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Amarok (Album)Amarok is a record album written and mostly performed by Mike Oldfield. It was his thirteenth new album and is considered by fans to be his most unique work: a single sixty-minute track of continuous, uninterrupted but constantly-changing music. It is also noted for having almost none of the music or sound generated purely by electronic means, Oldfield eschewing synthesizers for "real" instruments and sound sources. Virgin Records had been trying to convince Oldfield to release a sequel to Tubular Bells, though probably more for the name recognition than anything else, particularly as Oldfield's contract was due to expire. Instead, he created an album that seems to have been designed to be as much a delight to his fans as it was a frustration to Virgin. It is next to impossible to isolate any one section of Amarok without it seeming out of place, and thus no single could be cut and released separately, nor could the album ever be played on popular radio. Similarly, Amarok has never been performed live in its entirety, though Oldfield has played excerpts from time to time. Oldfield had expressed many times his displeasure at Virgin's lack of promotion of his works, and Amarok might have been his revenge: a completely unmarketable album that still showcased his talent as a composer and performer. In addition to his usual impressive list of instruments, Oldfield also employed a number of items in Amarok's creation such as shoes, spoons, a Hoover vacuum cleaner and "contents of aeromodeller's toolbox". Both Amarok, along with Heaven's Open (Oldfield's final album for Virgin) can be seen as a definite "farewell" to the company, and not an overly polite one, either. A Morse Code message at 48 minutes into the piece spells out "FUCK OFF RB", no doubt targeted at Richard Branson. Though tubular bells are used on the album, they are obtusely listed in the liner notes as "long thin metallic hanging tubes," possibly a humorous way for Oldfield to avoid bringing to mind his first work. This may also have been one more snub at Virgin. Oldfield did not release the much-desired sequel to Tubular Bells until he was with Warner Brothers. The origin of the name has always been a point of contention. Oldfield has said in the past that it was chosen for its sound rather than any particular meaning, but numerous theories abound. "Amaroq" is Inuktitut for "wolf" for one. The words "amarok" and "amadan" (the origin of Ommadawn) begin with roughly the same "ama" sound - and there is sufficient evidence that Amarok is a sequel of sorts to Ommadawn. It could also be that since this was the next to last album that Oldfield did for Virgin Records, it may have been a pun on "(I) am a rock" that is, that Oldfield was stating that he was capable of standing on his own without Virgin. Many fans do claim that Amarok is to be considered "Ommadawn II", and certainly, Oldfield seems to have involved many of the same people that were a part of Ommadawn: Jabula, Clodagh Simmonds, and Paddy Maloney performed on both. Also, William Murray, who co-wrote the song "On Horseback" for Ommadawn, took the Amarok cover photo and wrote the short story included in the liner notes. Tracklist - Amarok - (60:02)
Mike Oldfield plays Acoustic bass guitar, acoustic guitar, banjo, bass guitar, bass whistles, bazouki, bell tree, bodhran, bowed guitar, cabasa, classical guitar, electric guitars, Farfisa, Lowry and Vox organs, Flamenco guitar, glockenspiel, high-string guitar, Jew's harp, kalimba, mandolin, marimba, melodica, Northumbrian bagpipes, penny whistles, percussion, piano, psaltery, rototom, sitar guitar, spinet, timpani, tubular bells, twelve-string guitar, ukulele, violin, vocals, and wonga box. Other performers Quote "I am told that when men hear its voice, it stays in their ears, they cannot be rid of it. It has many different voices: some happy, but others sad. It roars like a baboon, murmurs like a child, drums like the blazing arms of one thousand drummers, rustles like water in a glass, sings like a lover and laments like a priest..." - From the short story included in the liner notes
External link Amarok Analysis
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