pt2 Mike Oldfield Hergest Ridge "Side A" ~discussion

[@deanwolfechannel]

Side B of Hergest Ridge: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZWtYWWkgN-frZY

[@MrSinnerBOFH]

Yes, please, keep with Mike’s discography. And I remember reading Tolkien while listening to Mike Oldfield, over and over.

[@leethomas2155]

You're in for a wonderful journey if you explore his entire album catalogue. I'd recommend going chronological order though as you experience how he reinvents himself with the times and trends. He also covers many different musical genres. I'm a huge Mike Oldfield fan. Thanks for your reaction. Incidentally I'd recommend you also try out the 1976 and 2010 mixes. Same album but vastly different experiences.

[@sloot69x]

Hergest Ridge to me is a more pastoral work he was suffering with his mental health at the time and this is a "please leave me alone" Album to me, lots of his long-time fans love it (prob more than he does) glad you; liked it. Greetings from England.

[@rechtschreib-exorzist8936]

Correctly so far. He pulled back himself to a very remote area, because he was exhausted after the making of 'Tubular Bells' as he stated in an interview. Also producer Tom Newman said, that Mike didn´t want to make a new album that early, but was urged by the record company after the great success of the predecessor album to do so.

[@MrPaultheguitar]

Spent my whole life figuring out Mike Oldfield the man's a genius

[@routemaster19]

Even for a lot of Oldfield fans - this album tended to be considered a bit too pastoral compared to most of his other works - especially coming between the huge Tubular Bells and the masterpiece that is Ommadawn. It has had a bit of a renaissance over the past decade or so after the 2010 re-issue/remix if only because the 2010 remix re-ignited the long running dispute amongst fans as to which mix is best - the original or the 76 "Boxed" remix. Oldfield apparently was never really happy with this album - he wasn't in a good place mentally at the time and the pressure to come up with a sequel to Tubular Bells was immense. As you have noted it's a much more complex and cohesive piece than TB and it has a beautiful English classical feel to it - like Vaughan-Williams or Delius. I have learnt to appreciate it a lot more over the years and it has a melancholy beauty all of it's own which I find quite en-riching. Part 2 has some of the most beautiful melodies that Oldfield has ever written - and it holds one of his most divisive parts - the Martian Thunderstorm section - Just as in Beethoven's pastoral symphony one of the movements signifies a storm and after the violence retreats and the air is cleared you are back to the languid dreamy feel of the English countryside again.

[@fufufoofoo]

I think Ommadawn was the real Master piece , more Clearer that TB. Hergest Ridge in my belief is an indepentent work, an artistic impression of a day long (24Hour) , a bit like Moody blues has done in in 1967 (Days of Future Passed. )

[@amarok9097]

Two Oldfield albums and Ne Obliviscaris. One of us has eclectic tastes. Subbed.

[@Coneman3]

I think Mikes best music is actually hard to fully get - it either works or it doesn’t. Sure you can appreciate it in a lighter and more objective way, but when it truly resonates oh wow it’s life changing

[@fufufoofoo]

Hi Thanks !!! ! I felt like Half a day at countryside England.... The slow foggy sunrise, the Morning (Bass) stride.... the Noon rest (Guitar+Obe) , one more stroll back home (2nd Bass part) and a Wonderful Sunset (Choir) .

[@deanwolfechannel]

Well put

[@thomasvieth578]

There's only one album by Mike Oldfield that I care less for and that name I have even forgotten

[@mathzeriksson819]

It's one of albums that follows me in life. Side 1 is easy..but side 2 took me years to adapt. It's a kaos..but after a while (years) I love it. I am 60 now...40 years with Ommadawn and Higest Ridge still put in my headphones and lay in bed and just know every note. Why meditation when you got this?

[@deanwolfechannel]

Wonderful that this album has been part of your life for so long.

[@gilessteve]

I grew up listening to the _Boxed_ mix, but I still prefer this version. The more recent re-mixes are dreadful attempts at rehashing something that was perfectly fine to start with.