Mike Oldfield's Ommadawn - The Darkest Dark? (Mike Oldfield in general)

Member Name: Mad_Vicar

Product:	Mike Oldfield in general
Date:	23/08/01 (75 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Spiritual rebirth, cleansing, purging

Disadvantages: Dark, Scary, Cold

No matter how you look at it, Ommadawn, the third album from Mike Oldfield, is a DARK album. To call it BLACK would be to conveniently place a limit on the level of darkness, but no, Ommadawn defies limits of darkness and overall bleak, stark depression.

You can put your Radiohead and Smiths CDs away now. Tidy up the place generally, smoke a very large cigarette of your own personal preference, dim the lights, and travel to a darker world. Don't get me wrong - this is NOT music to slit your wrists, shuffle off this mortal coil, buy the farm, or even meet your maker to. Oh no. That would be far too easy.

This is the music equivalent of a dally with some high grade LSD which provided what looked at first to be the best of all trips. Then subtly, and calmly, everything began to go so very bad. Allowing you to really see, and really appreciate, that there is a duality to everything. This music lets you see the darkness always there, always waiting for the lights to fail. That plunge into real despair.

So have I got the atmosphere set now? Are you prepared to really see the darkness and keep your Zippo in your pocket? Ommadawn was apparently written and recorded by Mike Oldfield during a period of intense depression. After the huge success of both Tubular Bells and Hergest Ridge, the pressure on this painfully shy and retiring genius began to drive him out of his mind. He retreated into near solitude again, and armed with his instruments and recording equipment, gave birth to the kicking, screaming infant that was to be the embodiment of all that cries of despair. Ommadawn was unleashed upon the earth in 1975 - and again, across the world, the headphones were plugged in, the lights dimmed, substances consumed, and the ears made receptive to a message.

But wait! This is not the Christmassy Jingle Jangle of Hergest Ridge! Where is the upbeat humming chorus? Where is that feeling of happy ever after? Where IS Viv Stanshall to tell us
what's going on? This is just TOO MUCH.

How many adjectives could we get in at this point? Earthy, raw, guttural, primal? Bleak, stark, acrid, COLD? Freezing, harsh, chilling? This is not an album to give you a nice warm feeling. It is very cold and very bleak. However, this is not to say that there is one thing about it that would cause me to advise anyone to refrain from experiencing it (That's "experience", as opposed to "listening", which is too restrictive. This IS an experience.

Oh no. Everyone needs to see what bleak, darkness really looks like, and Ommadawn can do that for you, no problem. Afterwards, when the 19 minutes and some seconds trip is over, one feels cleansed. That glimpse has made you better. Thus I say again, this is not a slit your wrists ditty. It is a soul-cleansing car-wash for the brave of spirit.

Nothing more to say. Listen to it. All of it. See it in context. Experience it. Enjoy it.

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