Mike Oldfield - Hergest Ridge TQMP

After being in the spotlight for Tubular Bells, something that Oldfield found uncomfortable, he retreated to the English countryside to work on his next opus. Hergest Ridge, named after a hill on the border of Herefordshire and Wales near where he was living at the time, was the result.
Like Tubular Bells, the album is divided into two movements, but unlike its multi-themed and rapidly-changing predecessor, Hergest Ridge involves economic use of the various themes and with more sophisticated musical development. Oldfield is also innovative with Hergest Ridge in the novel way in which he builds up textures, commonly involving multiple layers of electric guitar recorded by first amplifying heavily (to achieve a sustained organ-like quality) and then reducing the volume greatly. Textures are extended further using various organ timbres and the use of voice as an instrument (the voice is never treated prominently and is deliberately reduced as much as possible and thus permitted largely for textural effect).

Hergest Ridge was the number one album the week of 14 September 1974 and remained so for three weeks until being knocked out of the spot by its predecessor Tubular Bells. Oldfield is thus one of only three artists (along with The Beatles and Bob Dylan) to have defeated themselves in this manner.

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