I was listening to Mike Oldfield's TUBULAR BELLS long before there was a new age classification, and, in fact, even before it was background music to rotate heads by. I STILL listen to it a few times a year. So, it's ironic that another New Age CD that receives the casa de Hartlaub seal of approval -- and then some -- should be by...Sally Oldfield, Mike's older, and maybe smarter, sister.

I actually sat down and did some research on Sally Oldfield. She's released a TON of CDs (well, okay, several anyway), ranging from a project with Michael (for their duo SallyAngie) that predates TUBULAR BELLS to Celtic forays to deeply personal religious projects. FLAMING STAR somehow treads the line between world music and new age, drawing from the strengths of both while avoiding the pretentious pitfalls of either. The strongest track here is the title track, an opus to the sun, which builds on a rhythmic chant and turns into a mantra (as do manyof the selections on FLAMING STAR). Oldfield makes use of many indigenous percussive and wind instruments in combination with electronically generated samples and sound effects to mesmerizing effect throughout the CD. This is best done on the afore-mentioned "Flaming Star" and "One to the Power of One." There's also a remix of Oldfield's "Mirrors," which was a worldwide hit for her some 15 years ago, even, I believe, before there was a defined world music genre, with Oldfield's pleasant, distinctive voice echoing in and out of the speakers over a solid conga-generated rhythm.