Xurtio

Album Title: Crises
Artist: Mike Oldfield
Nationality: British
Year: 1983
Subgenre: 80's Prog
Player(s): Mike Oldfield (instruments), Simon Phillips (Drums, effects), Ant /Rick Fenn (Guitars), Phil Spalding (Bass), Pierre Moerlen (Vibraphone), Maggie Reilly/Jon Anderson/Roger Chapman (Vocals on various tracks)
Familiarity: None
Favourite track(s): Shadow on the Wall
Why? I like the bluesy guitar... vocals are barely tolerable, but kind of intriguing anyway.
Least favourite track(s): High Places
Why? The vocals, especially the pacing of the vocals, were horrendous.
Any preconceptions prior to listening, whether good or bad? Well, thinking it was an instrumental got my hopes up because vocals are generally the most disappointing instrument.
Factoids you'd like to share? N/A
End impression: The sons on the album weren't really connected and certainly didn't feel very prog. Foreign Affair come off as a typical 80's tune, Taurus 3 reminded me of music from a golfing video game or airport jazz, Shadow on the Wall was more bluesy rock metal kind of approaching that Uriah Heep style of metal which I could finally appreciate on its own, but as an album, all these styles together are somewhat schizophrenic and don't really tell a story or paint a clear picture and none of the individual tracks stands out enough to save the album.

I actually would have enjoyed a pure instrumental album slightly more. There seemed to be some talent on the strings, just not a good story or musical progression to guide them.

Since I've never heard of Oldfield, I don't know where he stands traditionally, but my ratings and reviews are based on the art, not the artist.

Rating 2.0

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