Nice surprise this morning...

They said it might snow overnight, but I stopped listening to forecasts yonks ago. This time they got it right!

Mike Oldfield: Music Of The Spheres

Ok.... this is tough. I have been a fan of Mike Oldfield ever since I discovered my Dad's vinyl copy of "Tubular Bells" when I was about 8. It's hard to remember just how radical a record it was when it was released. Mike has come to be seen as a bit naff over the years, and today is seen as being about as "middle of the road" as you can get.

However, the first 3 albums "Tubular Bells", "Hergest Ridge" & "Ommadawn" are about as perfect as albums can be. In terms of style the first three albums can be seen as a trilogy and a time when Mike was at his creative peak.

The next few albums "Incantations", "Platinum", "QE2", "Five Miles Out" & "Crises" all have much to recommend them. Mike is obviously trying out new things and this makes them somewhat patchy. When he hits the mark though the results are wonderful as in his cover of the ABBA song "Arrival".

Then come "Discovery", "Islands" & "Earth Moving". Oh dear.... The less said about these the better I think.

Then out of the blue comes "Amarok". This is the marmite of Mike's works, you either love it or hate it. Me? I Think it's fantastic! It's a completely schizophrenic album, but all the better for it. Stylistically it's all over the place, wavering between lilting guitars, heavy drum sections, avant-garde and.... well, you name it.

Now come the average years as I call them, "Heavens Open", "Tubular Bells 2", "The Songs of Distant Earth", "Voyager", "Tubular Bells 3", "Guitars", "The Millennium Bell", "Tr3s Lunas", "Tubular Bells 2003" & "Light & Shade".

Now... there is nothing particularly wrong with these albums. They are all perfectly... pleasant. And that's the problem. As accomplished as they are they all lack that fire of inspiration that Mike had at the start. Of all of them the best are probably "The Songs of Distant Earth" and "Tubular Bells 2". The first is a great ambient album for chilling out too and the second an interesting riff on themes and ideas from the original "Tubular Bells" album. "Tubular Bells 2003" is a complete re-recording of the original album because Mike felt he couldn't live with the mistakes on the first one, and although it makes for interesting listening it lacks the soul of the original.

Now we have "Music Of The Spheres". This is of interest because it's his first orchestral work. I've only listened to it a couple of times and although I like it, it might as well be called "Tubular Bells 4". The themes are different but the structure is identical to "TB". Mike.... It's time to move on. I'd rather you made massively huge mistakes trying to do something different than plough the same field again and again.