Robert Reed has been releasing Sanctuary albums, inspired homages to his musical hero, Mike Oldfield since 2014. Sanctuary Covered is mainly a compilation of covers of songs Rob Reed has released on EP’s and bonus discs through the span of his three studio Sanctuary albums, and their follow up in the two part splendour of The Ringmaster. Reed has brought these together with some additional pieces into an enchanting journey through a range of gorgeously arranged covers and collaborations, all through the lens of the unmistakable Oldfield style of guitar and arrangements.
The Oldfield connection is underlined by the presence of the legendary folk musician Les Penning who played various instruments including recorders, whistles and other related instruments on Oldfield’s Ommadawn album and other Oldfield projects, including In Dulci Jubilo. Alongside him, Mile Oldfield’s producer on Tubular Bells and numerous other Oldfield albums, Tom Newman also contributes to the cornucopia of songs on Sanctuary Covered. Tom Newman and Les Penning combine with Reed on the opening song Dance Of The Daoine Sidhe, which Tom Newman originally released as a single in 1977. This rolls along in spritely fashion with Penning’s whistles and Reed’s guitar interweaving, and is a bright beginning.
Another significant collaborator with Oldfield was David Bedford who originally worked alongside Oldfield in a very early band called ‘Kevin Ayers and the Whole World’. He later orchestrated versions of Olfield’s Tubular Bells and Hergest Ridge and released his own solo album in 1972, Nurses songs with Elephants. The title song had some lyrics based on a William Blake poem. Rob Reed has arranged a beautiful version of that piece which features some virtually translucent singing from Angharad Brinn, and starts with a nod to Oldfield’s Incantations with tripping xylophone sounds. Brinn also sings on another David Bedford song, the softly flowing Rio Grande. On a bed of sparkling synths, King Aeolus completes the David Bedford set with some lovely flute playing from Terry Oldfield, Mike Oldfield’s brother who played on three of Oldfield’s legendary 70’s era albums. All three of these songs were originally released in 2017 on the Reed EP Variations on Themes by David Bedford.
Robert Reed has developed quite a reputation arranging and playing live versions of the classic 70’s era Oldfield music, including a recent 50th anniversary version of Hergest Ridge. Therefore, it seems apt Sanctuary Covered includes what Reed has described as ‘one of the most emotional melodies that Mike ever wrote’, the shimmering A Minor Tune From “Tubular Bells”. This two minutes of soothing magic with softly lilting recorder and guitar was originally released during the Covid Lockdown in 2020 to raise money for ‘Mind’, the mental health charity. Ennio Morricone’s Chi Mai was originally used in the 1971 film Maddelena, but British listeners of a certain age will probably mostly remember it as the theme to a 1981 BBC TV series ‘The Life and Times of Lloyd George’. Reed recalls ‘playing it to death’ as a teenager when it was a surprise number 2 hit in the U.K. charts, and has described Morricone’s Chi Mai as ‘one of the most haunting melodies he wrote…’. Tastefully arranged and performed, Chi Mai seems perfectly suited to the Oldfield style, such is Reed’s skill.
Robert Reed has always had a wide-ranging taste in music, and he is willing to cover contrasting styles. He recorded The Tornados 1962 U.K. number one hit Telstar especially for this compilation as he loved the melody and feels the production by the writer of the song, Joe Meek, was ‘way ahead of its time’. For this listener it felt rather more ‘Hank Marvin’ than ‘Mike Oldfield-esque’ in all honesty, but it’s well done. Ron Grainer’s groundbreaking Theme from “Dr. Who” is energetically covered with pulsing synths, vocoder, electric guitar and Les Penning and Tom Newman contributing whistles and flutes. It is impeccably produced and a rather different take on this iconic theme which personally it took some adjusting to, but at the end of the day it is a nostalgic and affectionate nod to the soundtrack of so many childhoods, and not to be taken too seriously ( before I start sounding like a dreaded… ‘Whovian’!!! 🙂 )
One of the more obscure collaborations by Mike Oldfield was a 1977 album, Mathematician’s Air Display by Finnish multi-instrumentalist and bass player Pekka Pohjola, which Reed covers with aplomb. Suitably, it concludes with a subtle, smooth bass passage, and makes one want to search out the original album.
