Customer Reviews

Tubular Bells

5 star:		(71)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Back in college, one of the guys in the dorm used to play this VERY LOUD, so that it echoed all through the Quad. Somehow, I rather enjoyed it more in the solitude and exclusivity of a pair of headphones, the sounds just traversing throughout through my head.

This was a thick piece of music. It throbbed, in a rather sensual way. It rose into peaks and dove into valleys. Mike Oldfield took a bunch of instruments, (some electronically created, some all the way live), and melded them together. The last third of the title cut starts with a bass guitar, and starts an inexorable, growing orchestra. He introduces and adds one instrument at a time to create a huge wave of sound.

I love it.

The remastering of this classic makes a huge improvement. My only gripe is that they kept the ending of the first album release, and didn't restore Mike Oldfield's original intended ending.

The album was supposed to end with a drunken version of the Sailor's Hornpipe recorded live one morning, with semi-coherent commentary by Vivian Stanshall. That's the version on "Boxed", and I so wish it was the version on this release--so much so that I edited my own version by combining the two.

This elderly recording has an earnestness and heart that shines through the limited recording technology available; warts and all, it's a better album than the 2003 re-recording.

I first heard the 4-minute (Highly edited) cut of the beginning of "Tubular Bells Part 1" on the "Pure Moods" compilation. I later saw "The Exorcist" and found that the movie used the song as well. When I got the CD I didn't realize that the whole thing (parts 1 and 2) was almost 50 minutes long. And I LOVED it!!! This is one of the most eclectic musical masterpieces of all time. Covering the range from rock to classical to funk to ambient and back like a frantic marathon runner, this is a true original piece of music. Mike Oldfield has melded the genres of rock and classical unlike any other. Only the progressive greats like Yes, King Crimson, Emerson Lake & Palmer, and Pink Floyd have succeeded at such eccentricity and even then, this truly a different and original musical masterpiece! A classic!!!

I'll get the bad stuff over with first. It all occurs in Part 2 as Part 1 is flawless. Part 2 does fine up to the point of the Scottish march which has the unsurprising ability to put people like myself to sleep. It's just so boring and dry. Then comes the infamous "Caveman" section. It's not bad but the grunting could have been left out and we would have been left with a fairly decent piece of rock music. The rest up until approx. 2mins before the end is simply some of the most beautiful and inspiring music you'll ever hear. It could have left it at that and had a wonderful finish to a remarkable piece of music. But no, Mike Oldfield decided to ruin it by playing Sailor's Hornpipe, a piece of music so out of place with Tubular Bells it may as well have come from Mars. It's a terrible ending which is why i always stop it before it comes on. So there are two really bad bits and one not so bad bit. The good bits are everything else. Part 1 is probably the greatest single piece of rock music ever composed. I know not many will agree with me, fair enough. Nobody I know (apart from my father) can sit through this 25min masterpiece. If I'm to single out the standout piece in Part 1 it's when the basses kick at approx. 17mins 20secs. Play it through a decent hi-fi and I swear you'll never hear bass like it. That continues until 19mins 47secs when we hear the MC, Viv Stanshall annonce Grand Piano. And so on until the music reaches the title instrument of the piece. Apparently, Mike Oldfield got the idea for the title of Tubular Bells when he heard the title being announced dramatically by Viv. It's a suitable climax to a brilliant piece of music. I usually put it on when I want to listen to something without having to concentrate on lyrics or when I just want to chill out. I was surprised by all the negative reviews but I know this is not for everyone. Can't say much about the album technically except the bass towards the end of part 1 tends to get distorted and fuzzy if played through a hi-fi with heavy bass. It's not half as bad as the bass in Tubular Bells 2003 which sounds like it was played by a robot. Avoid the 2003 version if you like the original as it is. Highly recommended

As a kid, I remember watching the movie "The Exorcist" and falling in love with it's theme music. Years later (like 1997) I was browsing a CD store's racks and came across "Orchestral Tubular Bells". I ran home to play it and fell in love with it. Finally, browsing through Amazon.com's music section, I search for Tubular Bells and came across what I now realize is the TRUE theme music from the movie. Mike Oldfield, in my opinion, borders on genious. He provides so many different moods within these 2 cuts it's absolutely amazing. Considering I was accustomed to an orchestra (Philadelphia Philharmonic) performing these pieces, Oldfield's original is fantastic. Orchestral has a deeper sounds, but obviously with more instruments. It's a must buy if you like Oldfield, the movie or classical music.

