Customer Reviews

Tubular Bells [2009 Deluxe Edition]

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First things first, Tubular Bells is, for my money, one of the best pieces of music of the 20th century. Not even TB II, III or 2003 could possibly change that, but they have over the years dampened my enthusiasm for Mike Oldfield. So the question is after these, why would I need yet another Tubular Bells? Well, sell your old copies and get this collection.
First up there is the 2009 remix. For what it is, it's great. What is it? The usual scrub and polish, everything's-up-in-the-mix that everyone's doing these days, and it's really lovely. The 1st disc also contains both sides of the Mike Oldfield single (previously available on the boxed set) Necessary for the Vivian Stanshall "Sailor's Hornpipe".
The 2nd disc is the original 1973 stereo mix. Perfect. Every other version is a distant second to this one, and I am very thankful that this was included after all of Mr. Oldfield's grumbling and second-guessing over the years.
The 3rd disc (mis-labeled disc 4) is the surround sound mix of disc 1. I'm sure it will be fun, but I have not listened to it yet. The real treasure of this set is the visual content. Tubular Bells part 1 live in the studio. My jaw hung open as I was treated to a beautiful rendition performed by a "who's who" of 70's prog rock: Gong's Steve Hillage, Mike Howlett and Pierre Moerlen; Soft Machine's Mike Ratledge and Karl Jenkens; Fred Frith from Henry Cow; Rolling Stone Mick Taylor and others. I understand that this footage was released as a part of the Elements DVD, but I had never seen it before. I would have gladly paid $20 for this alone and given it 5 stars on its own.

If there could be something in rock music that can compare to a symphony, this is it. Mike Oldfield's original masterpiece gets a facelift here that adds a new dimension to an old favorite.

Make no mistake; this is not a re-recording of the original, as the "Tubular Bells 2003" was. This is the original, remixed by Mike himself at his Bahamas home. Mike made it no secret that he was never totally satisfied with the sound of the original mix. It was a rush job, as he had only two weeks to record and mix it for presentation to the record company. He's had a chance now to make the mix work to his liking, and the sound- both in stereo and surround- is nothing short of amazing.

I must clarify one thing here; I'm a big advocate of music recorded for, and in, surround sound. When music recordings are made, they are generally multitracked. As many as 24 or more individual tracks are used. Trying to take all that information and make it fit into the two channels of a stereo CD is a daunting task. There will be a lot of music that was recorded that simply won't fit without making things sound too cluttered. Multichannel, mainly 5.1, opens up at least three more channels to make better use of more of what was recorded. And if the recording engineer is worth his salt, he can create a surround mix that makes sense. Sure, it may not be completely realistic, but it delivers more of what was intended for you to hear.

On this set, Mike rebalanced the sound and opened it up to reveal, as mentioned above, more of what was recorded...even on the stereo mix. As good as the original is, this was an eye-opener. (Or is that ear-opener?)

The surround mix was a revelation. Elsewhere on the site, I have a review of the SACD of the original. I remember having the quadraphonic LP of the original, on a CD-4 record. What was on the SACD in surround was NOT the original mix. Nor is this, but it wasn't passed off as such. The textures in the music are revealed even more in the surround version, without resorting to loads of sonic trickery. There's no excessive "moving the music around you" effect, although where it is used, it's used to good effect.

This is a recording that needs to be in your collection if you're a rock fan, and especially if you want to find out just how much better music can sound in surround. Your DVD player can be the greatest music machine ever. Let's hope Mercury, and UMG, also give Mike's
"Ommadawn" and other similar albums, the same treatment.

I've had this set for about 6 playbacks now..3 days. Disc 1 is the "remastered" version. Sounds wonderful. I haven't bothered to listen to the disc 2, the original version. Why? "Please put the original on, I want to hear the primitive technologies defects." The DVD disc with 5.1? I don't do 5.1.
I love this recording. I'm glad they reissued it. I do wish they had done a SACD Stereo and multichannel hybrid with the original version on Disc 2. I understand the DVD 5.1 version to reach those that have gone over to DVD multichannel.
I guess we will never know how good an SACD version would have been. Oh well, the remastered one is still pretty darn good.
The booklet that comes with this is extensive and interesting reading.

i've always been a fan of tubular bells, and this remaster is very enjoyable. the surround version does not disappoint.

Well I own the SACD Version with 5.1 Sound / Mix and I really like it BUT what about this one in DVD - Audio ???? Anybody can help......? Is it worth getting DVD 5.1 too....?

Who needs a review for such a classic. It's just so impressive how many musical moods he managed to fit into one piece of music...just like Jethro Tull's Thick as a brick, the whole thing was too long to fit on a single side of an LP so it had to be cleverly split in two parts.

Tubular Bells was my first foray into Progressive music, and it has stayed with me ever since. I originally owned it on vinyl. That collection is long gone. I've been listening to music via MP3 and computer of late, so when I dug out and updated my old hi-fi equipment; I re-learned how enjoyable music is: straight from the CD. So I went in pursuit of Tubular Bells. Don't give the 2003 version a look - its horrific (somehow John Cleese does not add anything positive). Search for an original 1973 and in the US at least you'll pay close to $100. So enter the 2009 Deluxe Edition. I listened with joy to the original 1973 mix and relived my earlier pleasure. Only it was better, courtesy of some better Hi-Fi components.

Then I listened to the 2009 re-mastered version. It's good. Very good. But for me personally; a little clinical. In the original mix, we hear Mike's breathing during some of the acoustic guitar passages. That's gone from the 2009 version, and somehow I miss it. The bells also seem somehow different and ring 'not true'. I'll stick with the original, and here's the beauty of this disc. Whether you are returning to Tubular Bells, or listening for the first time: you'll find a version on this disc that meets your needs. I haven't tried the 5.1 version, but for those with a good system then I would bet that it's very worth a listen.

I also enjoy TB II and TB III, but if you have to own just one disc: this is the one to buy.

ONE OF MIKE'S BEST ALBUMS, EVERY TRACK IS GREAT, ESPECIALLY WITH THE AWESOME SHM AUDIO FORMAT & THE 5.1 DVD. MUST HAVE FOR ANY CD COLLECTION, BUT DON'T PAY THESE RIDICULOUS OVER-INFLATED PRICES, I BOUGHT MINE FROM THE MUSIC SPECIALIST ON E BAY, THEY ALSO HAVE A STORE IN GEMM, ANTEATERMUSIC. SAVE YOURSELF A TON OF CASH.
CHEERS!

not much to be said about mike oldfield's tubular bells. absolute classic. everyone should own a copy.

about the 2009 deluxe edition package: it didn't need to dvd; it does not offer anything speacial unless your tripping while watching and listening. i thought there will be some videos of mike and others playing; there wasn't.

I began my appreciation of Mike Oldfield with this album when it was originally released - as an LP. I've had it on casette and CD (all three have been worn out!). The new edition provides crisp, clear audio, and of course the content remains as terrific today as when it first came out.

Since then, I've collected every Oldfield recording I could find, including some foreign editions. Some is repetitive (Mike does have a habit of re-examining and re-issuing earlier works), but they remain a pleasure. To be really appreciated, one needs to sit and actually LISTEN to the recording. The depth is astonishing.