Return to Ommadawn

Last updated

Return to Ommadawn
ReturnToOmmadawn.jpg
Studio album by
Mike Oldfield
Released20 January 2017
RecordedDecember 2015–May 2016 [1]
StudioOldfield's home studio in Nassau, Bahamas
Genre
Length42:07
Label Virgin EMI
Producer Mike Oldfield
Mike Oldfield chronology
Man on the Rocks
(2014)		Return to Ommadawn
(2017)

Return to Ommadawn is the twenty-sixth and final studio album by English musician and songwriter Mike Oldfield. It was released on 20 January 2017 on Virgin EMI Records and is the sequel to his 1975 album Ommadawn . [2] [3] The CD/DVD-Audio set contains a 5.1 surround sound mix of the album. [4] Return to Ommadawn is the last studio album Oldfield released before the announcement of his retirement in 2023. [5]

Contents

Background

In March 2014, Oldfield released his album Man on the Rocks , which marked a diversion from his traditional long-form, instrumental style of music as it comprised standard rock songs with vocals. When Oldfield started on his next album he took to social media, asking fans what sort of album they would like from him. He found that the majority of people who responded wished for a long-form, acoustic-oriented one similar to that of his first three: Tubular Bells (1973), Hergest Ridge (1974), and Ommadawn (1975), and learned that the latter had become a particular favourite among fans. This influenced Oldfield to record a sequel to Ommadawn which had been on his mind for some time; his 1990 album Amarok was originally going to be Ommadawn II before the material "went off in its own direction" and the idea was shelved. In addition, Oldfield wished to make the sequel after he logged into an online chat with French musician Jean-Michel Jarre, who said that he was a fan of Oldfield's music and wished to collaborate with him on his Electronica project, but considered his music "too acoustic". Oldfield recalled: "This got me thinking. If someone like him believes I'm an acoustic musician, then it showed how important that part of my career has been." [1]

Recording

On 16 October 2015, Oldfield posted on his Twitter account that he had started working on music for "a new Ommadawn" for the past week to see if the concept "actually works". [6] Oldfield was aware of the popularity of Hergest Ridge and used the album for inspiration for Return to Ommadawn. This was the case for the introduction, whereby a folk melody was to start the piece before Oldfield changed it to a more atmospheric one. [7] Ideas were explored further in subsequent weeks, and Oldfield began recording in December 2015 at his home studio in Nassau, Bahamas. [1] Early on, Oldfield realised that he was out of practise in his guitar technique, as his fingertips had softened, causing pain when playing. He focused on the instrument for three weeks to get up to scratch. [8]

Oldfield began by gathering the necessary instruments that he intended to play on the album and arrange his studio into an environment that he could work in. This involved the purchase of a mandolin, ukulele, and bodhrán. [8] He then decided to record in time with a wind-up metronome, as opposed to a programmed click track, and set up his workspace and Pro Tools software to resemble a 24-track machine that he had used in the 1970s. [9] Oldfield had used Logic Pro software but found it increasingly unreliable, which prompted him to switch to Pro Tools and invest in larger, 4K resolution screens, which allowed him to view a 20-minute piece on one display without scrolling. [10] [8] Oldfield played sections of the album to his two sons for feedback; one suggested that a part sounded too busy and should instead feature just one instrument, which Oldfield took onboard and has bits that feature one guitar. [10] As with the original Ommadawn, Oldfield left mistakes in the recording to retain a human quality to the music as opposed to a highly produced sound. [10] [8]

In May 2016, Oldfield stated on Facebook that the album was finished and that an official release date had yet to be confirmed. Towards the end of recording in late 2016, the Bahamas suffered a direct hit from Hurricane Matthew, which caused extensive damage to Oldfield's home, resulting in loss of main power for three weeks. When the album was finished, Oldfield delivered the recordings to Virgin EMI using a backup Internet connection through a small satellite dish installed on his roof. The transfer took around 24 hours due to the low speeds. [7] On 7 December 2016, Oldfield announced a release date of 20 January 2017. [2] On the same day, a 3-minute excerpt aired on Steve Wright's afternoon show on BBC Radio 2. [11]

Return to Ommadawn is Oldfield's first album since Incantations (1978) that follows the format of having one track per side of vinyl simply titled "Part One" and "Part Two". [1]

Reception

On Metacritic the album has a score of 64 out of 100 based on reviews from 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [12] It charted at number 1 in Spain. [13]

Track listing

All music by Mike Oldfield.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Return to Ommadawn Pt. I"21:10
Side two
No.TitleLength
2."Return to Ommadawn Pt. II"20:56

Personnel

Music

All instruments played by Mike Oldfield. [14]

Production

Charts

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Oldfield</span> English musician

Michael Gordon Oldfield is an English musician, songwriter, and producer best known for his debut studio album Tubular Bells (1973), which became an unexpected critical and commercial success. Though primarily a guitarist, Oldfield plays a range of instruments, which includes keyboards, percussion, and vocals. He has adopted a range of musical styles throughout his career, including progressive rock, world, folk, classical, electronic, ambient, and new age music.

