Customer Reviews

Tubular Bells II

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

When I first saw this album in stores a few years back, I gave a heavy sigh. I had gotten burned out on music in general by spending a couple of years as a music reviewer and toward the end, I had felt like I was *forced* to listen to the stuff. And here one of the few artists I could still stand had apparently finally sold out. I believed that TBII was just titled thusly because the original TB was the only thing he appears to be known for in the U.S. Still, I bought it, hoping Oldfield wouldn't let me down.

And he didn't! Almost singlehandedly, Oldfield revived my love for music and restored my faith in the fact that some recording artists remain *artists*!

TBII follows the structure and revisits some of the same themes found on TBI, even if sometimes they are merely faint echoes. However, where the majority of TBI is in minor keys and thus feels brooding, most of TBII is upbeat, almost joyous in its feeling. It lifted my spirits the first time I listened to the album, and it continues to do so when I play it now.

Standout segments--I'm loathe to call most of them tracks, as the album flows in two large blocks as the original TB--are the "overture" 'Sentinal' (where Oldfield draws the listner in with a quoting of the TB theme that serves as an underpinning for the first half of the album), 'Blue Saloon' (a tense section played mostly on guitars and which spotlights his still clever use of these instruments), 'The Bell' (which follows the original TB model of a Master of Ceremonies introducing the instruments from the first part of the album, but which holds my attention throughout where the original bored me slightly), 'Weightless,' (a beautiful segment that introduces a South American musical theme), and 'Tattoo' (bagpipes a-go-go!).

I've occassionally complained that Oldfield sometimes drives a theme for just a bit too long. At no point does he make this mistake on TBII. This is truly one of his finer efforts and it is a worthy follow-up that builds on and surpasses the original TB. It's a worthwhile purchase for anyone who enjoys his music and a fine introduction for those who aren't familiar with his brilliant work.

19 years after Mike Oldfield's groundbreaking and complex debut album he returned to drink from the well which had launched his career onto an unsuspecting public. It is easy to criticise Oldfield and record label Warners for the opportunism of this album, but one has to remember the difficulties Oldfield had endured through the late 1980's thanks to Virgin Records indifferent promotional attitude to his work. Pressured throughout the decade to follow "Tubular Bells" up Oldfield resisted Virgin's entreaty. That he eventually chose to record a follow up album for a new record label shows a clear attempt on Oldfield's part to stick two fingers up at Richard Branson et al, like "Tubular Bells" this album was an act of rebellious revenge.
Musically it is also very satisfying, polished and precise Oldfield has never struggled when it comes to producing memorable and often entrancing music. Warner's cleverly marketed the album at the emergent audience for "New Age" music that Enigma had established. The lead track "Sentinel" is a perfect evocation of Oldfield's multifarious thematic style. Certainly large swathes of the music use the "Tubular Bells" as a basis, but Oldfield often takes us on a journey heavenwards as the guitars soar and range. The major difference is the production. Trevor Horn brings a polished over produced sound that is at times clinical. The aggressive improvisation of "Tubular Bells" is not replicated and nor is the energy. Nevertheless on tracks such as "Weightless" and "Tattoo" Oldfield produces some of his most emotive and memorable music. This is an experiment that could have gone terribly wrong, but in fact it is an excellent nostalgic addition to Oldfield's fascinating body of work.

I realize that the first Tubular Bells from 1973 was a classic, as it should be. But as a new Mike Oldfield convert, I had the privilege to have a first-ever listen to both Tubular Bells I and Tubular Bells II at the same time, and I have concluded that TB II is crisper, more rhythmic, and certainly more patterned and cohesive than TB I. TB I can be rather discursive and simple, and there does not seem to be a unifying theme that pulls everything together. Not so with TB II. The very first notes we hear on TB II, played on piano, are interwoven throughout nearly the entire album with varying degrees of drama and volume. TB II has the feel of a holistic musical performance rather than a collection of instrumental parts. The only exception to this is the very last track, which has a rustic, hill-billy quality to it that unfortunately taints the triumphant, theme-unifying conclusion pounded out in the track before it. I realize that the first Tubular Bells ends with an escapist, country-style track, but I wish Mike had not decided to so closely follow the original score in this second version. Take out the ill-fitting last track, and Tubular Bells II is a masterpiece.

I'll prognosticate that new Mike Oldfield listeners will actually prefer Tubular Bells II to Tubular Bells I, as I do. But those fans who grew up with Mike Oldfield and heard TB I in the 70s will probably consider Tubular Bells II as merely a worthy attempt to capitalize on the success of the original--but it's not quite as good. It's kind of like the difference between people who have read the book before seeing the movie and those who watched the movie and then read the book. Each group will say they preferred either the movie or the book, which ever medium they consumed first. As someone who had my virgin listen to TB I and TB II on the same day, I will say that TB II is easily superior to TB I. It's a conspicuous improvement on the first Tubular Bells. This time, the sequel outpaces the original.

During the 65 minute piece you can hear Tubular Bells 1 come along, only played with different notes, styles and instruments. On one hand this album can be considered as almost the same as TB1 and therefore copywork. But on the other hand, listening to it as a non-comparing Mike-fan, I find him here to be compared with composers as Beethoven, Mahler as well as Vangelis and J.M.Jarre and so on. The arrangements truly take you away to dreamland... Best parts are the whole first part, Tattoo and Altered State. Maybe the cowboyish last theme is a little too small for ending such a major composition, and the great Reprise of The Bell as played on the 1992 Edinburgh concert should be more suitable. But that's just a minor minority. GREAT MUSIC!!!

