Customer Reviews

Tubular Bells 3

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In the beginning there was Tubular Bells, and it was good. And the public heard that it was good (or were effectively creeped out by the part of it used in The Exorcist). And yea, some years later Mike Oldfield did think to revamp it, using better technology and molding the work into a new form. And the public did have mixed feelings; some were thrilled, some felt it was so much fluff. And yea verily, Mike did return yet again with Tubular Bells III, but did not make the album another reworking this time. And this listener, at least, was quite pleased.

In classic Oldfield form, this is a mostly instrumental suite flowing from one section to the next and presenting various tasty sounds/textures throughout. Through shifting atmospheres, middle-eastern trance ("Serpent Dream") and yes, an occasional stretch veering into new-age territory ("The Top of the Morning"), there's still a consistent flow & mood to the whole thing. Some of it's pretty spacey (a-la Songs of Distant Earth) but I don't think the cheese level gets excessive.

Mike probably realized that reworking the first two Bells again would unquestionably be overkill.. hell, this album invited the risk of overkill just by existing. So he sticks to the timeless piano theme - spiced up with some subtle electronic textures this time - and reuses only a couple basic motifs throughout. "Inner Child" is very loosely based on the familiar haunting vocal section. "Outcast" flirts with the same bouncy fuzz-thrash idea that the other albums had, but remains far from a retread. And of course the tubular bells themselves must appear somewhere.

That's where the family resemblance ends. The layer-building section with the voice announcing the instruments is nowhere to be heard. Ditto the growling Piltdown Man sequence, which may be a relief for anyone who thought its treatment in TB2 was too ridiculous. And the closing hoedown is gone; instead we get the most effective finale of the three, a propulsive eargasmic crescendo thundering across the vast sky. (Listen between the lines and you'll hear him integrating the bass line from the grand finale of TB1's first half. Sneaky.) The thing that doesn't quite fit is "Man in the Rain," a catchy pop tune that's inevitably out of place in the middle of the instrumental work. But as someone below said, on its own it's a decent track and the flow of the album isn't harmed if it's skipped.

Obviously the original Bells is the one to begin with. If you'd like something more light and lush, try TB2; if you don't mind some electronic touches, come right here.

This is Oldfield's most atmospheric release since 'Ommadawn,' and not since 'Taurus II' (the long instrumental on the 'Five Miles Out' album) have I felt that the work added up to a coherent whole. The only rough spot is that I feel the 'Inner Child' segment goes on *just* a mite too long.

When I was a kid, I used to say that Mike Oldfield was writing truly modern symphonies, using entirely modern means. As I developed more vocabulary and experience relating to music, I abandoned that thinking. 'Tubular Bells III' tempts me to return to my childish ways of viewing Oldfield and his work.

TBIII is a must have for even the most casual Oldfield fan and perhaps all music lovers.

By the way, while I suspect that the 'Tubular Bell' titles may be marketing driven as anything else (at least in America, Oldfield is known as 'the guy who wrote Tubular Bells, right?') and hence think we'll be seeing a IV, I hope that TBIII will be the last in the 'trilogy.' Why? Because 'Far Above the Clouds' seems like such a powerful wrap-up to the cycle that I'd hate to see it spoiled.

Unless, of course, Oldfield finds a way to knock my socks yet again.

I was very surprised to see TB3 at the music store two years ago since I hadn't heard anything about Mike Oldfield releasing anything new. Of course "Tubular bells" is a very strong commercial brand and one can't help thinking that the good old Mike is trying to get the most out of the impact this label has on music lovers instead of calling this album, I don't know, "The top of the morning" or "Far above the clouds". But since I adored TB and TB2 I decided to give it a try. As a matter of fact the techno intro made me have second thoughts about buying this album, but since I am a patient guy, fortunately I didn't skip it. I ended up buying it as I loved the rest of the album.

Everyone, throughout their life, experiences what they call the tastes' evolution. There were so many bands and singers I was mad about in my teen years whose music seems so childish to me now, and on the other hand, there were so many other ones whose music took so many years to reach me, like classical music for instance. I remember my dad taking me almost by force to every symphonic concert or opera (since he was a musician) when I was around 10-14 years old. I own about four hundred CD-s now and, thanks to my dad, half of them are classical music.

Mike Oldfield is one of the few musicians whose music I loved in my teen years and I love even more now. Yes, TB3 is inferior to TB and TB2, but the Beatles never wrote anything that could at least equal "Yesterday", Led Zeppelin never wrote anything that could even come close to "Stairway to heaven". What is common to all sheer masterpieces is that they're simply hard to top.

