HERGEST RIDGE

The second of the first four Mike Oldfield albums that are for me all masterpieces! What surprises me the most with this one is that he was able to compose such a work after all the emotional pressure he had to know after the succes of "Tubular bells". All the beginning is very soothing and relaxing like the first seconds that make me think of the music of a Tibetan monastery ; the rest is much more folk. We find in "Hergest ridge" a typical aspect of his music : a "complex" theme that is developed and regularly comes back, on side one as well as on side two (two parts of a long composition). The music is more slow in general but the melodies are very rich and captivating. To listen absolutely if you don't know!