After the execrable Earth Moving, Mike Oldfield conceived the project Amarok as a sort of Ommadawn II, and produced an album that is probably his best since the original Ommadawn. Utilizing his multi-instrumental talent, Oldfield plays an extraordinary variety of instruments, as well as numerous ordinary items such as a toothbrush, chairs and a toy dog. The whole thing is contained in a single sixty-minute track of undulating music.
Amarok continues the world music style of Ommadawn, exploring a larger portion of the globe for new sounds. Of course, the term "world music" didn't exist in 1975, but if it did it would probably have meant Uillean pipes, Arabic drums, perhaps a shawm or oud, and a sitar. These days, despite being criticized as being "ethnic music without the tricky bits," world music has at least discovered Sub-Saharan Africa, and Oldfield uses some Zulu-inspired chanting very effectively late on this album. Another highlight is the flamenco-inspired music about twenty minutes in, with its insistent clapped beat and unresolved tension.
On the topic of the sound effects here most are superfluous. The fake firecrackers are probably the most effective, but they still sound a little too fake. The sound of Mike Oldfield brushing his teeth as a rhythm does absolutely nothing for me. The Margaret Thatcher impersonator was almost certainly funny at the time, but grows tiresome on successive listenings.
Musically, Mike Oldfield does little dispel the "ethnic music without the tricky bits" criticism, as he only really scratches the surface of other musical cultures. He usually takes the superficial elements such as a rhythm and melody, plays them on an appropriate instrument, then builds up the track to turn it into pure Mike Oldfield. Which is as good a reason as any to buy this album. This album abounds with ideas, borrowed and otherwise, and is executed with a great deal of skill, despite the occasional gratuitous sound effect, or silly jumping from speaker to speaker.
The Mike Oldfield trademarks of heavy, thoughtful multi-tracking and fluid guitar work are both present, and as good here as they are anywhere. There seems to be a renewed enthusiasm for the possibilities of a recorded album that brings Amarok to the same level of quality as Oldfield's earliest albums.
This is a must-have for Mike Oldfield fans.
