Elf
Group: Members
Posts: 67
Joined: Jan. 2005 |
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Posted: Mar. 09 2014, 17:01 |
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I wrote a review of Man on the Rocks for a Norwegian magazine. Here's the English translation for your entertainment.
Mike Oldfield postponed his retirement after getting the taste of success again during the London Olympics in 2012. But is it worth it?
27th of July 2012:A little bit more than half of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in London has been performed. And then it happens: The tribute to the National Health Service is about to start, and Mike Oldfield and Tubular Bells announced. The composition is being performed by Oldfield and a band, which includes his son. Halfway through Tubular Bells goes into a 1920s swing session, and dancers dressed as nurses gives us one hell of a show. And Oldfield himself looks like one of the happiest people on Earth, and is visibly very moved by it all.
The director of the opening ceremony, film maker Danny Boyle, has understood what the rest of the British meda and cultural elite haven't: The sound of Tubular Bells is the sound of the 70s and it had a huge effect in the world of music.
The record was written by a then 17 year old boy, with huge psychological problems, and was released when he was only 19. It created the foundation for Richard Branson's Virgin empire, it created a template for the soundtracks of horror films by being used in the Exorcist, and the list of songs that has sampled Tubular Bells is long.
Having been met with snorts of derision for several decades back home in England (even shifting 17 millions copies of your debut album isn't enough to get any respect), the opening of the Olympics was a wonderful moment of redemption. Even a sports hater like me is in front of the TV, all smiles, and I find the whole thing very touching. It's well deserved for my old musical hero.
Predictably a compilation album is released shortly after the Olympics, and the sales of his back catalogue rises considerably (not that he needs the money after having been very wise with his finances). But most importantly: He decides to postpone his retirement. The result is now a brand new album, Man on the Rocks.
A lot of Oldfield fans were hoping for a new hour long opus, like in his heyday, but what we get is 11 very personal pop and rock songs. Even if Oldfield is living the life on the Bahamas he still has enough demons to sing and write about. Not least after his latest divorce, which has also separated him from his youngest son.
Unfortunately for us Oldfield fans, the album consists of complete middle of the road music that you expect to hear on bland radio stations. The record starts with cheerfully with the single Sailing, a song which got him A-listed on BBC2. It has a chorus that just gets stuck inside your head, even if you really don't want it to.
This is followed by songs that you forget immediately after hearing them. Moonshine is a bit U2-like (yes, you know that guitar sounds everyone thinks Edge invented) and also has strong elements of Irish music. The title track is an attempt at a power ballad. Problem is that is lacks power, even if Luke Spiller from the Struts (who?) does his best Freddie Mercury impression. Spiller is also the singer on all the songs.
The problem is that most of the album just flows in one ear, and out the other. It doesn't resonate or stay with you. However, halfway through it, things are really picking up. First you have the absolutely beautiful Dreaming in the Wind. Part Moonlight Shadow, part Crowded House. This is followed by Nucelar, a power ballad that actually does have power.
And then the highlight hits you: Chariots! Oldfield do know how to write catchy and engaging songs when he puts his mind to it. This is a good old fashioned rock tune, with a sing along chorus and several possibilities for headbanging. It's catchy as hell, and if this isn't the second single from the album, someone should resign!
After this we take a huge nosedive again. The utterly dull, and way too long, Following the Angels does the album no favours. But then things pick up for a moment, via the blues rock piece called Irene, named after the famous hurricane. This is a mix of Free, AC/DC and Rolling Stones. Raw, unpretentious and straight forward. I didn't know Oldfield had it in him.
Unfortunately the album ends with a dull song called I Give Myself Away, originally written by William McDowell.
Don't get me wrong: It's very nice to see Oldfield back in business again, and I really hope the album becomes a success for him. Maybe that will encourage Oldfield to give us a more challenging album next time around. But this is way too middle of the road.
Grade: 5 out of 10
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It's funny how many of us have different ideas about the worst Mike albums... Neglecting the "common" ones (Millennium Bell, Light+Shade, Tres Lunas), sometimes there are albums that I consider marvellous that end in the "worst section", like Voyager, which in my opinion is a little pearl of acoustic and poetic visions, so inspired.
