Customer Reviews

Hergest Ridge

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Back in the '70's, not long after RIDGE'S release, my mother let me pick out several gifts as usual, that I could have before the "Santa" gifts that went under the tree. Having played the single version of TUBULAR BELLS to death already, I knew I wanted the album and anything else that Mike Oldfield had done. The beautiful blue-green cover of RIDGE hooked me before I even heard the music, and I picked them both. BELLS entranced me as I had expected, but it was RIDGE that made me an Oldfield fan for life. I am not completely sure what happened to my original vinyl copy, but as of now only a beaten-up cassette version of the original mix remains.

Flash-forward almost thirty years. I have longed for a clear, remastered version of the original album mix, and unfortunately, MO fans, this ain't it. I would hate to believe that it was the composer himself who effectively vivisected his own masterpiece, but if he is responsible, then that is exactly what's happened. Much of the beautiful textures and nuances that made the original mix such a dreamy delight are gone; in the first movement alone, a mandolin solo is truncated, much of Ted Hobart's majestic rendering of the melody on trumpet is gone, as well as Chili Charles' snare drum track, and much of the lush string section is muted or rendered close to non-existence. The rest doesn't fare much better.

For those who have never heard this piece, it's probably fine for you to hear this version, but I urge you to seek out the original if you can find it. For dyed-in-the-wool MO fans and aficionados, be warned: CAVEAT EMPTOR. As of now I have the first CD release as well as the remastered version, and I can tell you the difference right off the bat: technically, the new version has a crisper, clearer sound. Contextually, NOTHING HAS CHANGED. If Virgin is smart, they'll recruit engineer Simon Heyworth to go back and do the same job on the ORIGINAL VINYL MIX. As for me, I'm going to try to get rid of my copy here. One copy of an impostor is more than enough for me.

Despite becoming a No.1 album in the UK, Hergest Ridge remains an often overlooked gem. Sandwiched between two more accessible and dynamic albums (Tubular Bells and Ommadawn) Hergest Ridge is, overall, a quiet pastoral affair that beautifully depicts the idyllic region on the border of England and Wales from where it gets its title. It¡¦s not a piece of music that will immediately grab you but those who persevere will be greatly rewarded, though the thunderstorm section on side two may leave opinions divided.

As pointed out by others, this version of the album is the re-mixed version that first appeared on the Boxed set in ¡¦76. As I own the original vinyl versions of both Tubular Bells and Ommadawn, I can compare the difference and it's mainly with improved clarity and better sound quality. After reading the reviews on this page it is interesting to learn that Hergest Ridge - which I have never heard in its original form - was radically altered. Not only that but it appears that orchestral versions of the album also exist. This leaves me both excited (that these versions exist) and frustrated (that they may never see the light of day). So, come on Virgin how about a double special edition featuring the original mix and orchestral version and give Oldfield fans a real treat.

The re-mastering in this series is uniformly excellent but the cheap booklets and banal liner notes spoil things somewhat. The one nice touch is the formation of the Tubular Bells logo on the spine. To get the full image requires buying the full set, however, and as this would require the purchase of some of Oldfield¡¦s poorer efforts (most notably Platinum and the execrable Earth Moving) my logo will never see completion.

Best bit: the gorgeous 4 minute section from around 8'40".

'Hergest Ridge' was Oldfield's quieter, less scattershot follow-up to 'Tubular Bells'. The album reached number one in the UK album charts when it was released but, a week later, was displaced by its predecessor, which had spent almost year climbing up the charts. Hergest Ridge is nowadays totally overshadowed by Tubular Bells, which is a shame because it's my favourite Oldfield album. It's similar in style to the b-side of its predecessor, with fewer little diddly bits and more of a flow; putting on my pretentious hat, it's similar to Beethoven's Sixth Symphony, in that it evokes a day in the countryside (complete with a 'storm'). There's nothing as immediately striking as Tubular Bells' opening piano riff, and it flags towards the end of side two, but I still like it.

Originally the album was criticised for sounding a bit odd, because the pre-grunge mixture of quiet bits and loud bits didn't come through very well on cheap vinyl. It benefits greatly therefore for being remastered on CD, and is very much a headphone experience.

