No pressure, then. In Spring 1974, Mike Oldfield’s debut solo album Tubular Bells was, to the surprise of many, not least its creator, taking over the world as Oldfield, just turning 21, was pushed by his label Virgin (for whom Bells was their first ever album release) to write and record a follow-up in double-quick time. Not a natural look-at-me rock star, and prone to panic attacks, he retreated to the England/Wales border, in the shadow of the hill Hergest Ridge. He flew gliders. Eventually, his subconscious rekindled itself, and he constructed another two-movement tour de force.
Hergest Ridge was received with a mild backlash or shrug, and even though it had a spell at No.1 in the UK it was superseded by its all-consuming predecessor. Yet, half a century on, the difficult second album sounds stronger than its now over-familiar big brother. By accident (the mix was always counter-intuitive, but that gives it an extra dimension) or design (its arc is superior, more fluid), Hergest Ridge is Transformer after Lou Reed. It’s The Godfather 2. It might even be Paddington 2.
