will be made available in all the usual formats. But for me it’s
the vinyl one that matters. The cover is very elaborate, and there
will be a gate-fold sleeve. This will have hundreds of photos I’ve
taken of all the instruments I’ve used in the recording sessions.
The aim is to give everyone hours of enjoyment as they try to
identify all of these, and what roles they might have played in the
making of the record.”
In
this new album you'll find all of those things that make Mike
Oldfield music so easily identifiable. There is a strong Irish /
Celtic influence in all of his work and these things are mingled well
with English influences. It is an instrumental piece of music in two
parts. The only vocals found are short samplings taken from the first
Ommadawn, and they'll be found in short sequences in both parts.
Mike
Oldfield elaborated further saying: “Looking on social media, the
first three albums 40 years later are still everybody’s favorite,
and Ommadawn more than Tubular Bells even. I think it’s
because it’s a genuine piece of music rather than production:
hands, fingers, fingernails. It didn’t have a goal; it was not
trying to achieve anything nor please anybody. It was spontaneous
music making, full of life. Doing Return To Ommadawn is like a return
to my true self.”
The
album is more ambient in essence than anything else, but here that is
more than OK. There are many fantastic guitar performance that get
wrapped seamlessly and integrated well with the other instruments
that bring it all together as a whole piece. The guitar work is very
prominent and as always it's Mike Oldfield exceptional.
All
instruments played by Mike Oldfield.
Stringed
instruments:
Acoustic
steel guitar
Flamenco
guitar
Bass
guitar
Acoustic
bass guitar
Mandolins
Banjo
Ukulele
Celtic
harp
Electric
guitars
Gibson
SG Standard P90
Fender
Telecaster
Fender
Stratocaster
PRS
Signature
Keyboards:
Vox
Continental organ
Hammond
organ
Farfisa
organ
Mellotron
Solina
Clavioline
Piano
Percussion:
Bodhran
African
table drums
Glockenspiel
Penny
whistles in various keys &
Northumbrian
pipes
Vocals
that appear are sampled from the original 1975 version of Ommadawn.
