Songs You May Have Missed #732

03 Jul 2022 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: ,

Sally Oldfield: “You Set My Gypsy Blood Free” (1979)

From Oldfield’s second solo album, after appearing on projects such as The Sallyangie (see link below) with brother Mike.

Common to both projects is the ethereal and mellifluous vocals that might bring Mary Hopkin to mind, and a style that seems to be a progenitor to Enya and Loreena McKennitt.

Perhaps a bit flowery for many listeners this side of the Atlantic. But beautiful if you have an ear for it.

You set my gypsy blood free!

You waken the dancer in me!

I wanna run through the dew of the night

To bring flowers to lay at your feet!

I have nothing to give you to light up your life

But the wild call of heartbeat to heartbeat

That seeks to be one

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2021/04/07/songs-you-may-have-missed-688/

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2025/09/16/songs-you-may-have-missed-793/

Songs You May Have Missed #688

07 Apr 2021 Leave a comment

by Ed Cyphers in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: , ,

The Sallyangie: “A Midsummer Night’s Happening” (1969)

The Sallyangie were a British folk duo comprised of a 16-year-old Mike Oldfield and his 21-year-old sister Sally. Their single LP, the gently ethereal Children of the Sun, will be either musical balm or emetic depending on your affinity for fey Lord of the Rings-inspired Renaissance Faire soundtrack music.

Some critics have panned the sound quality, the singing, Mike’s musicianship and the dated, naive fairytale-cum-hippy essence of the music, but its inclusion here tells you what I think of their appraisals. Of course, I’ve read Tolkien’s trilogy five times and attend the Ren Fest yearly…

Of undeniable quality are the arrangements contributed by one David (now Dee) Palmer, whose brilliance graces some of Jethro Tull’s greatest and most complex work.

Mike Oldfield is best known for a tune about as far removed from Children of the Sun as it could possibly be: “Tubular Bells” a.k.a. the theme from The Exorcist.

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2025/09/16/songs-you-may-have-missed-793/

See also: https://edcyphers.com/2022/07/03/songs-you-may-have-missed-732/