01	Tubular Bells (Part One)						25:29
	02	Tubular Bells (Part Two)						23:20

Original version.

Bob Eichler:
This is another album I picked up after seeing several people praising it on rec.music.progressive. It's a decent album, but I'm not sure if it deserves the "classic" status that has grown up around it. The opening musical pattern is probably the most instantly recognizable riff of prog rock, but seems to drag on for too long. The rest of the disc has its moments (I like the part where different instruments are named as they are added to the mix, one by one), but in general the whole thing kind of goes by without leaving much of an impression on me. All in all, the album has grown on me a little since I first bought it, but I don't think it's ever going to be one of my favorites.

Sean McFee:
This was the release that launched the Virgin label as well as Oldfield's career. As can be expected, the music lives up to the impact it had. The opening theme will be familliar to those who have seen The Exorcist, as it was used as the soundtrack for said movie. It is a theme both simple and complex, with minimal themes played together on piano and organ to produce a polyrhythmic effect. The track doesn't stay in this creepy mood, though, moving through Oldfield's usual alternations of pastoral simplicity, building tension and energetic disruption of this tension which usually leads into a whole new theme.
Oldfield is the one of the premiere multi-instrumentalists of prog, and it's perhaps more fair to compare others to him than vice versa. Still, for those who are looking for a comparison, both Clearlight and Pekka Pohjola come to mind, although both are similar more in approach than in results, perhaps.
I'm a big fan of Oldfield, and recommend this album without hesitation. Most of his work isn't really for people who require the high energy levels of prog subgenres like fusion or prog-metal, but I think anyone with enough patience can learn to appreciate and value these albums.

Joe McGlinchey:
This is your archetypal (and most commercially successful, to my knowledge) Mike Oldfield prog album: a mammoth-scaled construction featuring recurring intricate musical themes, mood shifts, and time changes. Think a harder-edged Anthony Phillips solo album without the track separations. Oldfield is also prone to some droll humor throughout: in this case, a proggified modernization of Benjamin Britten's "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" with dry HAL-like voiceover; an out-of-left-field quotation of "Sailors' Hornpipe"; and various silly vocal growlings. I like Oldfield's work when he makes these types of albums, though they're also not quite at the top of my list. An acquired taste, but Tubular Bells is certainly a good starting point if you don't own any of his albums.

Eric Porter:
Multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield's crowning achievment (at least in terms of popularity). The music was used in the film The Exorcist, but I do not think it was specifically written for the movie. I have great respect for Oldfield and his obvious talent. This is probably one of the major influences on modern new age music. Though this CD is approaching 30 years old much of it still stands up. The music has a trance like quality, lots of keyboards, with other instruments being added to create layers of sound. One thing I do not care for is the awful distorted guitar sound Oldfield uses. I guess I am used to the smooth, thick, highly sustained overdrive sound, his tone sounds dry and flat. The section approaching the end of "Part 1" where he introduces the instruments is rather painful to listen to, adding a cheesy element. The disc is broken up into parts one and two and runs about 50 minutes. I plan on trying some of his other stuff, but I think if you like Tangerine Dream or bands of that ilk, this should be up your alley.


conrad

Tubular Bells is Mike Oldfield's Citizen Kane. While some people may prefer one or two of his later works, none of these have ever received the widespread acclaim of his debut effort. Indeed, it's an album Oldfield has found himself returning to again and again, with The Orchestral Tubular Bells, Tubular Bells II, Tubular Bells III, The Millenium Bell and (wait for it) The Best of Tubular Bells.
Although this album technically has only two tracks, each taking up one side of a vinyl record, each track is really a series of different pieces tacked on one after the other. The joins are all rather smooth though, mostly owing to the sparse nature of the pieces.

The almost minimalist nature of the music is exemplified by the music seventeen minutes into track one. A bass guitar plays a simple riff with a subtle organ backing. The chord sequence, which resembles a twelve bar blues pattern but isn't, is repeated for two and a half minutes with just these two instruments. We are then informed of the introduction of a grand piano by a voice that's perfectly modulated for radio. The piano introduces us to the tune and more instruments are added one on top of the other each being announced by the same voice. The piece climaxes with the introduction of the tubular bells, and there you have it. Oldfield's Bolero.

Tubular Bells is progressive rock starting to go New Age, but avoiding the later pitfalls of the New Age genre. The musical themes are strong and thoroughly explored. This album is a necessity for the prog rock fan, unless you get bored easily.








Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells


Creating the bells
Michael Gordon Oldfield was born in Reading, England in 1953. At the age of 13 he dropped out of school to start a musical career - first with his sister Sally, and later with Kevin Ayers, with whom he played guitar and bass. At the age of 17 Mike was already putting together ideas of creating a symphonic work, similar to the large-scale compositions for full orchestra in several movements found in classical music, using a tape recorder he had borrowed from Kevin Ayers. By masking the "erase" head with a small piece of cardboard he could record more than one instrument.

Having set to work to create this music, Mike had decided to play all the instruments himself. With his natural gift for playing he had discovered that he could get a tune of almost any instrument from a glockenspiel to grand piano, a classical guitar to a Farfisa organ.
While working with Kevin Ayers Mike had often contributed to recordings made at the famous Abbey Road studios. In these studios there was a storage room that was full all kinds of instruments. By arriving early for these sessions he was able to experiment with these instruments and to incorporate new ideas and textures into his musical ideas.

After two years of reluctantly working with others, which enabled him to use the Abbey Road studios on his own, he finished a rough demo of his project, which at that time bore the name Opus One. Mike was so content with the result that he sent copies to all major record companies, all of which rejected it as not marketable.

Then came one Richard Branson. Branson ran a chain of record stores and had just finished building a recording studio in a manor house near Oxford. One of the first bands to record at that studio was a band led by soul singer Arthur Lee, in which Oldfield played bass at the time. The brief time spent at the recording studios Mike had the chance to play his tape to Branson and the other owners Tom Newman and Simon Heyworth. They loved the idea and immediately drew up a contract with Mike.


Mike spent the next few months at the Manor, recording his masterpiece which by now had been given the name Tubular Bells (after Richard Branson had spent weeks trying to find the "long metallic hanging tubes" Mike had written on his instrument wish-list without knowing the actual name for it). During the sessions he played over 20 instruments and more than 2,000 tape overdubs were made.


After the recording sessions Mike and Richard took the completed Tubular Bells to the Musical Industry Trade Fair, MIDEM in Cannes in January 1973. No one showed interest in the tapes, apart from one executive from the American record company Mercury, who said: "Slap some vocals on it and I'll give you $20,000"
They realised they weren't getting anywhere and after two days they put a sign on their stand: "VIRGIN RECORDS - GONE SKIING"

Nobody showed interest in the recordings, so there was no other option left than to release the album themselves; on the new Virgin record label which Richard Branson and Simon Draper had established. The first ever release on Virgin records, V2001: Tubular Bells was released on May 25th, 1973.

The critics had difficulties defining the music and categorising it. They couldn't, yet the public took the music to their hearts. The album topped the UK charts for months and it became a wide success all over the world.

The USA was the only country where the album wasn't successful. That was, until William Friedkin used a 3-minute excerpt in his shocker movie The Excorcist. Oldfield and Branson were furious that the music had been used without permission, however the American public wondered what that haunting music at the end of the movie was. Because of the demand the 3-minute excerpt was released on single as Tubular Bells: Theme from the Excorcist which eventually boosted the sales of the album to an impressive 16 million copies.




Tolling the bells

Just like the critics in '73 I have difficulties describing the music found on Tubular Bells. It consists of one long musical piece, merely divided in two due to the limitations of vinyl.
Tubular Bells part 1 or side 1 is largely based on just one, seemingly simple piano melody (seemingly simple, as this combined 9/8 - 7/8 time signature sounds more simple than it is) which gets repeated in various themes by different instruments. This may sound boring, however Oldfield's creation immediately grabs your attention and won't let go until it is time to turn your record over to side two (thank god for the CD, which has eliminated that problem)


The finale of Side 1 consists of a melody played over and over each time by a different instrument, which is introduced by "Master of Ceremonies" Viv Stanshall. After a Grand Piano, Glockenspiel, Reed organ, Bass guitar and electric guitar the piece climaxes with the Tubular Bells. After the firing climax a serene acoustic guitar piece ends side 1.



Side 1 was recorded in 6 days, while Side 2 had taken months to record. This was because the first part had already been written when Mike arrived at the Manor studios, while the second part was mainly written in the studio, during the recording sessions. You can clearly hear this when listening to the album, as the second part is less consistent than the first. Where first side of the record is mainly one big piece, the second side is more like a collection of different, mainly calm and serene themes.

There isn't anything really happening until the 18th minute when the "caveman song" kicks in. A heavy piece with grunting lyrics which Mike and his brother Terry had written together back in 1968.
Side 2 and thus Tubular Bells ends with a traditional folk piece called Sailor's Hornpipe which results in a very original and funny ending of such a complex album.

The music on Tubular Bells can't actually be described, it can only be experienced.



