Rated 8/10
It took this dude 42 years to return to Ommadawn. All right. And you know what? This sounds just like how Fantasia 2000 updates Fantasia. There’s this epic, uplifting end to the album, and I half expect a green forest faerie to fly up the side of a volcano or Donald Duck to walk out of the Ark. The folk bits sound like a musical transportation to another world, and the rock ending sounds like Disney.
Rated 10/10
This is another of those albums of two sides, meaning each side is comprised of a single track, creating a sprawling, epic framework to the compositions in a genre that is all too happy to embrace such structure. The use of Northumbrian smallpipes and uillean pipes in the compositions is Oldfield’s attempt to explore Celtic influences on English music. It’s an impressive feat that he layered the sounds and played most of the instruments on this album. The vocal elements really bring home the soothing and uplifting feel of this work.
I guess I just had to be there.
Rated 6/10
I don't speak German, so I'm not sure, but it sounds like he repeatedly says the N-word.
Rated 6/10
I was expecting this to suck more, bit it sucks just a little bit.
Rated 10/10
I don't have the problems many seem to have with the full-length album, but if I did, this little gem would more than make up for the lack. And Nina takes lead vocals on track 3? Kill me. She's so cute!
Rated 10/10
I understand why is Barnes' most highly regarded album, but I cannot see why anyone--much less the aggregate--would think that should be ranked above this album. This is a masterpiece, better than anything Barnes has done except for Hissing Fauna, and that's just because he was inspired by his relationship with Nina. The Sunlandic Twins is as good as indie/psychedelic pop gets. The songs all play upon one another, blending and bleeding together in illimitable pop goodness. All Barnes' creative genius is on display here.
Rated 6/10
A crime against music, never to be forgiven.
Rated 6/10
Barnes' corpse tries to stay relevant instead of staying true to itself. Dammit, dude, you are my age. Stop embarrassing yourself.
Rated 10/10
A great companion piece to Hissing Fauna. Same time period, so the same personal problems Barnes is experiencing are expressed on this tidy EP.
Rated 6/10
If the lyricism wasn't so obvious and prosaic, I'd curate this.
Rated 8/10
A delightful, though-provoking mix of Abenaki folklore, an imported Catholic hymn, chants, and storytelling, all explored within a jazz context, the cultural heritage enriching the genre, and the genre providing the heritage with contemporary expression.
Rated 6/10
Some very good moments on this album, but oh my, some really bad moments, too. "The Hunt" is Comus' retarded cousin. And as if that wasn't bad enough, then someone strangles a nervous cat on the next track. Adding insult to injury, there's this random percussion breakdown in the middle of the delicate folk "Minas Tirith". Totally out of place and egregious. Also, massive eyeroll at this band trying to tick every "cool" 70s box by naming their band Oberon but then ostensibly singing about Tolkien lore.
Rated 10/10
A lovely little harp and cello album, featuring female vocals, overall minimalistic in its use of sonic space. If this album was a broom, it'd have a long handle and strong bristles, really getting into the corners of things. This one carries on the grand tradition of avant-garde female vocals in sparse, cold soundscapes. The found sounds used here are evocative and beautiful.
Rated 4/10
I really was expecting this to be better.
Rated 6/10
She's not as good as you guys think. I guess someone on YouTube nosebled over Nyro, and the rest of you followed suit?
Rated 10/10
This whole album is one long seduction, inviting the listener into a new and unexpected world, tempting your ears with a curious amalgam of fusion and folk. Once you’re fully in the grasp of the music, you have the free, avant-garde stuff dropped on you. You’re too enamored to flee now...until the music dismisses you with a parade!
Rated 6/10
Side A: When the train stops and people get on and off, if it's quiet enough, you can hear the soft creaking of the train as it slowly rocks on the tracks. Some woman sitting a few benches down talking won't usually drown out the subtle sound.
Side B: Much more surreal, like the train's departed for a destination you weren't intending to visit, and all the passengers are mere shades of their former selves.
Walking through the wind chimes of Hell.
I was already a huge fan of the hammers of the underworld, so this collaboration making its way into my collection is a no-brainer. It’s interesting to hear the differences and yet detect how many things stay the same. The biggest difference, of course, is the vocals. They exist. Alamaailman Vasarat is pretty much an instrumental band, but here they are collaborating with, what a couple people I’ve read have called, the Finnish Tom Waits. Being a huge Tom Waits fan, I nitpick and disagree, but I guess the comparison gets the point across about a gruff, quirky, manly vocalist. The klezmer elements are present yet more muted in this album.
