Music : Incantations

Rating: - Good one Mike
I really don't know how Mike Oldfield has lost it these days. He's just lost in the Techno world. But he's one of a kind as a musician. You see it in this album. I would say this was the very first of the Techno albums that now have lost their way. But he got this one right. Synths were used when they were needed.

If Mike reads this.
Please re-discover what you wanted from this album and re-produce it again.

It was a departure from Ommadawn. Not an earthy sound but somewhere in between the earthy sound and the electro sound. I like this album cuz he had got it right. It had atmosphere like Hergest ridge and Ommadawn. Tubular Bells is still the enigma album that glorifies musical instruments and sound. But this album was his best.

---

Rating: - Mike Oldfield's best work
Mike Oldfield's first four studio albums (Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge, Ommadawn and Incantations) are simply stunning - his later oevure, nice though "Moonlight Shadow" may be, doesn't even come close to matching them. "Incantations" is the apex of this period of creativity and, for my money, his best album ever. On a grander scale than anything that went before in his canon, it's not an easy album, but the use, repetition and development of themes is on a scale not attempted by any "pop" or "rock" act before or since. It's more like Steve Reich, but infinitely better. The effort that must have gone into it is phenomenal - a far cry from these days when he programs a computer to write pale imitations of "Tubular Bells" every other year. Beginners - buy it, but listen to the other three first. It's a shame he apparently can't be bothered any more.

---

Rating: - Nice combination
As a fan of both Mike Oldfield and Maddy Prior, I'm delighted with the combination herein. Good value album which doesn't really show its age much, while still a good example of classic Mike Oldfield.

---

Rating: - A more confident performance
On "Incantations", Mike shrugs off the emotional catharsis that dominated "Ommadawn" and goes for something genuinely self confident.

"Incantations" draws heavily on orchestral and choral sounds with occasional shimmers of guitar and synthesizer. At double the length of his previous works, the album rarely gets tedious (though that long recital of Hiawatha is a bit tiresome) despite Mike's intentions of making a 'deliberately boring album' just to get honest criticism for once.

The highlight of the album has to be the closing five minutes (as used on the "Complete", "Essential" and "Elements" collections) which, in my opinion, is best experienced on the double live album "Exposed" as the atmos of the music is a lot more vibrant.

Although it's not a brilliant Mike Oldfield album, it really does stand out on its own. A worthy entry into any Oldfield fan's collection.

---

Rating: - Outstanding
Mike Oldfield continues to create an atmosphere in his early records with this amazing piece of music. It's worth a listen just for the percussion alone! A masterful use of the story of "Hiawatha". A genuinely beautiful album. Get it today!