HERGEST RIDGE

It was an impossible task to follow up the absolute massive success of Tubular Bells. Hergest Ridge was also panned by the critics and this led Mike Oldfield into a long period of depressions. I recently read a long interview with him in Classic Rock Present Prog about Hergest Ridge, which he is now remixing and re-releasing (he has bought all the rights to his back catalogue). My review is of the original version, though.

Hergest Ridge has a lot of Tubular Bells in it. The bells, that is. But it also have a lot of other aspects incorporated and it is a brand new piece of music, compared to Tubular Bells. And the comparison with Tubular Bells is it's major problem. The music on Hergest Ridge is actually good. It reminds me though of some Clearlight albums though with all the good things and the flaws.

The main theme on Hergest Ridge is very beautiful. A nice flute over some Spanish guitars and the vocals of his sister (?) and fellow PA artist Sally Oldfield. The main theme is alone worth four stars and is on par with Tubular Bells. The other themes is more claustrophobic and introvert avant-garde kind of new age music. It is also pretty boring stuff. Hergest Ridge has a crack running through it, I am afraid. But my main impression is that this album is far better than it's reputation and well worth checking out. A plus for the cover art work. I would not mind having that framed on one of my walls.

3.5 stars

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