Craig Evans
Group: Members
Posts: 256
Joined: Sep. 2004 |
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Posted: Sep. 17 2004, 16:09 |
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In addition to the Pitch Bend morse code treble beeps of the ARP 2600 and the ARP Solina String Ensemble Synthersisers and the Electric Gemini Organ played behind the Thunderstorm part of Hergest Ridge Part 2 Mike Oldfield also plays the following electric guitars in the Thunderstorm part of Hergest Ridge Part 2; a blonde 1966 Fender Telecaster (originally owned by Marc Bolan of T-Rex with an extra middle Bill Lawrence Pickup), a 1968 Gibson Les Paul Custom black beauty, and a 1957 yellow Gibson Les Paul TV along with a cherry red 1966 Gibson Les Paul SG Junior and a 1964 lake placid blue Fender Stratocaster.
In addition to the electric guitars mentioned above Mike Oldfield also uses a 1965 red Fender Precision electric bass guitar and a 1966 cherry red Gibson EB3 electric bass guitar for the heavy basslines behind the overdubbed guitars in the Thunderstorm on Hergest Ridge Part 2.
All of these electric guitars and electric bass guitars are played through fuzz boxes and are overdubbed and speeded up in a similar fashion to the mandolin like guitar (Peace/Sunset Door) and guitars sounding like bagpipes (tattoo) from Tubular Bells Part 2.
Towards the very end of the Thunderstorm Mike Oldfield plays a final little pitch bend electric guitar solo, which is on the right-hand sound channel of the remix edition of Hergest Ridge before the rest of the Thunderstorm ends. The electric guitar that Mike Oldfield uses for this final little pitch bend solo in the Thunderstorm is his 1964 lake placid blue Fender Stratocaster, which is played through a distortion and compression pedal (possably the Glorfindel Box that Mike Oldfield used to play his 1966 blonde Fender Telecaster through for the Bagpipe Electric Guitars (tattoo) from Tubular Bells Part 2).
Mike Oldfield is able to achieve a heavy pitch bend effect by making heavy use of his 1964 lake placid blue Fender Stratocaster's tremolo arm and also by scrubbing the recording head over the tape that contains the final little electric guitar solo in the Thunderstorm of Hergest Ridge Part 2 (similar to a Disk Jocky scratching a recording needle over a record).
P.S. The idea of using overdubbed and double speed fuzz guitars in the Thunderstorm of Hergest Ridge Part 2 seems like an extension of the mandolin like guitar (Peace/Sunset Door), guitars sounding like bagpipes (tattoo) and Piltdown Man (Altered State) ideas from Tubular Bells Part 2 and is used again at the start of Ommadawn Part 2. Some of the rhythums in the Thunderstorm Song of Hergest Ridge Part 2 sound like reprises of the Fast Guitars (Dark Star) parts from Tubular Bells Part 1 and the Piltdown Man (Altered State) song from Tubular Bells Part 2.
Another rhythum in the Thunderstorm Song of Hergest Ridge Part 2 seems like a speeded up version of the guitars sounding like bagpipes (tattoo) and mandolin like guitar (Peace/Sunset Door) ideas from Tubular Bells Part 2 and is also used again in the Punkadiddle song in Platinum were it is played at a slower upbeat speed and played on a synth flute (behind Mike Oldfield's electric guitars with the blonde 1966 Fender Telecaster playing the punky bass chords and the blonde 1973 Gibson L6s Deluxe and the 1957 yellow Gibson Les Paul TV electric guitars playing the distorted lead guitar sounds in the Punkadiddle song of Platinum).
As well as the Thunderstorm song being a Rock and Roll song on Hergest Ridge Part 2 Mike Oldfield also uses Scottish and Medieval Gothic Rock influences for the Thunderstorm (these were also the influences for the Guitars Sounding Like Bagpipes song (tattoo) from Tubular Bells Part 2).
There are also some East Indian influences along with some Techno Blasts in the Thunderstorm song on Hergest Ridge Part 2.
These Techno Blasts within the Thunderstorm song on Hergest Ridge Part 2 are a foresight to Mike Oldfield's future experiments with Ibiza dance music on songs such as Incantations Part 3, guilty (Platinum) and Taurus 2 (Five Miles Out), Foreign Affair (Crises) and To France (Discovery), along with Evacuation and Etude (The Killing Fields), and Innocent (Earth Moving), along with The Shining Ones and Crystal Clear (The Songs of Distant Earth), and Secrets (Tubular Bells 3), along with The Millennium Bell and Viper (Tres Lunas). 
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"It is good to be on Horseback" - Mike Oldfield "On Horseback"
"(Insert "The Thunderstorm" here)"
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