<i>Tubular Bells</i> 1973 album by Mike Oldfield

Tubular Bells is the debut studio album by the British musician Mike Oldfield, released on 25 May 1973 as the first album on Virgin Records. It comprises two mostly instrumental tracks. Oldfield, who was 19 years old when it was recorded, played almost all the instruments.

<i>Tubular Bells II</i> 1992 studio album by Mike Oldfield

Tubular Bells II is the fifteenth studio album by English guitarist and songwriter Mike Oldfield. It was released on 31 August 1992 by Warner Music UK and is the successor to his debut album Tubular Bells (1973). After his contract with Virgin Records ended at the end of 1991, Oldfield signed with Warner and started work on a sequel to Tubular Bells. The album charted at number 1 in the UK as did its precursor. It is Oldfield's third number-one album.

<i>Tubular Bells 2003</i> 2003 studio album by Mike Oldfield

Tubular Bells 2003 is the 22nd studio album by English musician Mike Oldfield, released on 27 May 2003 by Warner Music Spain. It is a digital re-recording of his 1973 album Tubular Bells, released almost 30 years earlier. To date, this is the most recent album in the Tubular Bells series.

<i>Hergest Ridge</i> (album) 1974 studio album by Mike Oldfield

Hergest Ridge is the second studio album by English musician and songwriter Mike Oldfield, released on 2 September 1974 by Virgin Records. The unexpected commercial and critical success of his debut album Tubular Bells (1973) affected Oldfield, who decided against touring and avoided the press with his newfound fame. Instead, he retreated to Hergest Ridge on the England–Wales border and wrote the follow-up, which he recorded in 1974 at The Manor in Oxfordshire, with Tom Newman returning as co-producer. Similar to Oldfield's first, the album is a single composition split into two parts covering different moods and musical styles.

<i>Ommadawn</i> 1975 studio album by Mike Oldfield

Ommadawn is the third studio album by English musician, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Mike Oldfield, released on 3 November 1975 on Virgin Records.

<i>Incantations</i> (album) 1978 studio album by Mike Oldfield

Incantations is the fourth studio album by English musician, songwriter, and producer Mike Oldfield, released on 1 December 1978 by Virgin Records. Following the release of his previous album Ommadawn (1975), Oldfield moved into a new home in Bisley, Gloucestershire, where he set up a new recording studio. He started on a follow-up in 1977 which took form as a double album with one, side-long track on each side of the LP record. Oldfield wished to use real incantations in the music, but ended up using folklore as a loose running theme, such as Dianna the Huntress. Though primarily instrumental, lyrical sections are adapted from works by poets Henry Longfellow and Ben Jonson. Oldfield completed the self-awareness seminar Exegesis while recording Incantations.

<i>Platinum</i> (Mike Oldfield album) 1979 studio album by Mike Oldfield

Platinum is the fifth studio album by English multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Mike Oldfield, released on 23 November 1979 on Virgin Records. It was Oldfield's first album to include shorter songs and music written by others. A modified version of the album was released in the United States and Canada and titled Airborn.

<i>Amarok</i> (Mike Oldfield album) 1990 studio album by Mike Oldfield

Amarok is the thirteenth studio album by English multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Mike Oldfield, released in May 1990 by Virgin Records. Oldfield originally conceived it as an "angry protest album", showcasing his musical technique. It is presented as a single sixty-minute track of continuous, uninterrupted but constantly changing music.

<i>Five Miles Out</i> 1982 studio album by Mike Oldfield

Five Miles Out is the seventh studio album by English recording artist Mike Oldfield, released on 19 March 1982 by Virgin Records in the UK. After touring in support of his previous album, QE2 (1980), ended in mid-1981, Oldfield started on a follow-up with members of his touring band performing the music. The album features the 24-minute track "Taurus II" on side one and four shorter songs on side two. The songs "Family Man" and "Orabidoo" are credited to Oldfield and members of his touring band which included vocalist Maggie Reilly, drummer Morris Pert, and guitarist Rick Fenn.

<i>Discovery</i> (Mike Oldfield album) 1984 studio album by Mike Oldfield

Discovery is the ninth studio album by English multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Mike Oldfield, released on 25 June 1984 on Virgin Records. It comprises a number of pop songs, most notably the single "To France", as well as the instrumental "The Lake".

<i>Voyager</i> (Mike Oldfield album) 1996 studio album by Mike Oldfield

Voyager is the 17th music album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1996 by Warner Music UK. It is a Celtic-themed album with new compositions intertwined with traditional pieces.

