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Here it is, the true masterpiece of Mike Oldfield, "The Songs Of Distant Earth" twenty-one years after the first approaches of "Tubular Bells," the first example of this artist's polyhedral talent and extraordinarily rich musical visions. With this work, Oldfield translates Clarke's eponymous novel into music, creating a unique and grand symphony masterfully executed and produced.
The artificial music of the keyboards and the programmed rhythms blends suggestively and successfully with the whale songs that open the album, Oldfield introduces the work by including a small excerpt from the "Genesis" read by Anders aboard Apollo 8 in 1968. The development of the sound paths occurs amid tribal chants, guitars, and percussion in a crescendo that transports the listener far away, listen to "Supernova" and "Oceania," and you will understand why this is Oldfield's best work. Here lies all his love for nature, the vast spaces, the silences, and the sounds, the songs, and the cries. There isn't a moment that doesn't work; the music and the most diverse sounds unite in a single song, and it truly seems like you can hear it singing, the earth between the passages of piano and acoustic guitar that open towards Mike's powerful guitar in "Lament For Atlantis."
This is the real Oldfield, freed from Branson and free to follow his talent, he succeeds in everything — the Gregorian chants of "The Chamber" and the icy atmospheres of "Hibernaculum." If you don't own this album, get it, because a space journey with Mike is a must, and it is truly worth it. Thank you, Mike.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
16 Ascension (05:49)
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void;
and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
And God said,
Let there be light
and there was light.
And God saw the light,
that it was good...
(Extract spoken by Lunar Module Pilot Wiiliam Anders, from the Apollo 8 crew live television broadcast, made when the first manned mission to the moon entered lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, December 24th, 1968)
17 A New Beginning (01:33)
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void;
and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
And God said,
Let there be light
and there was light.
And God saw the light,
that it was good...
(Extract spoken by Lunar Module Pilot Wiiliam Anders, from the Apollo 8 crew live television broadcast, made when the first manned mission to the moon entered lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, December 24th, 1968)
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