Review: Mike Oldfield – The Songs Of Distant Earth (1994)

The Songs Of Distant Earth on Mike Oldfieldin 16. studioalbumi.

Oldfield left his long-time record label Virgin after the 1991 release of Heaven’s Open. Oldfield had long been frustrated with Virgin. As a final middle finger to the company that had released all his albums to date, Oldfield gave Virgin’s long-coveted Tubular Bells follow-up to his new label.

Oldfield signed a three-album deal with Warner Music and the first album of the deal, Tubular Bells II (1992), was a big hit. Nowhere near the scale of the incomprehensibly popular original, but still selling millions, the album boosted Oldfield’s stock after several poorly received releases.

Throughout his career, Oldfield has boldly experimented with many different genres and ways of making music. After Tubular Bells II, which looked backwards and was in itself very successful, it was time again to try something completely new.

Concept albums are a familiar thing in progressive rock, and it’s a little surprising that Oldfield hadn’t made a single thematic album in his 20-year career. Oldfield did envisage a concept album based on spells from 1978’s Incantations, but the idea dried up when he couldn’t reach an agreement with the druids and other people with supposedly mystical knowledge from whom he wanted to draw inspiration for the album, and perhaps some actual spells. Now, at the urging of Warner’s Rob Dickins, Oldfield turned to a more typical concept album inspiration: science fiction. As a great lover of science fiction (Oldfield has said that his greatest hero since Jean Sibelius is Captain Kirk of Star Trek). Oldfield eagerly took up the challenge.

The starting point was Arthur C. Clarke’s 1986 science fiction novel The Songs Of Distant Earth, based on his 1958 short story of the same name. Clarke (1917-2008) is one of the most respected names in science fiction and is best known for his screenplay for 2001: A Space Odyssey, which he co-wrote with Stanley Kubrick.

Oldfield was familiar with Clarke’s work. He did not consider The Songs Of Distant Earth to be one of Clarke’s best, but the title of the book was naturally attractive in terms of musical interpretation and the mood of the story also seemed appropriate for being translated into music.

When The Songs Of Distant Earth originally came out I rushed to the library to borrow Clarke’s bookand I remember being surprised at how well the music seemed to fit and accompany the story of the book. I have to admit, however, that 30 years later it is very difficult to say anything more specific about this, to the extent that the story and structure of the book has already been effectively lost in my mind. And that aspect doesn’t really matter. The main thing is that the source material clearly helped inspire Oldfield to compose some great music.

Oldfield prepared carefully for the project and travelled halfway across the planet to meet the author. Clarke, then 76, who had made his home in Sri Lanka, was happy to meet Oldfield to discuss the project. It also turned out that Oldfield’s music was familiar to Clarke. A particular favourite of the writer was Oldfield’s only soundtrack album , The Killing Fields (1984). Clarke gave his blessing to the Distant Earth concept album and Oldfield said he was very helpful on the project, even though Oldfield was given a free hand with the music. What kind of help Clarke provided in practice remains unclear to me.

”Since the finale of the novel is a musical concert, I was delighted when Mike Oldfield told me that he wished to compose a suite inspired by it. I was particularly impressed by the music he wrote for The Killing Fields and now, having played the CD-ROM of The Songs of Distant Earth, I feel he has lived up to my expectations. Welcome back into space, Mike: there’s still lots of room out here.”

Excerpt from Arthur C. Clarke’s quotes in the album booklet
Read also: Mike Oldfield: Crises (1983)

So the thematic nature of the album was new to Oldfield, but more importantly, he wanted to do the music in a completely new way.

Oldfield set about devising a whole new musical grammar for the project. He felt that his typical acoustic instrumentation was not suited to the futuristic storyline of the book (the events take place in the 3000s). Oldfield built himself a new all-digital home studio and the music on the album was built largely on computer-generated and manipulated samples, sequences and loops. Of course, there are also plenty of hand-played parts on the synthesizer and of course Oldfield’s electric guitar which adds a human soulfulness to the music. Distant Earth’s music is almost entirely created by Oldfield alone in the studio. However, a couple of friends were recruited to help create the rhythm loops and Pandit Dinesh plays the Indian hand drum tabla on the album. On the vocal side, there are plenty of visitors as the album features a lot of wordless vocals and in addition to several different soloists, there are even two choirs.

Although Distant Earth constantly sounds very oldfield, he hadn’t done anything quite like it before. The floating ambient nature of the music, on the one hand, and its strong rhythmicity based on loops and heavy use of the choirs, on the other, was something completely new. On the other hand, while Oldfield’s sources of inspiration have often been difficult to deduce in the past, with Distant Earth the antecedents seem fairly obvious. I’m sure Oldfield has listened carefully to the soundtrack of Vangelis’ 1492 – The Conquest Of Paradise (1992), which combines grandiose synthesizer melodies with choral singing. Similarly, the rhythmic new age music of Enigma’s MCMXC a.D. with its Gregorian chants must have inspired Oldfield, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he had also found his way onto Deep Forest’s 1992 multi-million selling, untitled debut album, which mixed electronica rhythms with ethnic music influences. I hear echoes of all these albums on Distant Earth, which detracts from its originality, but to Oldfield’s credit, his concept album is a far more impressive and soulful whole than any of the above.

