Mike Oldfield - "Hergest Ridge" (1974)

Oldfield's second album after the monster debut Tubular Bells. Hergest Ridge entered as no. 1 in England, but shortly after got knocked down by no other than Tubular Bells. Very few artists have managed to do this to themselves. I got the record in my teens, so it's been with me a while. It's quite associated with my teenage years, it's rarely spinning on the turntable nowadays.

The album consists of two long songs, Hergest Ridge part 1 & 2, one on each side. Logic and clear. Instrumental for the most part, with some choir here and there. At the end of side A, the choir goes to a bit of exaggeration, it becomes very bombastic, otherwise it's OK. Hergest Ridge continues in many ways what was started on Tubular Bells, but is no copy. It's a pretty good album, but yet, it's something that makes it not enter my deeper layers. Maybe I heard it too much during my teens, maybe it's a bit too close to some kind of new age music that I'm generally quite skeptical of.

There is of course a lot of guitar, often layer on layer through different effects, but various other instruments also contribute, multi instrumentalist as he is. Often a fairly calm mood and sometimes a bit gloomy. The music often takes new turns and directions, moods change, which helps keep your interest up. He is certainly a skilled and creative musician, but still, the album has a hard time to really capture my interest. It's too gentle, as if the music goes through a kindness filter. It never gets mean or challenging, I miss surprises.

By the way, Hergest Ridge is a hill on the border between England and Wales, close to where Oldfield lived at the time. If you want to hear this record, maybe Spotify works. On youtube you can't find Oldfield's music in its original form.


Tracklist

Side A
1. Hergest Ridge (Part 1) 21:29

Side B
1. Hergest Ridge (Part 2) 18:45