Part One/Part Two
Ommadawn was so similar to its predecessor Hergest Ridge that it is difficult to distinguish them. Both comprise lengthy suites of bland instrumental music, with the oddity On Horseback stuck on the end of this one. (US:146 UK:4)
“Not as strong as Tubular Bells, understandably. The album tends to meander instead of build and is not among Oldfield's best. On Horseback is a strange enough song to merit a mention and is the best piece of music on the album.”
“A very lovely balanced progressive album with strong folk inspirations and a spiritual, very meditative atmosphere to it. Not too long, but still filled with variety and pure genius material. Soft, smooth and relaxing, with a good sense for melodies and sound to help the listener into a very comfortable state of mind.”
“I like the pastoral folky feel better than the pretensions towards classical of his debut, as alarmingly ambitious as it was. This is a less show-off work and has a lot of charm going for it, as exemplified by the closing On Horseback section.”
“The two sidelong tracks epitomize what orchestral folk-rock should sound like, built around several traditional instruments, keyboards, vibes and Oldfield's soft electric touch on guitar. Great musical development with excellent melodies and folky soundscapes with the guitar being omnipresent and the album containing influences from Celtic, African and Mediterrenean music.”
“Although some may call it new age, little in that genre has produced anything as exciting or uplifting as Ommadawn. Oldfield certainly had a knack for melodies, which he would then repeat and augment with chanted vocals, African percussion, Irish folk instrumentation, acoustic and electric guitars, or anything else that caught his fancy. The backwards sound mosaic that opens side two has an especially moving pull to it.”
“It is visionary music with all the best qualities of lengthy instrumental pieces. The last five minutes of part one are truly inspiring, building to the perfect climax. Part 2 is quite good as well, but it starts out a little slow and suffers somewhat in comparison.”
“He combined the Celtic influence with his virtuosic signature guitar playing and actually made one of the finest instrumental tracks I have yet heard.”
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