Selling the bells

The huge success of Oldfield's debut resulted in an almost frantic attempt to surpass this success. A mere year after it's release Mike's follow up Hergest Ridge was presented, which followed the same concept as Tubular Bells: two 20-minute long tracks of complex instrumental music, on which Mike plays a wide range of instruments. Just like he did on his third album Ommadawn, released in 1975. And although the compositions on these two albums proved that Mike Oldfield was definitely a musician and writer with many talents, one can't deny that these albums followed the principle of Tubular Bells.

To milk the success of Tubular Bells even more, an orchestral version of the album was released in 1974, it was remixed in quadraphonic for a re-release in 1976 and the full album was featured on the 1978 live-registration Exposed. Despite these attempts, no Oldfield release came even close to the success of his '73 debut, until 1983, when his album Crisis was released. This album was a letdown for most of his hardened fans, yet the singles Moonlight Shadow and Shadow on the wall were worldwide successes. Until this date Crisis still remains the second-most successful Oldfield album.

A change of contract from Virgin to Warner in 1991 led to a re-recording of Tubular Bells as a sort of 20th anniversary. Re-united with co-producer Tom Newman Mike re-arranged Tubular Bells while staying loyal to the original melody. The result was an excellent modernised Tubular Bells, and Tubular Bells II was a modest success with over 2 million copies sold: his biggest hit since Crisis.

The Tubular Bells goldmine must have worn out by 1998, when Oldfield released Tubular Bells III, just after the remastered 25th anniversary release of the original album. TBIII didn't follow the concept of the original Tubular Bells and TBII but instead used a simplified version of the famous piano opening as a basis for two dance-tracks on the album. The rest of the tracks on the album were all based on the best parts of many of his previous works, including an almost exact copy of his 1983 smash-hit Moonlight Shadow. Where he got away with TBII, the third chapter was considered "too much" by many fans and critics.

All in all there must be over 50 official releases containing Tubular Bells in some format, not to mention the original "Bell" logo which can be found on almost every Oldfield release of the past three decades. Despite all attempts, no album has ever been nearly as successful for either Mike Oldfield, or Richard Branson's Virgin records, as that one album bearing label V2001::



by: Bart Jan van der Vorst



Tubular Bells
Date of Release 1973
Styles Progressive Electronic, Prog-Rock/Art Rock

Mike Oldfield's groundbreaking album Tubular Bells is arguably the finest conglomeration of off-centered instruments concerted together to form a single unique piece. A variety of instruments are combined to create an excitable multitude of rhythms, tones, pitches, and harmonies that all fuse neatly into each other, resulting in an astounding plethora of music. Oldfield plays all the instruments himself, including such oddities as the Farfisa organ, the Lowrey organ, and the flageolet. The familiar eerie opening, made famous by its use in The Exorcist, starts the album off slowly, as each instrument acoustically wriggles its way into the current noise that is heard, until there is a grand unison of eccentric sounds that wildly excites the ears. Throughout the album, the tempos range from soft to intense to utterly surprising, making for some excellent musical culminations. Mandolins and Spanish guitars are joined by grinding organs and keyboards, while oddball bells and cranking noises resound in the distance. In the middle of the album, guest Vivian Stanshall announces each instrument seconds before it is heard, ending with the ominous sounding tubular bells, a truly powerful and dominating instrument. The most interesting and overwhelming aspect of this album is the fact that so many sounds are conjured up yet none go unnoticed, allowing the listener a gradual submergence into each unique portion of the music. Tubular Bells is a divine excursion into the realm of new age music. — Mike DeGagne

1. Tubular Bells, Pt. 1 (Oldfield) - 25:36
2. Tubular Bells, Pt. 2 (Oldfield) - 23:20

Mike Oldfield - Organ, Guitar (Acoustic), Bagpipes, Bass, Guitar, Mandolin, Percussion, Piano, Arranger, Composer, Conductor, Flageolet, Glockenspiel, Guitar (Bass), Guitar (Electric), Keyboards, Organ (Hammond), Choir, Chorus, Multi Instruments, Producer, Engineer, Tympani [Timpani], Farfisa Organ, Honky Tonk, Spanish Guitar, Tubular Bells, Fuzz Guitar, Piano (Grand), Mando-Guitar
Jabula - Percussion
Tom Newman - Producer, Engineer
Sally Oldfield - Vocals, Choir, Chorus
Viv Stanshall - Vocals, MC
Lindsay Cooper - Bass, Oboe, String Bass
Steve Broughton - Drums
Mundy Ellis - Vocals, Choir, Chorus
Jon Field - Flute
David Glasser - Mastering
Dave Laing - Sleeve Notes
Simon Heyworth - Producer, Engineer, Mastering, Remastering
Manor Choir - Choir, Chorus
Nasal Choir - Choir, Chorus
Trevor Key - Design, Photography
Brian Aris - Photography
Jason Day - Series Coordinator

