Hergest Ridge (album)

Hergest Ridge is a record album, written and mostly performed by Mike Oldfield. It was his second album and the first to reach Number One on the charts.

Related Topics:
Record album - Mike Oldfield

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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 for a hill on the border of Herefordshire and Wales near where he was living at the time, was the result.

Related Topics:
Tubular Bells - Hill - Herefordshire - Wales

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Like Tubular Bells, the album is divided into two movements, but unlike its rapidly-changing predecessor, Hergest Ridge is built around a few simple melodies which are then interwoven with strings, guitars, and a small choir. The result is a much more restful work, though with darker tones coming through, particularly in the second half of the second movement, the "thunderstorm". It is apparent that Oldfield was wanting music more linked to nature than in his first work.

Related Topics:
Strings - Guitar - Choir

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According to producer Tom Newman, parts of the album were also recorded at Chipping Norton, and the original release mix created at Air Studios, London.

Related Topics:
Chipping Norton - Air Studios - London

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Hergest Ridge was remixed in quadraphonic stereo by Oldfield in 1976 for the 4-LP set, Boxed. Following the creation of the remix, Oldfield stated that he wished for this new version to be the one used for all future releases of the album. All CD releases have the "Boxed" mix, as do most of the later pressings of LP and cassette. The remastered bootleg version of the original mix is distributed in the Internet.

Related Topics:
Quadraphonic stereo - 1976 - CD - Bootleg

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An orchestral version of Hergest Ridge was arranged and conducted by David Bedford; parts of various performances were used in the documentary The Space Movie. To date, it has not been officially released.

Related Topics:
David Bedford - The Space Movie

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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.

Related Topics:
14 September - Tubular Bells - The Beatles - Bob Dylan

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Hergest Ridge is a popular vacation destination for Oldfield's fans, and the house where he lived at the time, The Beacon, is now a guest house. The cover photograph features scenery from Hergest Ridge, and was taken by Trevor Key; the Irish Wolfhound on the cover (and on the LP label) is named Bootleg.

Related Topics:
Hergest Ridge - Trevor Key

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