LIGHT + SHADE

This is a great album. The cloth-eared something-somethings above may not agree, but I would say that this is the best Oldfield since TB3 or ..Distant Earth for sure. There is a lot of electronic/ambient influences over both discs, but I think that if anyone is capable of taking what is usually a dull, repetitive genre and adding the colour and flair that prog fans love, Oldfield is this artist. Both discs are demonstratable proof that this supposition is correct.

Light has heavier ambient influences and features the best guitar work by far since ...Distant Earth or possibly Amarok. The disc is reflective and mood-setting; think of Signify-era Porcupine Tree with a heavier electronic feel (or possibly BlueMoonWaters-era TGR).

Shade is a faster, club-influenced (but not dominated) disc that has a bit of everything. We only get 4/4 tracks, but inventive sampled/synthesized rhythms kept me interested for sure, and the layers and layers of synth sounds like a trance battle between KS and Bill Namlook (the disc sounds very much like the Dark Side of the Moog series of albums, particularly 5 and 6, again with a faster electronic rhythm).

All in all, I think that this album is some of the best progressive music out there; re-hashing old themes a la Marillion is no longer progressive. Being able to incorporate both old-style prog and electronic stuff is real progression; here, Oldfield delivers.

5 stars without a doubt.