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Mike Oldfield - Hergest Ridge CD (album) cover

HERGEST RIDGE

Mike Oldfield

 

Crossover Prog

3.96 | 697 ratings

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Sinusoid
Prog Reviewer
3 stars I find the first two Mike Oldfield albums comparable to the first two Soft Machine albums in terms of the first ones of both being very up-and-down or sinusoidal (yes, you can boo the cheap joke) in quality where the seconds are more even and constant. The problem in Oldfield's case is that the album's evenness is its undoing; HERGEST RIDGE really could have been a terrific masterpiece had Oldfield took a few risks.

So, if you have familiarity with the first Mike Oldfield album TUBULAR BELLS, there are some slight adjustments to make HERGEST RIDGE sound a little more rounded and even, even bringing in some Tangerine Dream-esque soundscapes. The theme that strikes my attention happens halfway into the second part that sounds like a Tangerine Dream setup. Still, it sounds like Oldfield played it safe and tried a bit too much into making the second album similar to the first, and that hurts HERGEST RIDGE in the long haul. Then again, there are no points on the album like the grunting (or is it snoring; hard to tell) from TUBULAR BELLS that would make me grimace, so I give Oldfield some credit.

Sinusoid | 3/5 |

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