Mike Oldfield breaks new ground

4:40pm Tuesday 15th April 2008

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Music Of The Spheres: Mike Oldfield (Universal Music).

Mike Oldfield is not afraid to break musical boundaries - Tubular Bells, the million seller instrumental released in the early 1970s, was completely different to anything else on the scene at that time.

He's gone out on a limb again with Music Of The Spheres, his first classical album, which uses a full orchestra and a choir.

Repetitive riffs; intricate arrangements; a sense of harmony and a startling ability to create tunes which stick in your head - Oldfield has used these elements throughout his career on albums like Ommadawn, Hergest Ridge and The Songs Of Distant Earth.

The same features appear on Music Of The Spheres so that, while this is a classical record, it's also very much a Mike Oldfield record.

Soprano Hayley Westerna and renowned pianist Lang Lang display their amazing skills and Oldfield plays some superb Spanish guitar.

These are some beautiful moments on this album which, in turn, is pastoral, stirring, tender and displays an epic grandeur.

And fans of Tubular Bells will hear echoes of that great record in opening track Harbinger and the closing section, Musica Universalis.