I've been listening to MO since I was a teenager... in the 70s but gave up on him when he got to things like Earth Moving and wrote crappy MOR songs. This is more like what he used to do back in the long haired introvert days. Just twenty-odd minutes per side of instrumental music. Unlike the original Ommadawn, he plays everything himself on this. Notable exceptions are the children's voices from On Horseback singing "hey and away we go", and Clodagh Simonds' Irish vocal. In all fairness, I couldn't say this is to Ommadawn what Tubular Bells 2 is to its original. Some of the sections are similar in tone. I particularly like the African drums going into the guitar solo at the end of part one. This always brought to mind a thunderstorm in its original form. I miss Paddy Moloney's uilleann pipes for instance but that's just a minor gripe. The recording, as you'd expect from MO is of course superb with all instruments well defined in the mix. If anything, it sounds more glossy than Ommadawn. It's one of those LPs which improves with repeated listening. And it makes a change from Tubular Bells 24 or whatever. I bought the CD btw and it sounds great on a hifi system. Recommended.
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This new album is no Ommadawn. The sound is n...ice, clearly Mike Oldfield and trying to recreate that 70's sound using today's technologies. However the music does not sound like one long piece - as opposed to the original Ommadawn - but rather a set of different melodies and tunes 'stitched' to one another pretty roughly... but still a nice listen if you're a Mike Oldfield fan and / or 70's / progressive lover.
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Ommadawn was already a favourite o...f mine from amongst Mike Oldfield's early albums. This much later follow up is in the same ilk and is as good as I was hoping. Very easy to listen to and makes a good background when working, for example, on the computer. If you like the early albums then this is most likely going to please.
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Great CD from a great Artist. Although older Mike Oldfie...ld has not got weaker in his music rather more that he has matured like a good red wine. One of his best.
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In my opinion, with the exception of Music of the Spher...es, this is the best CD from Mike Oldfield for some time. It is an interesting addendum to Ommadawn, not a replacement for what has always one of my favourite albums. Do not compare... just listen fir the similarites.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New