And hey, in the nineties' music desert, this album comes out as a true masterpiece!

To say this is Tubular Bells is a vast understatement. Of course..there are the familiar themes, however, this totally blows you out of the water with the haunting themes and guitar solos throughout. This is Mike Oldfield's best work to date. He shows again that not only is he an original in his field, but, pays very close attention to the sounds that are going on around him.
A lot of this reminds me of Enigma and Fragma all rolled into one Celtic package. Trust me, it's a good thing. The vocals and songs here are truly beautiful and just lift this interpretation along the way. I spent several hours playing this just apprectiating how the layers of sound just seem to grab you in and keep you there.
A must for any fan, let alone trance and Celtic listeners. You will not be disappointed at all.

It appears that Mike is going to milk the "Tubular Bells" name for all it's worth, as this album is fairly loosely based on the previous ones (and even included a remake of Man In The Rain, a non-related Oldfield hit from the 80's), but, the fact is, this is an excellent album no matter what it's name is. The Source of Secrets kicks things off well, interpreting the original opening Tubular Bells melody with a techno, Enigma-esque driving, synth/bass rush, coming after an opening sound effects montage. Jewel In The Crown are both excellent guitar pieces, one being a storming rock rave-up, the other a new approximation of the "Piltdown Man" theme on acoustic guitar. I hesistate to cite individual pieces as highlights, as the whole album runs well together. From driving techno, to superb New Age inflections, to delicate and beautiful piano passages, TB3 is a truly excellent album. Not a classic or overall masterpiece like the original, and perhaps not as overall beautiful as TB2 (I missed the instrument roll-call on this album), but TB3 is still a great album with a production gloss that outshines the previous two albums. A worthy buy for any Mike Oldfield fan, for sure.

Wonderful music, diverse yet still very much Mike Oldfield. If you love Tubular Bells I then you need this one. It has some hints of the original but they are only hints. This is a fubulous music all on its on.

There are few albums that I can simply pop into the CD player (or MP3 player - don't worry, I bought the CD) and listen to, regardless of mood or what I'm doing, but this is one of them. No matter what I'm doing, be it homework, surfing the web, driving home, or fixing up music for my hometown Fourth of July fireworks show (a mix of "Secrets" and "Far Above the Clouds" provided a fantastic finale), this album can accompany them all.

More electronically based than Oldfield's previous venture into his acoustical brainchild, this album may not appeal to the more traditional fans of his work. However, I feel that, though many tracks may venture too far into the realm of "techno" music, it is still a wonderous voyage.

My only complaint with this CD is track #7, "Man in the Rain" which, in my opinion, hinders the listening experience by throwing in an attempt at a pop song. However, if you simply program your player to bypass the song entirely, you'll find that the flow of the album isn't interrupted by the skipped track. In fact, I feel that track #8, "The Top of the Morning," is one of the best tracks of Oldfield that I've ever heard, and comes across beautifully after the ending storms of "The Inner Child."

Final verdict: An excellent album with one minor flaw that shouldn't impede your enjoyment of such a wonderous masterpiece.

This album divided hardcore Mike Oldfield fans right down the middle: Many older fans couldn't quite handle the updated techno influence, while younger fans like myself heralded this album as a brilliant synergy of modern electronica and great instrumental genius. The eclectic mix of styles ranges from four-on-the-floor dance beats to etheral vocal passages to gentle new age tracks to hard rock, and yet the album still manages to remain tightly cohesive throughout. In addition, anyone unfamiliar with Oldfield should buy this album. It's a great starting point, especially for younger fans who will appreciate the modern sound. It's a shame this album was never released in the US; it could have cleaned up. Oldfield has managed to take modern techniques and turn them into musical art, something he has done through almost all of his brilliant career.

Like Dr Who's TARDIS, Tubular Bells travels through time taking things as they come, doing it's own thing. Oldfield has combined everything good he's ever done in this quite short but truly high quality album. I loved TBII, and this is similar but with modern touches and some retro references to TBI. Man in the Rain is a musical anagram of Moonlight Shadow, and none the worse for that, although this time the lyrics strike home. The ending is dramatic, which I preferred to the cheezy endings of the first two Tubular Bells. A brilliant piece of music.

It's not the dreary new age rehash I was expecting. Sure, it's a bit easy listening in places, but mostly it's a synth-heavy reworking with a touch of techno styling.

On balance, I like it a little more than Tubular Bells II, if only because it skips the Piltdown Man entirely rather than making it a joke, and because it's more subtle in its reworking of themes from the original Tubular Bells.

I'd like it even more without the obligatory attempt at a hit single ("Man In The Rain") breaking up the flow, though.