The Songs of Distant Earth [ENHANCED]

Mike Oldfield

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 6, 1996)
• Original Release Date: February 6, 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Reprise / Wea
• ASIN: B000002MZ6
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (95 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #84,299 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. In the Beginning

2. Let There Be Light

3. Supernova

4. Magellan

5. First Landing

6. Oceania

7. Only Time Will Tell

8. Prayer for the Earth

9. Lament for Atlantis

10. Chamber

11. Hibernaculum

12. Tubular World

13. Shining Ones

14. Crystal Clear

15. Sunken Forest

16. Ascension

17. New Beginning

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oldfield's peak work, May 19, 2000

By	DAC Crowell (Rankin, IL United States) - See all my reviews

It's hard to write about this one. I recall driving across Wyoming while listening to this, and the beauty of the music kept moving me to tears. Oldfield here has reached a zenith with this work, one which surpasses perhaps all of his prior output. Merging elements from many world musics along with his own idiomatic sounds and styles, Oldfield really has created a work that seems to echo Arthur C. Clarke's vision in the book which inspired this title. Voices whirl in and out like transmissions from some either lost or undiscovered planet, yet which are in fact from our own. The music merges together many, many things...so many, that it synergizes some new music that is so much more truly 'world music' than anything that's been tagged with that overused commercial cliche. Previously, I felt that Mike Oldfield had hit his best stride on the minimalist-colored symphonic work "Incantations", but this blows it...and pretty much everything else he's done, the historic importance of "Tubular Bells" notwithstanding...out of the water! An important, critical, must-have work. Make some time for a good long drive out across the West...Utah, Wyoming, the Black Hills, or even the open plains of Kansas or Nebraska...and put this on. The feelings are indescribable...

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very pleasant surprise, March 25, 2002

By	Todd Ebert (Long Beach California) - See all my reviews

I picked this cd almost randomly out of a catalog, not knowing anything about the recording or the musician Mike Oldfield. But after giving it a few listens, I quickly realized that this is one of the better cds out of the hundreds I own! Aside from the very creative arrangements and fresh style of the music (which relies heavily on synthetic sounds and samples), one aspect of the music that I enjoy is what I perceive to be an interplay between very earthy or soulful sounds (such as tribal chants and distant voices) with more futuristic synthetic sounds. This duality seems to bring out from me an awareness of what is sacred here on earth, as well as what life could be like outside of our beautiful planet. And the fact that a piece of music could actually induce me to contemplate such things is worth 5 stars in and of itself!

Finally, if someone asked me to classify this music, I really wouldn't know how, other than to put it in the category of "great music". In any case, I will be paying much closer attention to Mike Oldfield's music in the distant future.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best album I own, June 17, 1999

By	taucancri (USA) - See all my reviews

I have never really been a Mike Oldfield fan and it was a fluke that I purchased this one. I happen to be an Arthur C. Clarke fan and the album titled with Clarke's book gained my curiosity. There isn't a bad song on this album - it is absolutely the best music I own and I never get tired of listening to it. It has very deep, ambient melodies that fit into any mood. If you don't get this CD - you are really missing out. Buy it, turn it on and curl up with a good book and escape.