Mike Oldfield - The Songs Of Distant Earth (1994) CD-Rip

Based in an Arthur C. Clarke novel, this album really makes you dream, travel through the stars and imagine this weird and diverse history. And this is along with Tubular Bells III, the last great album that Oldfield made. The production is just incredible, you will need a lot of listenings to apreciate the amount of details this album hides. The album is low paced, except some epic fragments wich will make you goose bumps… The dominat key are the keyboard and electronic elemnts, except the omnipresent Oldfield's guitars. The typical 90's new age is mixed with some original Oldfield's element and etnic influences, making a really stimulant and fresh mixture. Just marvellous!

Best songs: Let There be Light (good guitars), Magellan (great ullean pipes!), Lament for Atlantis (etnic and epic track), The Shining Ones (precious…), Crystal Clear (another great guitar work…) and Ascension (proper ending).

Conclusion: great Oldfield's album, and one of the best new age works I've heard… And of course, this album shows another Oldfield's face, and his incredible ability to work with synthethisers, keyboards and all kind of sound effects. Really recommended.

Tracks:

01. In The Beginning 1:24
02. Let There Be Light 4:52
03. Supernova 3:29
04. Magellan 4:41
05. First Landing 1:16
06. Oceania 3:27
07. Only Time Will Tell 4:19
08. Prayer For The Earth 2:10
09. Lament For Atlantis 2:44
10. The Chamber 1:49
11. Hibernaculum 3:32
12. Tubular World 3:23
13. The Shining Ones 2:59
14. Crystal Clear 5:42
15. The Sunken Forest 2:39
16. Ascension 5:48
17. A New Beginning 1:33


Personnel:

Eric Cadieux – Additional programming
Mark Rutherford – Additional rhythm loops and programming
Sugar 'J' – Additional rhythm loops
Pandit Dinesh – Tablas
Molly Oldfield – Keyboards
Cori Josias – Vocalist
Ella Harper – Vocalist
Nils-Aslak Valkeapää - Vocalist & composer (performs his joik, dubbed as "Prayer for the Earth" on the album)
David Nickless – Vocalist
Roame – Vocalist
Members of 'Veulam Consort' – Vocalists
The Tallis Scholars – Vocalists
Mike Joseph – Self hypnosis tape
Vahine Taihara – Tubuai Choir
Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders reading from the Book of Genesis while orbiting the Moon on Christmas Eve, 1968