As noted elsewhere this is the 1974 'Mike Oldfield Boxed' remix of the album (and is therefore in quadrophonic stereo, if you have the right quad decoder!). It's a remix in the old-school sense, i.e. Oldfield manipulated the sliders, muting some parts and making others louder.

The two are noticeably different, and fan opinion is divided as to the merits of each. Having compared the two - the internet is a wonderful thing - I prefer this version, and I get the impression a lot of people rate the original simply because it's rare... and original. The choral voices in part two are now audible, whilst the odd soloing during the 'storm' sequence has been replaced. The snare drum rolls which heralded transitions have now gone, and it generally sounds a lot slicker (of course, I'm comparing an MP3 of a battered vinyl copy of an album released in 1974 with a professionally remastered product of the modern age, but still).

I was absolutely thrilled last week when I saw that Hergest Ridge was available again in CD format, and I immediately ordered a copy. Much to my dismay when it arrived yesterday, I found this remastered version less than satisfactory. It was like being in the Twilight Zone, where things seem familiar but they're just somehow not quite right! In the process of remixing/digitizing Hergest Ridge, a significant amount of the musical subtleties and tone colors have either been obscured or removed altogether. The homogenous depth and blend of sound present in the original LP release is gone. Instruments stick out it places destroying the perfect balance achieved in the original. Harmonic passages are inappropriately brought to the fore -- extremely out of balance, obscuring main musical ideas in some passages. Since my original copies have been in storage for the last five years, I have not had the opportunity to listen to Hergest Ridge in at least that amount of time. Even so, having been intimately familiar with the piece, I knew right away what was different. To someone who has never heard the original, this remix is probably just fine; however, to those of us who have been fortunate enough to have experienced the musical qualities of the original, not to mention the emotional responses associated with it, the remix simply doesn't hold a candle. I'm not sure what the motive behind this new rendition was, but I would hate to think that it was in response to trendy current technology to clean up pops and hisses in pre-digital aged recordings in order to appeal to the current generation of listeners who don't know any better. In fact, I feel it is a disservice to the new generation to not give them the opportunity to hear a really great work like this in its original state. I think there's something to be said for preserving creative works for what they were in their own time, rather than updating them just because new technologies make it possible. Trying to rid an old recording of pops and hisses is one thing, but if it means destroying musical nuances and completely altering passages, I'd rather put up with the pops and hisses. The attempt to "clean up" the sound of the original in this remix has resulted in an extemely sterile and lackluster listening experience. I guess it's time for me to procure a new turntable and get my LP's out of storage!

Virgin has at long last decided to remaster the back catalog of Mike Oldfield's works into the HDCD format (although they are playable in any CD player). Hergest Ridge is Oldfield's airy, pastoral masterpiece, and is finally getting a decent face-over from the unforgivably bad-sounding CD master. However, Virgin has made one major mistake: Back in the 70's, a few years after Hergest Ridge was released, Mike Oldfield decided to revise the mix of this album. He took away instruments, made things louder or softer, and...well...screwed the whole thing up. The result was, as he called it, a greater "experiment in sound," and Virgin decided to use this version as the remastered version. It's profoundly unfortunate that Virgin did not use the original mix of this album for the remaster, and they will probably lose a lot of sales from devout Oldfield fans as a result. However, if you are a first-time Oldfield listener this album will still blow you away. The remastering process on this CD makes the sound sparkle, and it's well worth the money regardless of Virgins bad decision. Likewise, all the remasters, most notably Incantations and Ommadawn, are immaculate. They sound like they were recorded yesterday. Now if only they had proper liner notes than we could all die happy. In short, these remasters are well worth the money, despite this album's problem.

Hergest Ridge is my favorite Mike Oldfield album - hands down. This is one of the few albums ever that can bring me to tears just from listening.
Yes the CD is the re-mix version (done in '74?). I've read that it was Oldfield who insisted the re-mix be the official mix on all future pressings. I have the original mix on vinyl LP, but I PREFER THE CD MIX - so don't hesitate to buy because of the mix.
One of my favorite albums of all time - and I was fortunate enough to have Mike autograph my copy when I saw him at an instore performance in Santa Monica in the early 90's :)

magical music....it can bring back your fantasies from childhood,take you on a trip through a dark wood straight to the house of fairy...
definitly one of Mike's best albums.Not as dynamic as "Tubular bells" but more calm and more etheral...Mike's guitars Collages are still here,also many other instruments such as Oboe,piano,whistles."Part 1" maybe one of his most beautifull works (and i mean it - tears will flow from your eyes when you will listen to the Oboe part in the middle) and "Part 2" is definitly one of hte most scary ones - the long heavy guitar section will blow off your speakers and whole Hi-fi.
the music that we all love Mike for - beautifull,wierd,full of emotions and genious.

