Mike Oldfield - "Crises" (1983)

Crises was Oldfield's eighth album. Like many others, I'm a little skeptical of the records he created after the 3-4 first ones. I found Crises some time ago in a local record store, rather cheap and have always thought Moonlight Shadow was one of the best pop hits of the 80's, so why not? But the skepticism remains.

I have a North American press where side A consists of six, in the context, quite available pop songs, of which Moonlight Shadow finishes the side. Except the short Taurus 3, all songs have song, in normal verse-chorus structure. On In High Places, Jon Anderson sings, otherwise it's Maggie Reilly who does most of the singing, and Roger Chapman on one song. To be 80's pop, it's okay, though it's never been a favorite niche of mine. Moonlight Shadow is undoubtedly the best track of the side, and generally I like the songs where Maggie Reilly sings best. She has a nice voice. But overall, a rather uninteresting musical experience, but still preferable to Wham! or Samantha Fox if you must listen to  80's pop.

For me, Oldfield has always been more of an instrumentalist who creats music outside the usual frames, often works that occupy a whole side of the albums. That's Crises' side B (on the North American press), which consists of the title song. Could have been interesting, but is not on the same level as eg Ommadawn in quality. It's more synthesizers, for which maybe the 80's is to blame. I miss Oldfield's more organic sound from the earlier albums, it gets a bit washed out here. In addition, he sings on some parts, with a not too successful result. Had been better to adhere to an only instrumental sound. One recognizes the harmonies, the guitars, etc., and it sounds undoubtedly Oldfield. But it is quite boring.

If you like Oldfield's instrumental works, I think it's better to stick to his first 3-4 classic albums. If one prefers 80's pop, maybe side A can be appreciated.


Tracklist

Side A
1. "Mistake"
2. "In High Places"
3. "Foreign Affair"
4. "Taurus 3"
5. "Shadow on the Wall"
6. "Moonlight Shadow"

Side B
1. "Crises"