INSTINCTS

2.5 stars, really. After the rather electronic Femme, Sally Oldfield releases Instincts in the following year. This album seems to mark a slightly return to her former sound. Ok, it is still mainly pop stuff with folk structures, but it is also less techno and more organic music: some of her trademark percussion and acoustic guitars are back . It is also more varied with even a little pop/jazz tune as a novelty (Ice On Fire). Although no song here has anything as strong as Silver Dagger or Andromeda Rising, I liked the inclusion of more straight celtic folk tunes like Olanders. Her duet with Justin Hayward (Moody Blues) on Let It Begin did not work, though.

All in all Instincts looks to me like a transitional album with elements from much of all she has done since her solo career started ten years before. Her beautiful, soothing voice is still intact. The arrangements are tasteful and creative, never falling into those annoying 80´s cliches. Production is very good. The song selection may not be great but is still above average. If you enjoy the more commercial side of bands like Clannad, this CD is recommended. If PA was a pop rock site this album would surely get a higher rating. But since there is almost no prog in here this is clearly for fans and collectors.

The general lyrical theme on this 1988 album seems to relate to how much better the world would be if we were just honest with one another, as people and entities, and relied on our instincts. Well...if this didn't work in 1968, it wasn't going to work 20 years later. If only that were the biggest problem here.

"Instinct" isn't a whole lot different from its predecessor "Femme" in its polished production and arrangements, though perhaps with a tad less backbone, a possible consequence of Oldfield ceding many of the songwriting credits to others. The very good but hardly a near classic "House of Silence" is a credible cross between CHRIS DE BURGH and LOREENA MCKENNITT, while "Oleanders" reflects a path she might have followed to greater recognition. Most of the rest is forgettable synth pop blessed with a voice that deserves better, even on the collaboration with JUSTIN HAYWARD. If Sally had only trusted her instincts, which works better in art than in real life, what might have been?