AwayWeGo
Group: Members
Posts: 49
Joined: Feb. 2015 |
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Posted: Aug. 05 2015, 13:31 |
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Can we please stop calling Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge, and Ommadawn "rock albums?"
I don't mean this in an antagonistic way. I just simply don't get it. Yes, they have electric guitar. Yes, they were composed during a period when prog rock was becoming very popular. But can anyone really listen to Ommadawn, with all the woodwinds and soaring choral passages, Tubular Bells, with the soul-melting mandolin sounds, or Hergest Ridge, with that angelic choir passage, and call it "rock," any kind of rock?
The noble 3 records all have rock bits in them (Piltdown Man and Thunderstorm come to mind), but they are not "rock records." They are most definitely closer to classical. Music genres aren't just about the instrumentation, but the composition, the structure, the attitude if you will. In this respect, they are most definitely not rock releases. For example, Tubular Bells is centered around a piano riff, constantly shifting atmospheres, and creativity with ensemble instruments. Hergest Ridge is pastoral and solitary, utilizing choral and solo elements. Ommadawn is closer to something you would play in a mountain log cabin during winter while sipping cider.
I heard Richard Branson say something like, "Mike Oldfield's is one of the most interesting tales in all of rock music," and that really jumped out at me aa sounding very incorrect. I believe that interview was recorded before "Crises" and "Five Miles Out" were even being recorded.
Basically, I think to call the first three classic albums (and especially the fourth) "rock albums" is to both discredit what they really are and to set new listeners up with false expectations instead of just letting them listen to and experience the magical music. It's not rock. It's not pure classical. It's not "new age" and it's not merely "instrumental" either. It's Mike Oldfield, and that's why we love it. We should let it speak for itself and stop trying to label it with false terms.
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