The fact is, I'm not really rating the record, but the music itself. The record is, to say, crude. Okay, agree or not, it REALLY sounds crude at times. Read the bio of Mike Oldfield and you will understand that Mike, at the time of recording TB, had unprofessional studio equipment, and was still lacking experience as a professional. But the music that he had made up is really a timeless masterpiece. The 1973 record, even remastered, TODAY doesn't really allow you to appreciate it. Take the Exposed Tubular Bells for instance. (live) It really blows me away. The Orchestral Tubular Bells are really enjoyable, and the recent remake (re-recording) the Tubular Bells 2003 is what I've been looking for. It's like Beethoven's symphony played by a more qualified orchestra. It makes the difference. Although, I enjoy listening to the original record because of the feeling it gives you. A huge part of history of classical rock music, that had frenzied half of the world at that time and made a quiet boy a star.

If you are a stereo geek, or are very paranoid about quality, don't buy this record. Buy Tubular Bells 2003.

I first heard this in the Mid-70s and have loved it from then until now. It has been 15 years since I heard it, and the CD was beautiful. It was great.

I was just a teen when my older brother played the record "Tubular Bells" for me. As a fan of Classical Rock type of music, I was thought this was a wild yet mellow album. In 2002, I put together a list of my albums I would like to replace with CD's. Tubular Bells was on the list with about 400 other albums. I have been doing this as well as I can with money and availibility of the CD's. I have just arrived at Tubular Bells and am happy to say the sound quality of the CD enhances the listening pleasure of this CD over the album. In some CDs, there seems to be something lost in the recording, not with this one.

I first heard this music, late one night in my room, when I was 17 years old, the same age as Mike Oldfield when he wrote this. This was in the days of 'Album rock', and when I first heard that haunting melody, and then the war and play of the Dark , almost demonic sound, and the Light bursting forth triumphant; in my mind a horse and a knight and a lady come suddenly into a clearing and see the castle glistening in the clear morning sunlight...the weirdness, ...like this was a musical message from another place, another era, another world...where did this glorious music come from that held so perfectly the dark and the light? I immediately knew, at that tender age, that there was a lot more to 'reality' that I andeveryone had thought...and young Mike O., had somehow channelled this music through the pain of his adolescence.... Ommadawn was even better, taking music to a building exotic spiritual climax...Tubular Bells II,...hopeful, happy, optimistic, with still a little daemonic energy thrown in...TB III, the most incredible orgiastic climax ever, building to that enormous metallic/resonating strike of the Bell, like the biggest bell on earth, on the top of the mountain...the soundtracks to my life...wherever Mike gets his stuff (I don't believe his personality writes his music, but rather, some greater part of reality comes through him, and his person is a fantastic instrument---guitar-player...)

What! wonderful music! There's none other out there like Mike Oldfield...

Like one of the other reviewers of this album, I had first heard "Tubular Bells pt. 1" on the 'Pure Moods' CD. Although it was drastically edited, I loved it just the same. Of course, being that I had never heard it before, I didn't know that it was edited. I enjoyed the 'Pure Moods' CD so much, that I went ahead and started a new collection consisting of all the artists that donated their music to the 'Pure Moods' CD. Mike Oldfield is a master musician. When I heard "Tubular Bells pt. 1" in it's entirety, I was in awe. It was like nothing I had ever heard before. The 25 minute duration just flies by. And before ya know it, part 2 is playing. Although part 2 really freaked me out the first 8 or 9 times that I played it, I've grown used to that monstrous vocal track layered throughout the tune. All in all, this CD is a MUST HAVE whether you like The Exorcist or not... (I also highly recommend 'Tubular Bells II' & 'Tubular Bells III')