Customer Reviews

Tubular Bells (Amazon.com Exclusive)

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

 

 

While this heavyweight set is for the fan-atic, it must be praised as the all-inclusive (as far as we know) documentation of Oldfield's initial masterpiece. It is beautifully assembled and hernia inducing in heft, with a fantastic hard bound book and other pleasant surprises. The 5.1 mix is much better than the surround SACD issue of some years ago. A well done collectible, to be sure.

This is a review about the sound quality only, not the music. I assume you are already a fan and know Tubular Bells.

The mixing and mastering are near perfect. The new mix on disk one is a real improvement, imo, over the original. Things are clearer and there is a better blending of music. It is my preferred mix. The other mixes sound great too, the remastering was done extremely well. There is no clipping, and any compression that occurs is subtle and does not damage anything. There are tons of dynamics in these disks. Kudos Mike.

As an aside, the record label owned Tubular Bells for 35 years and that ownership ended in 2008, which is why we are getting this awesome set now as Mike gets to own his creation again. So if you buy this set, it is a good way of thanking Mike with your money.

For more information on what good mastering and good sound quality is about you can check out wikipedia's entry on the 'loudness war'.

Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells was a fabulous concept album. Although the second version of the album was lusher, the original remains the yardstick for clarity, energy, and excitement. I've worn out LP's, tapes, and CD's of this album, and it remains among my favorites. Along with his much later "Crisis" it remains a hallmark of an incredible career.

I'll start by saying that I've been listening to Tubular Bells since it came out (I was 9 years old) and like many others here I'm sure, have memorized pretty much the entire album including every pluck of a guitar string, the strike and decay of the bells, and the sound of air moving through the pipe organ. If I hear one extra pluck or a chord that fades a smidge too fast, it sticks out like a sore thumb to me.

Overall, I am glad I purchased this "ultimate" box set because, although I am a great fan of Tubular Bells, I am not a "fanboy." I really didn't know too much about Mike Oldfield, the history of his career, or the making of this album. I found the book to be very informative and of high quality (except for a handful of small typos) and the vinyl LP sounds very good, with nice dynamics against a silent background - easily the best I've ever heard TB sound.

So why only 3 stars? Because I feel a little bit deceived by the rest of the set...

The first thing I did when I got home today and found the set waiting for me is put on the LP (the remix can wait) and start reading the book. Like I said above, it sounds great and the book is well done. I was especially pleased to read in Mr. Oldfield's forward that he, "intentionally left all of the performances exactly as they were played with the minimum of editing or special effects..." Great! I have always wanted to hear Tubular Bells in it's original form, but with "modern" fidelity - percussion with punch and weight, and "air" and ambiance around the instruments. Don't get me wrong, the 1973 mix sounds good, but by modern standards, it does have some murkiness that I think could be removed by a careful and modest "restoration."

Well, after thoroughly enjoying the terrific vinyl version, I went down to my theater room to listen to the "remix." Within the first minute or so, I was sad to hear that it is not a simple remix of the original master. I'll point out that I do own the DVD-A of Tubular Bells 2003 and don't care for it too much. It has great fidelity, but for me, the recording is too gimmicky, too polished, and has no emotion/character. And while this 2009 remix isn't as egregious as the 2003 interpretation, Mr. Oldfield has definitely added sound effects that did not exist in the 1973 recording. Worse, he has erased certain instruments at certain points in the album and replaced them with newly performed and recorded versions. Some of these instances are very subtle and are barely noticeable unless you are extremely familiar with the piece, but in other instances, the instrument sounds completely different and/or synthetic. Also, during the crescendos, he has artificially boosted the level of the entire recording to the point that I thought someone had turned up the volume of my system. It happens rather suddenly and is a little startling if you're not expecting it (which I wasn't). I can only assume he did this to add drama and intensity to the moment, but to me, it just got louder.

Finally, let me conclude by saying that perhaps my biggest disappointment in the remix is after riding the building wave at the end of side 1 and Viv Stanshall finally announces, "plus, tubular bells!" You're all set for that big first strike and the rich, resonating bells to ring out - and all you get are gently tapped wind chimes?!?! Overall, I can almost forgive Mr. Oldfield for trying to "improve" the rest of the original recording, but couldn't he have left the precious bells alone?

Oh well. I will enjoy the 180 gram vinyl LP and the slick packaging.

The Vinyl must be around 180g, it is very stiff and I am sure it plays very well. Have not got my turn table handy. I got this for Christmas (2010). The Different versions are also very good. It gives a great overview of the history of this epic work. The book is also in a very nice binding, and has lots of great commentary and pictures.

I've been a long time fan of Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" album, every since my father used to listen to it when I was twelve. The music here is as fresh as ever with many surprises in this set, well worth the price. The new mix is very nice, but I prefer the original, which always brings back pleasant memories. All in all, I definitely recommend this set for the "Tubular Bells" completist, but may not be appreciated by the casual fan.