Sally Oldfield - Easy

Sister of Mike and Terry, Sally Oldfield is from a family that isn't particularly obscure or unheard of. Naturally, with a genealogy like hers Sally has been acknowledged on various levels, performing on her brother's über-famous Tubular Bells and scoring a top twenty hit with her 1978 single 'Mirrors'. Yet, in her otherwise coy solo career she's burrowed her name, her art, into a niche of its own. Sally Oldfield is, somehow, a forgotten gem; for years she's been able to quietly release gorgeous off-kilter pop music to a modest, loving fanbase, creating a profile that's more cult than celebrated. Her music is special. There's something to it that's unusual, singular. Her voice is distinctive - in a way not unlike Liz Fraser's - and it sits perfectly over music that is so beautifully coloured and decorated. Easy is her second album, an album on which the title track acts as a centre piece. That track is kind-of-kitsch contemporary pop music that draws from folk. It has this bouncing piano part, a shiny slide guitar and tuned percussion over which Oldfield's vocals - possibly my favourite thing about her music - sit. But they don't sit, do they? They float and flirt. They're idiosyncratic in their manner: like the music, like her persona. It is pure gold.

Label: Bronze Records
Year: 1979
Genre: Pop, Folk, Easy-Listening