j o n f

Opinions on this disc seem divided between those that think it's brilliant and those that find it rather boring. I fall into the latter group. Whereas I've listened to Oldfield's early albums dozens of times, Songs of Distant Earth has received just a handful of spins over the years I've owned it. Simply put, this is very crisply produced ambient/new age material that is full of interesting sounds but to my ears severely lacks sufficient composition or editing. As each piece reflects elements of Arthur C. Clarke's 1957 novel of the same name, you would think there would be more movement or depth to the music here, but instead this is very stereotypical ambient music, with a synthetic-sounding rhythm section and repetition of themes throughout the work. The sampled spoken word parts leave something to be desired as well. The best parts of Songs are the occasional guitar solos and majestic keyboard parts (I'm reminded of Moby's "God Moving Over the Face of the Waters" at times), but there's just not enough here to make this album stand out. To be fair, Oldfield's production is absolutely first rate, but sound isn't going to get him (or anyone else) far if the composition isn't up to scratch. While this album might perhaps be appreciated as background music (and I've read several favorable reviews of it as just that), I doubt many prog fans are going to find this interesting enough for active listening. Included on the disc are multi-media bonuses including a simple game and a beautifully rendered video, but they're not enough to recommend this one. review by Jon Fry — 10-18-00 —

s e a n

Oldfield is not an artist who has aged gracefully in the eyes of many of his fans; between what are perceived as weak albums and and endless stream of transparent Tubular Bells-related cash-ins, he has simply worn out his welcome except among the true believers. Songs of Distant Earth came out in the mid-90s when there wasn't a ton of hope, but the memories of the brilliant Amarok had not entirely faded. Truth be told, it's rather a nice release, consistent with Oldfield's other work, but fitting its time as well. There is a world music element that comes in here, less actual world music than Gabriel Real World through a filter of electronica, a little bit like Enigma or Cyrille Verdeaux's Ethnicolors project. There are, of course, influences from Celtic music, a variety of micro-themes tied together to create extended instrumental suites, and the requisite riff that sounds like the opening of Tubular Bells (you'll be waiting about 2/3 of the album if that's all you care about). While there is arguably not a weak moment here, I think the album suffers a bit from a general flatness of intensity and dynamics; in other words, there is also arguably not a really strong moment here either. It's simply Oldfield-for-the-90s, half of a pair with Tubular Bells 3 (which I prefer, incidentally), not an embarrassment for the artist but limited by an aversion to risk. review by Sean McFee — 11-6-05 —