SECRET SONGS

After the surprise success of her debut "Water Bearer" and its hypnotic folk, one could argue that SALLY OLDFIELD hid her prog tendencies in favor of pop a bit too soon, even though her early 1980s albums retained enough authenticity to dodge the plastic bin. From the mid 1980s to mid 1990s, she flailed in search of a new angle, but subsequently experienced something of a rebirth buoyed by the successes of world music in general, and acts like DEAD CAN DANCE, LOREENA MCKENNITT, CLANNAD, CAPERCAILLIE and ENIGMA in particular. It didn't hurt that her voice and innate melodic strengths had never, and couldn't possibly have ever, abandoned her.

"Secret Songs" would set up her final phase to date, a blend of all those influences with her own and invited wizardry, and even presage the rebirth of her only hit as a dance floor smash, but more about that later. She does so without resorting to yet more high-heeled renditions of early triumphs. I suppose it's still kitschy, which keeps me from rounding up to 4 stars, but tracks like the mesmerizing "Warm Wind on the Wasteland", "Flaming Star", the Celtically triumphant "Ohureo", and the reasonably high standards of most of the rest oblige me to recommend that the collection lose its "bubbling under" status already.

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