Classic folk song Scarborough Fair, originally drawn from the 2014 EP Willow’s Song, features the delightful vocals of Angharad Brinn and yet again seems perfect seen through Reed’s Sanctuary lens.
Robert Reed has always had a fascination with film soundtracks, especially horror films, and has great admiration for soundtrack composers such as Hans Zimmer and John Carpenter. Indeed, the 2020 Magenta album Masters of Illusion is based on the lives and careers of classic horror film actors, including Vincent Price who was the subject of that album title song, focusing on the tense relationship between Price and the director, Michael Reeves, during the classic 1968 British horror film ‘Witchfinder General’, one of Price’s finest career performances. Paul Ferris’ Theme From “Witchfinder General” is reverently covered with bucolic charm by Reed with delicate support from Les Penning. This is followed by Oh Hush Thee, My Dove, a song associated with a rather more recent Horror film, the award-winning independent Welsh horror short film ‘Little Brown Bird’, starring John Rhys Davies (the dwarf Gimli in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ films, and directed by Pete Rogers. Little Brown Bird was filmed on the Isle of Man so fittingly Rob Reed based the haunting theme song on The Manx Lullaby. This enchanting song is a real highlight of the album and a real showcase for the crystalline fragility of Angharad Brinn’s bewitching voice. The third song associated with the horror film genre on Sanctuary Covered is the final Willow’s Song (Extended Version), originally in the 1973 Robin Hardy film ‘The Wicker Man’ starring Christopher Lee and Edward Woodward. (This song was the soundtrack for a scene featuring Britt Ekland which will live long in the memory of many a British teenager in the 70’s!!) Robert Reed, again with the enchanting voice of Angharad Brinn, shines on guitar and the arrangement is suitably a beguiling balance of pastoral beauty, sensuality and ominous shadows it’s the main highlight of the whole album.
Most of Sanctuary Covered has been released previously on various releases and projects, but it is definitely an album worth hearing as it brings together a fascinating collection of covers and collaborations, and features some unreleased pieces. In my view the classic horror and more folk or classical oriented pieces work better with this approach, but the whole album is arranged and played with such skill. Robert Reed always produces music with immaculate and engaging production and on Sanctuary Covered he captures the magic sound of the classic Mike Oldfield era, but also stamps his own unmistakable style. This is an album to put on in a snug room on a dark night, pour a glass of whatever takes your fancy and just go with the flow.
TRACK LISTING
01. Dance Of The Daoine Sidhe (3:43)
02. Nurses Songs With Elephants (3:33)
03. Chi Mai (3:38)
04. Telstar (3:38)
05. Theme From “Witchfinder General” (2:52)
06. Oh Hush Thee, My Dove (from “Little Brown Bird”) (4:06)
07. A Minor Tune From “Tubular Bells” (2:17)
08. King Aeolus (4:49)
09. Rio Grande (4:51)
10. Mathematician’s Air Display (5:36)
11. Scarborough Fair (3:31)
12. Theme From “Dr Who” (2:29)
13. Willow’s Song (Originally from “The Wicker Man”) (5:52)
Total Time – 50:52
MUSICIANS
Robert Reed – All Instruments
~ With:
Tom Newman – Various Instruments
Les Penning – Various Instruments
Terry Oldfield – Flute (8)
Angharad Brinn – Vocals (2,6,9,11 & 13)
ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Tigermoth Records
Country of Origin: U.K.
Date of Release: 16th August 2024
DISCOGRAPHY
(as Solo Project – albums only):
Sanctuary I (2014)
Sanctuary II (2016)
Sanctuary Live (2017)
Sanctuary III (2018)
Cursus 123 430 (2020)
The Ringmaster (Part One) (2021)
The Ringmaster (Part Two) (2022)
Sanctuary – Live at Newbury 2023 (2024)
Sanctuary Covered (2024)