Virgin VR 13 105
CD Atlantic 90589
CD Capitol 86007
CD EMI 850733
1973 LP Virgin 13135
1973 CD Virgin CDV2001
1973 Virgin PR-13135
1973 CD Virgin 90589-2
1973 CS Virgin 90589-4
1973 CD Virgin V2-86007
1973 CS Virgin V4-86007
1990 LP Atlantic 90589
1990 CD Atlantic 90589
1992 CD Virgin 2-45041
1992 CS Reprise 4-45041
1992 CD Virgin 86007
1996 CD MD&G 6300628
2000 EMI 845658
2000 CD EMI 849388
2001 SCD Caroline 50733



Tubular Bells,
Composed By Mike Oldfield

AMG REVIEW: The stellar success of Mike Oldfield's instrumental debut album, Tubular Bells, rested on many factors, but few were so pertinent as the music's abduction for use in the opening credits of the hit movie The Exorcist.
For listeners familiar with the full album, the movie offers a disconcerting listen, a mini-medley that opens with a brusque edit of the opening passage swings briefly into the so-evocative spectral merry-go-round sequence and then dives in and out of the distorted guitar and bass sections before returning to the opening theme. Thus is the entire 40-minute experience condensed down to a little over three, but any sacrifice of tension and artistry was surely vindicated as a single of the edit, not unnaturally entitled &"Tubular Bells (Now the Original Theme From The xorcist)," soared into the American Top Ten.

Oldfield himself never saw the movie itself. "I was much too frightened to go and see it," he admitted. "Judging from what I've read in the papers, I don't wanna know. The thing nobody realizes," he continued, "is that I knew absolutely nothing at all about this." It transpired that although he was aware that an American film company wanted to excerpt Tubular Bells for a soundtrack, Oldfield himself was not even consulted before his music was grafted onto what became widely regarded as among the most horrific horror films ever made. And, while he was swift to add, "...not that I minded," one got the impression that, deep down, he did. — Dave Thompson




Mike Oldfield
Born May 15, 1953 in Reading, Berkshire, England


by Jason Ankeny

Composer Mike Oldfield rose to fame on the success of Tubular Bells, an eerie, album-length conceptual piece employed to stunning effect in the film The Exorcist. Born May 15, 1953 in Reading, England, Oldfield began his professional career at the age of 14, forming a folk duo with his sister Sally; a year later, the siblings issued their debut LP, Sallyangie. By the age of 16, he was playing bass with Soft Machine founder Kevin Ayers' group the Whole World alongside experimental classical arranger David Bedford and avant-jazz saxophonist Lol Coxhill; within months, Oldfield was tapped to become the band's lead guitarist prior to recording the 1971 LP Shooting at the Moon.

Tubular Bells, originally dubbed Opus 1, grew out of studio time gifted by Richard Branson, who at the time was running a mail-order record retail service. After its completion, Oldfield shopped the record to a series of labels, only to meet with rejection; frustrated, Branson decided to found his own label, and in 1973 Tubular Bells became the inaugural release of Virgin Records. An atmospheric, intricate composition which fused rock and folk motifs with the structures of minimalist composition, the 49-minute instumental piece (performed on close to 30 different instruments, virtually all of them played by Oldfield himself) spent months in the Number One spot on the U.K. charts, and eventually sold over 16 million copies globally. In addition to almost singlehandedly establishing Virgin as one of the most important labels in the record industry, Tubular Bells also created a market for what would later be dubbed New Age music, and won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition in 1974.

The follow-up, 1974's Hergest Ridge (named after Oldfield's retreat in a remote area of Herefordshire) also proved phenomenally successful, and dislodged Tubular Bells at the top of the British chart. With 1975's Ommadawn, he explored ambient textures and world music; however, the emergence of punk left Oldfield baffled, and he retreated from sight for three years following the LP's release. He resurfaced with 1978's Incantations. Platinum, issued a year later, kept its eye on the clubs, and featured a dance version of the Philip Glass composition "North Star." With 1980's QE 2, Oldfield moved completely away from his epic-length pieces and travelled into pop territory, a shift typified by the album's cover of ABBA's "Arrival." He continued in a pop vein for much of the 1980s, as albums like 1983's Crises, 1984's Discovery and 1987's Islands encroached further and further upon mainstream accessibility. In 1992, Oldfield teamed with producer Trevor Horn for Tubular Bells II, which returned him to the top of the U.K. charts. The Sound of Distant Earth appeared two years later, followed by a third Tubular Bells update in 1998.