(It is also possible to draw a personal link from Oldfield to Enigma, as Michael Cretu, the man behind that project, produced one of the songs on Oldfield’s Islands album. Oldfield also encouraged Cretu to pursue a solo career, which one can at least indirectly imagine led to the creation of Enigma.)

The Songs Of Distant Earth is basically one 55 minute long whole which is indexed on the CD into 17 different sections lasting from one minute to six minutes. Oldfield himself has described the indexing as more or less random and intended only to serve listeners who want to conveniently jump to a particular section. However, there is no symphonic whole to speak of, for Distant Earth does not contain any sustained development of themes. There are a few returns to previous themes, with some variations. However, Oldfield has managed to create a rather seamless musical whole that is stronger than the sum of its parts. Much of the songs in Distant Earth don’t work particularly well in isolation from the whole, but are specifically part of the overall musical journey. On the other hand, two singles ”Let There Be Light” and ”Hibenaculum” were also removed from the album.

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Opening with ethereally humming synthesizers, the first song ”In the Beginning” successfully creates an atmosphere of vast and endlessly empty space and includes a quote from the first book of Genesis by astronaut Bill Anders.

From the astronaut’s Bible-quoting, the second track ”Let There Be Light” moves seamlessly and naturally, bringing the music to life with a warmly pulsating drumbeat contrasted with a brightly sounding electric guitar with Oldfield’s elegantly sparing use of notes. The track culminates in a Gregorian chorus and a female vocalist with a high-pitched voice. ”Let There Be Light” was also released as a single.

The next track, ”Supernova”, also transitions seamlessly. ”Supernova” builds on sleepy synth pads and a simple two-chord guitar motif. Little by little the music builds with the menacing pulse of the synth bass and the string-like sawing of the synths. A massively bellowing wordless vocal and the ”roar of the engines” bring the little interlude to a close. The sound design of the song is very impressive.

The fourth track ”Magellan” (Magellan is the name of the spaceship in the story) presents a triumphant theme, a catchy synthetic rhythm track, and some really driving bagpipes. Halfway through, the song calms down and introduces a very beautiful and touching melodic section with a synthesizer piano in the lead role. In the end, we hear a nice uplift with vocals and a beautifully bright sound of an electric guitar and low, thundering sound effects. ”Magellan” is one of the highlights of Distant Earth.

”First Landing” is just a minute-long transition where several overlapping sequences buzz and rattle, leading to the next track ”Oceania”.

”Oceania”, which pulses with a thick bass pulse, features a sonorous and tense guitar and a fast piano ostinato reminiscent of Tubular Bells. The song ends with an insistent warning signal that continues effectively in the next track ”Only Time Will Tell”.

The humming and enveloping atmosphere of ”Only Time Will Tell”, rhythmed by the pulse of the warning signal, is impressive with its rich percussion. The track is punctuated here and there by the robotic chant ”Only Time Will Tell” from a male voice. Towards the end, the intensity is raised by three different ethnic-sounding vocal lines that sometimes alternate and sometimes overlap. A great song.

The eighth track ”Prayer For The Earth” feels a bit disjointed, but contains a beautiful theme and the soulful vocals of Sámi singer Nils-Aslak Valkeapää are brought to the fore.

”Lament for Atlantis” is based on a simple piano melody on top of which more and more ingredients are slowly built, culminating in Oldfield’s trademark soaring guitar solo.

”The Chamber” is a mass of ethereal synths and monk-chorus-like humming vocals, mainly intended as a transition to the next track ”Hibernaculum”.

”Hibernaculum” takes the theme of ”The Chamber” and adds a strong rhythmic beat underneath. Oldfield combines Gregorian chant and African vocalisation in a fascinating and exceptional way. A heavily processed electric guitar gives a boost here and there and very low bass notes hum in the background with tremendous power. ”Hibernaculum” was the album’s second single release.”

”Tubular World” borrows, as even a slightly slower individual might guess from the title, the theme of Tubular Bells, placing it among modern danceable rhythms, foreshadowing the style of Tubular Bells III (1998). The theme is played with a slightly annoying chiming synthesizer sound, but the counterpointing synthesized bass is more satisfying. The guitar occasionally returns to the theme of ”The First Landing”.

”The Shining Ones” is the most playful and bright track on the album, with rattling synths playing bursts of chords and flute notes whispering in counterpoint. At the end, the clanging of the tabla leads the music into the next track ”Crystal Clear”.

Lasting almost six minutes, ”Crystal Clear” returns the mood to minor keys. The most delightful trick of ”Crystal Clear” is the sharply striking guitar patterns that echo from speaker to speaker and from there to eternity. Also the very surface-mixed male voice uttering a word here and there is a successful effect. The electric guitar melody midway through is very beautiful and leads into the aforementioned male voice reciting the countdown which, when completed, blasts the music to a new level with Oldfield’s guitar playing increasing in intensity in a magnificent way. At the end, the song stalls a little, although the guitar work is impressive and the bass line thumps mightily.

