For people who know me or my interests, they might think that my most played album was something by Jean Michel Jarre, or The Three Colours Red soundtrack by Zbigniew Preisner, or the Mysterious Cities of Gold soundtrack or the Blade Runner soundtrack by Vangelis but actually, it is Mike Oldfield's 16th album which is inspired by Arthur C Clarke's sci-fi book ‘Songs of Distant Earth’…. surprised?
The album was released in 1994 and it helped me during my years of insomnia in my teen years and has been my go to album to help me sleep ever since, however this is not a slight against it, far from! As the album is a complete soundscape, each song lending itself to the larger tapestry of the story being told and for me is the perfect way to reach of nod.
It starts off with Apollo 9’s reading of Genesis 1:1 and builds into the beautiful 'Let There Be Light', an early highlight that sounds majestic and full of hope as it ascends. The arpeggios are beautiful and create a soft through-line as the music builds.
Then, with ‘Supernova’ the volume decreases and it has an echoey atmosphere that sounds like a sonic harp before crashing to a powerful release with an intergalactic choir.
’Magellan’ and ‘First Landing’ has a train-like pulse, which is joined by Oldfield’s acoustic guitar with some sonic noodling.
’Oceania’ is a slower, more meditative piece with a steady slow beat but faster rhythmic piano arpeggio.
’Only Time Will Tell’ marks the moment in the album where you go on a intergalactic journey as Oldfield creates a wonderful soundscape that immerses you. There are lots more processed vocals and robot like voices but they all blend well into each other, the standout tracks being ‘Hibernaculum’ and ‘Tubular World.’
The album ends on a note of hope with ‘A New Beginning’, a song sung in throaty chants that sounds beautifully and seems like a fitting end to the powerful journey you've been on.
This album is a stunning concept album with a mix of spacey synths, noodling guitar solos and strange vocals. It is a particular favourite of mine of Oldfields ouvre and up until ‘The Songs of the Spheres,’ his best most modern work in my opinion.