Mike Oldfield: Every Album, Every Song

by Ryan Yard

It can be difficult for an artist to have such overwhelming success so early into their career as was the case for Mike Oldfield. To this day, his name is forever synonymous with the album Tubular Bells. Mike followed this album with three further long form works in the 1970s, before venturing off onto other musical paths. The 1980s saw further success both in the albums and singles charts, while recent years have seen a return to long form music, often via sequels to his most famous work, with his most recent album being Return To Ommadawn in 2017. The music of Mike Oldfield touches listeners in ways that can be hard to describe. It bridges the gap between many musical cultures, whilst staying sharp and alert to current technological trends. In this book, Ryan Yard looks at the entire catalogue of albums to uncover what it is that makes his music so special. Each track from every album is critiqued with the aim of offering long term fans a different perspective whilst enticing new fans to explore and familiarise themselves with such wonderful new music. It makes a wonderful companion as the listener absorbs the music, hopefully offering food for thought as they embark on, or continue, their journey through the music of this remarkable artist.

160 pages, Paperback

Published December 15, 2020

Reviews

[Alfie Porter · Rating 5 out of 5]

So i have not read this book all the way thru but it is abs brill

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ever since first bursting onto the international music scene in 1973, with his hit debut album Tubular Bells Mike Oldfield has released a steady stream of music ranging from ambient to dance, rock and ethnic musical forms.
His development from the teenage wunderkind, who played all of the instruments, wrote and arranged the music to an elder statesman, who still sells albums, the more successful ones re-working his debut.
Ryan Yard has done his research into the subject and knows his subject. He is a musician and a writer, but on Track falls between two stools. It is neither musically detailed enough, and more could have gone into the stories behind the music and what else was happening in Oldfield’s life at the time.
No mention is made of the individual instruments that Oldfield used. Nothing is mentioned about the musicians that he played with (although credits are given throughout). It might have been opportune to speak to some of the musicians, producers and engineers that Oldfield worked with throughout his career. A two-page biography of Oldfield’s life before 1973 fills in some scant details.
Although there is much to admire in the book, there are other books about Oldfield’s life and work that fill in the details. As a forensic study of Oldfield’s musical output, both as a solo artist and as a first-call collaborator with the likes of David Bedford, The Sallyangie, and Kevin Ayres, this will mean that you listen to the music with a different ear, as well as hopefully discovering some new music you may not have heard before.