<i>Tubular Bells III</i> 1998 studio album by Mike Oldfield

Tubular Bells III is the eighteenth studio album by English guitarist, songwriter, and producer Mike Oldfield. It was released on 31 August 1998 by Warner Music UK as the third instalment in his Tubular Bells album series. After relocating from England to the Spanish island of Ibiza in 1996, Oldfield started work on the album and gained inspiration to incorporate electronic music from the island's local bars and clubs.

<i>Elements – The Best of Mike Oldfield</i> 1993 greatest hits album by Mike Oldfield

Elements – The Best of Mike Oldfield is a compilation album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1993 by Virgin Records.

<i>The Complete Mike Oldfield</i> 1985 compilation album by Mike Oldfield

The Complete Mike Oldfield is a compilation album by Mike Oldfield, released on 21 October 1985 by Virgin Records in the UK.

<i>The Orchestral Tubular Bells</i> 1975 live album by Mike Oldfield

The Orchestral Tubular Bells is an orchestral version of Mike Oldfield's album Tubular Bells, arranged by David Bedford and recorded in 1974 by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, featuring Oldfield himself playing the guitar. Excerpts from the album were featured in the 1979 NASA film, The Space Movie. It peaked at #17 on the UK Albums Chart in 1975.

This page is a discography for the musician Mike Oldfield.

<i>Boxed</i> (Mike Oldfield album) 1976 box set by Mike Oldfield

Boxed is a 1976 compilation album of music written and performed by Mike Oldfield. It features four channel quadraphonic remix versions of his first three albums:Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge and Ommadawn. An additional fourth LP contains new musical collaborations with other artists.

<i>Music Wonderland</i> 1981 compilation album by Mike Oldfield

Music Wonderland is a compilation album by Mike Oldfield released in 1981 on Virgin Records. The album has since been reissued worldwide on CD.

<i>Man on the Rocks</i> 2014 studio album by Mike Oldfield

Man on the Rocks is the twenty-fifth studio album by British musician Mike Oldfield, released on 3 March 2014 on the Virgin EMI label. The album is Oldfield's second full album of exclusively songs with no long or instrumental pieces, the first being 1989's Earth Moving.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Dome, Malcolm (8 December 2016). "Mike Oldfield Returns to Ommadawn". Louder Sound. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Mike Oldfield on Facebook". Mike Oldfield. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  3. ↑ "Mike Oldfield's Online Store" . Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  4. ↑ "Mike Oldfield's Online Store - Return to Ommadawn CD/DVD" . Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  5. ↑ Sexton, Paul (31 March 2023). "Mike Oldfield's 'Tubular Bells' For 50th Anniversary Reissue With Unreleased Demo". uDiscover Music. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  6. ↑ "Mike Oldfield's Twitter". Mike Oldfield. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  7. 1 2 Pettersen, Hogne Bø (24 January 2017). "Mike Oldfield: – Technology finally caught up with me". The Domino Elf. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Yates, Henry (22 September 2017). "Mike Oldfield: "It's the age-old story. Out of suffering comes beauty"". Music Radar. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  9. ↑ Kaill, Gary (3 January 2017). "An Ommadawn Chorus: Mike Oldfield's Favourite Albums". The Quietus. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  10. 1 2 3 Easlea, Daryl (14 February 2017). "Mike Oldfield: "I used to think 'What's gone wrong with the world?'"". Loudersound. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  11. ↑ "Steve Wright in the Afternoon: Jennifer Aniston, Aled Jones and Mike & Beth from GCHQ". BBC. 7 December 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  12. ↑ "Critic reviews for Return to Ommadawn". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  13. ↑ "Lescharts - Return to Ommadawn". Lescharts. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  14. ↑ Liner notes to the Return to Ommadawn album, Virgin EMI Records, 20 January 2017
  15. ↑ "ARIA CHART WATCH #405". auspOp. 28 January 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  16. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Mike Oldfield – Return to Ommadawn" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  17. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Mike Oldfield – Return to Ommadawn" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  18. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Mike Oldfield – Return to Ommadawn" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  19. ↑ "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 05.Týden 2017 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  20. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Mike Oldfield – Return to Ommadawn" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  21. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Mike Oldfield – Return to Ommadawn". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  22. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Mike Oldfield – Return to Ommadawn" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  23. ↑ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2017. 4. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  24. ↑ "IRMA - Irish Charts". Irish Recorded Music Association . Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  25. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Mike Oldfield – Return to Ommadawn". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  26. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  27. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Mike Oldfield – Return to Ommadawn". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  28. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Mike Oldfield – Return to Ommadawn". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  29. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Mike Oldfield – Return to Ommadawn". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  30. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Mike Oldfield – Return to Ommadawn". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  31. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  32. ↑ "Top 100 Albums Annual 2017". El portal de Música. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.