It was always going to be a challenge for young musician Mike Oldfield to follow up the astonishing critical and commerical success of his debut album "Tubular Bells." Unprepared for the limelight of the media circus, the shy and introverted Oldfield headed for the calm and serenity of the Herefordshire countryside. Here he conceived his second album, one whose peaceful pastoral elegance would be overlooked by music critics who had disapproved of Oldfield's unwillingness to play the media game. "Hergest Ridge" was thus unfairly dismissed as the weaker progeny of "Tubular Bells", a dull sequel, much the same thing, but less inspired.

"Hergest Ridge" instead is a subtle piece, a technical improvement on "Tubular Bells", with the rough edges of the latter smoothed over. It is less tough; less rushed, with an elegiac timeless feel, a wonderful winter landscape unsullied by the smog and chaos of the city. Having been born and lived in Hereford for 25 years, the lightly shift tonalities of mood and theme; tell of a familiar space to me, one in which stasis is celebrated, and in which change and innovation is viewed with ambivalence. Herefordshire is a county in which progress is slow and "Hergest Ridge" seems to capture the beauty of this static world, whilst avoiding and leaving unarticulated the resultant frustrations that come with such an attitude.

Oldfield constructed for himself a self contained world, one which the artwork on the album cover reflects perfectly. In an age of speed, technology and intense media attention this album is an excellent antidote and reminder of the musical beauty that can be inspired by landscapes we take for granted. The reputation of "Hergest Ridge" has steadily increased over the years, it now enjoys a place outside the shadow of "Tubular Bells", a place of open rolling fields, a place of joyful naivety and innocence and beautiful blue winter skies.

I can't believe how long it took me to branch out further into Mike Oldfield's back catalogue than 'Tubular Bells', especially after finally hearing 'Hergest Ridge'. It is comparable in pretty much no way at all to his classic debut, other than the two-part format, as it sees him in a very much more subtle musical mood than before. Gone are the quick shifts from section to section, replaced by a very conscious intention to smooth the edges out, to develop one section into another rather than merely switching them in an instant, regardless of the instrumentation involved. The result is a very soothing listen indeed. From the almost impossibly quiet introduction, it builds in density of sound, adding flutes, synth and orchestral instruments that have been constructed in such a way that it is not easy to audibly pick them apart from each other. In terms of genre it's a largely folkish affair, albeit a very grand interpretation. Writing 'Hergest Ridge', he seems to have paid more attention to using chord sequences as a mode for the progression of the long piece, and since he succeeds very well it gives the listener the sense that this is better written than its predecessor. It feels like a more controlled composition. The man certainly had a feeling for the right chords to use, and it is at its most beautiful when the piece strips away to leave only his acoustic guitar. One particular highlight is the climax of part one when the lead electric guitar towers over the dense, lush orchestral harmonies, as if it were leading a charge of sweeping melody.

'Hergest Ridge' is probably just as good as 'Tubular Bells', really, it just forfeits the musical immediacy of his debut in favour of a subtler, more considered approach. It works as a slow-evolving faux-classical piece as well as a 'prog rock' piece, which, upon reflection, is very well indeed

Mike's second work is a much more pastoral work then his first or his third. This simplicity is deceptive however. Mike, the ultimate perfectionist has produced some of his most complex, labour intensive work on this album. A good example is the "martian thunderstorm" which fills most of the latter half of side two, which was performed with 90 overdubbed guitars. Yes, as others have pointed out, this is the re-mix that first appeared in the "Boxed" set. Even after Mike had released the original mix on vinyl, he remained unhappy, and when he had the opportunity to fix the mix in several passages, he took it. This remix is the "official" Hergest Ridge, and has been used on all CD's since then.