”The Sunken Forest” successfully channels the underwater atmosphere of its name and would work well as a soundtrack to a cinematic scene where divers discover something magical deep beneath the surface.

The penultimate track on the album, ”Ascension”, is also the longest at almost six minutes. It can also be considered the most significant in terms of the overall drama of the album. While some of the earlier tracks feel like individual adventures in the middle of a long space journey, ”Ascension” pulls the threads together and borrows themes from several songs. Carried by a strong rhythm track, ”Ascension” returns to the themes of at least ”Let There Be Light”, ”Only Time Will Tell” and ”Supernova”, combining them in a natural way and eventually building up to a wonderful crescendo typical of Oldfield, accompanied by a passionate electric guitar. Finally, it all culminates in a truly stunningly created very three-dimensional sounding ”hum” sound effect that is very impressive when played on a higher quality hi-fi system. Finally, the music fades out after a little post-climaxing with what sounds like an engine roar. Magellan has landed.

”Ascension” would have been a natural end to the whole album, but Oldfield still offers a short code. The album-closing minute and a half ”A New Beginning” is a delightfully triumphant paean to life sung with passion by a Polynesian choir. The ending can be interpreted in several ways; perhaps we are returning to planet Earth after a long space voyage (although this does not fit the story of the book, in which Earth has been destroyed) or perhaps it is a new planet where we are welcomed with joy and open arms by an alien culture. In any case, a great ending to a great album and it perfectly reflects the upbeat and, in a way, even spiritual atmosphere of the album.

A fully digitally recorded album sounds great. Considering the way it’s done and the spacey theme, the sounds are even surprisingly warm. The immersive and full sound world with its low sub-bass would certainly sound great as a multi-channel mix. Surprisingly, there is no such thing available so far. On the minus side, I have to admit that some of the sound solutions on this album lock it too clearly into the early 90s. Distant Earth’s soundscape is not as timeless as, say, Amarok’s.

In addition to the themes of the book, Distant Earth has another aspect of non-music. In the mid-1980s, Oldfield became enthusiastic about video art and, at great expense, set up a professional system in his studio to work on them. His enthusiasm was short-lived, but now Oldfield’s interest in visuals reared its head in a new way. Oldfield was now fascinated by interactive CD-ROM technology and in the early 90s he bought a Silicon Graphics workstation (costing around $80,000 in today’s money…), which could almost be described as a supercomputer, to work on such material. With a couple of assistants, Oldfield built a small interactive video that was released as a side-disc, the so-called Enhanced CD. The material could only be experienced on Apple computers using Quicktime technology. Oldfield had great plans and expectations for such interactive material, but he was a little too far ahead of his time. Distant Earth is reportedly the first music CD to include interactive content.

The second edition, published in 1996, has a new cover and slightly increased amount of interactive content.

Warner promoted the album quite enthusiastically, but at least according to Oldfield, the sales figures were disappointing. According to Wikipedia, however, The Songs Of Distant Earth sold almost a million copies, which doesn’t seem like a particularly bad performance. However, Oldfield was satisfied with the music itself and has made the album one of his favourites. I don’t disagree, because I would easily put Distant Earth among Oldfield’s top ten albums.

The Songs Of Distant Earth is a wonderful imaginative musical journey and is yet another testament to Oldfield’s musical breadth and capacity for renewal.

Best tracks: ”Let There Be Light”, ”Magellan”, ”Only Time Will Tell”, ”Crystal Clear”, ”Ascension”

Author: JANNE YLIRUUSI

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Read also: Levyarvio: Mike Oldfield – Return To Ommadawn (2017)

Tracks

  1. ”In the Beginning” – 1:24
  2. ”Let There Be Light” – 4:52
  3. ”Supernova” – 3:29
  4. ”Magellan” – 4:41
  5. ”First Landing” – 1:16
  6. ”Oceania” – 3:27
  7. ”Only Time Will Tell” – 4:19
  8. ”Prayer for the Earth” – 2:10
  9. ”Lament for Atlantis” – 2:44
  10. ”The Chamber” – 1:49
  11. ”Hibernaculum” – 3:32
  12. ”Tubular World” – 3:23
  13. ”The Shining Ones” – 2:59
  14. ”Crystal Clear” – 5:42
  15. ”The Sunken Forest” – 2:39
  16. ”Ascension” – 5:48
  17. ”A New Beginning” – 1:33

Musicians

Mike Oldfield: various instruments Eric Caudieux: additional programming Mark Rutherford: additional rhythm section Sugar ”J”: additional rhythm section Pandit Dinesh: tabla Molly Oldfield: keyboards Cori Josias: vocals Ella Harper: vocals David Nickless: vocals Roame: vocals Verulam Consort members: vocals Tallis Scholars: vocals

Extracts

Bill Anders: quotes from the Book of Genesis on board Apollo 8 in lunar orbit at Christmas 1968 with astronauts James Lovell and Frank Borman Nils-Aslak Valkeapaa: Sámi chant (Ofelas theme), composed and performed , for the film Ofelas. Mike Joseph: Self-hypnosis tape Vahine Taihara: Tubuai choir.

Producer: Mike Oldfield
Label: WEA

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