Tubular Bells II has the same structure as the classic Tubular Bells, but is even better, written by a more mature artist. The first track Sentinel, pulls you in with a piano rendition of the theme, then, after an exciting few minutes, comes to a climax, and then finishes with a wonderfully romantic version of the theme. The Bell has a master of ceremonies part, where the instruments are introduced, then a bout of tubular bells, and finishes with a single, perfect, ideal, acoustic guitar. Weightless is beautiful, with a few stunning piano notes, and Altered State is fun, with grunting then a short,precise guitar solo. Mike's best.

Mike Oldfield has completely eclipsed his original Tubular Bells album with this exquisite release!Played with a subtle yet obvious(as mike can only do)reminder of his original seminal and hugely influential Tubular Bells album,Mr.Oldfield has created the truly ultimate New Age album!With this,the father of New Age has shown us all how it should really be done.His absolute mastery of music and it's effect on the human condition is fully captured on this must have disc for music lovers! Do not let this one slip through your senses!

This is a fantastic musical sojourn that should not be viewed as a rehash of anything. Melodies abound. Listen and listen again.
I am a rocker and fingerstyle acoustic guitarist. Some new-age reviewers are sickeningly pompous as if their false elitism disallows recognition of good work. Again, listen to the music and enjoy. Mr. Oldfield takes us on journeys to places yet visited. Textures and virtuosity, interesting layers live here. Even the tinkling piano-based recurring theme from Bells 1 is different. If discerning reviewers cannot tell one from the other, I have some basement demos I will get to you. It must be lonely on that pedestal of vitriol.

Mike Oldfield deserves some good credit for pulling this off. 1973's original Tubular Bells was an amazing instrumental work of vast influence and popularity beyond anything anyone might have expected (although this isn't the place to go into much detail about that). Nineteen years later came Tubular Bells II. This is not so much a followup as a revision, and while it touches on the same themes and structure as the first one, TBII is an entity all its own. There are passages of calm peacefulness, segments of lively sunshine and moments of dark beauty, somehow blended together as if they would belong nowhere else. Several small themes are repeated and modified throughout, in different permutations and on different instruments. This whole 59-minute work flows from beginning to end (almost) with a cohesiveness the original only hinted at.

As much as I hate to use the term, I do have to say that there's something of a new-age feeling to be found here. The percussion is minimal, the atmospheres are tinged by various synthesizers all over the place, and some occasional drum programs might make it sound a little dated. Mike's guitar work is brilliant yet tastefully understated (in keeping with the record's overall tone of light but cheerful festiveness). "Sentinel" reintroduces the original TB theme with a twisting piano treatment, subtle voice embellishments and more of that sweeeeeet guitar. "Sunjammer" is full of warm keyboards and upbeat piano, the notes seeming to revolve around each other like dust motes in a patch of sunlight.

Everything about the album is summed up in its magnificent centerpiece, "The Bell." Mike takes seven minutes to build an entire crescendo around one central bass line; giving a little enhancement here, a small addition there, then weaving a growing number of disparate instruments together into one glorious harmony - finishing, of course, with the inevitable tubular bells themselves. I could probably live without the voice announcing the instruments in turn, but the sonic eargasm of the ending makes me forget all about it.

At times I wish he didn't follow the pattern of the first Bells quite so much; the original's weird caveman growls are replaced with distorted vocal gibberish and an odd female voice repeating random phrases (unnecessary, since I'm sure "Altered State" would be simply perfect as an instrumental). The closing country hoedown is present as well, and while it was suited to TBI's bizarre all-over-the-map genre cocktail, here it's really out of place. I prefer leaving off with the slow fadeout of "Maya Gold," although anyone who doesn't like the sound of bagpipes will very likely disagree.

Tubular Bells II is a low-key instrumental work in limbo: too toned-down to be rock, too busy and soulful to be new age. It stands on its own. It's not something for everyone.. but I imagine that anyone with an ear for a nice melody, a taste for something classical-sounding and a tolerance for some small amount of cheese should find this disc worth a good few listens.

Wait - on second thought, if that description fits you, go look up Songs of Distant Earth first (which is Mike's ABSOLUTE masterpiece). Then come here next.

This CD is a must when we go on long trips. We love all of it. Such a variety! Lots of pressure at work and home, somehow this CD helps out so much. I'm anxious to receive Tubular Bells 1 and 3. What a Holiday gift for my emotionally tired husband. Especially great when volume is really at it's fullest!

An eclectic and highly satisfying follow-up to perhaps the greatest non-classical instrumental work of all-time. It's not really as good as the first album, but it's very good at what it does. What TB2 basically does is state the main melodies from the first album and then expand upon them - using them as a kind of sonic color pallette and a launching pad from which to explore further into the musical stratosphere. Some of the music is fairly similar to that on the original album, but there are also a myriad differences, as there is less new age influence, and more of the slight techno-powered stuff that is to be found on Mike's other 90's albums, but this is better than most of those albums. The whole album flows as one continuous piece, so there's no use in pointing out individual standout tracks, however the opening piece The Sentinel (which along with Sunjammer shows that Oldfield had an Arthur C. Clarke fixation-both songs are titles of ACC short stories-before he wrote The Songs of Distant Earth) is a very, very, very good intro piece, which can actually be classed as one of Mike's best-ever "songs." A highly recommended album for those of you who loved the original.