Search - Mike Oldfield, Sally Oldfield :: Tubular Bells 2003

Tubular Bells 2003 - do not treat it like a brand new album!

Mike Chadwick | Gdynia,Poland | 08/28/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Well it is very hard to judge TB 2003. I must say after comparing TB from 1973 with a new version that i prefer Older one. Why? it was spontanic. It was romantic, Melancholic and full of heart. Mike was using only few guitars (for those who do not know it was Fender telecaster, Fender precision bass and one acoustic and classical guitar) and not so many instruments as you may though. Mandolins and some of other sounds were created using Electric guitar mixed and changed in studio to sound like, let's say, bagpipes. In 1973 mike was not a superstar and a well known genius player. He was just lucky guy with a huge talent who had an opportunity to record in a professional Studio his own ideas and melodies. It was all very spontanic...In seventies his music was full of passion and very personal ("ommadawn", "Hergest ridge"), while when he joined more mainstream style of music ("Moonlight shadow") he became a superstar with a lot of money, but with no really original concepts for his new records. yes i agree, "Five miles out" or "Islands" are a brilliant works too, but looking back to seventies it was nothing compared to emotional bombs that "Ommadawn" and other albums were. The music slowly was loosing it's soul. With "Amarok" he proved that he can still compose such a genius music like TB, but later he mostly made mechanic (in real sense - all of his new works were made with computers and synths) works and he lost many of his splendor and talet that he had before.I am afraid about Mike's.future "guitars" and "millenium bell" were simply some wierd mistakes and they contained only a small shadow of some of his older works. Ok, even compare it to "songs of thr Distant earth" (his best from new period) and see how piontless he had gone. "tres lunas" was not his real studio album. It contained a music to a computer game - to computer game it was originaly composed, and in a computer game it sounds the best. those cyberspace stuff just don't work now.TB 2003 is Very good album.Very good! But only if you forgot that he recorded the same thirty years ago.
i felt satisfied when i heard the BASS along with main piano motive in first miute.in 1973 it sounded thiny and quiet, now it blows of your subwoofer. the sound is crystal clear and without any noises. But with those changes, the magic of original Tubular bells had vanished. In some parts you could heard Mike's fingers sliding on his guitar, now it is all so crystal-clear perfect, without any sound flaws.
I heard that he is planing to Re-record "OMMADAWN" and "HErgest ridge. for music - 4 STARS
for idea - 2 STARSfor all - 3,5 STARS..."

Excellent re-make, excellent surround mix

Rick | NC | 05/14/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"With this 2003 re-recording of Tubular Bells, Oldfield stays totally faithful to the original arrangements, not changing anything (except for the use of John Cleese at the end). Listening to this, it's sort of akin to listening to a performer doing a live performance of an old classic when they remain faithful to the original recording but everything sounds better due to newer recording technology, and this, of course is a new studio re-working, not a live performance so it's really immaculate-sounding. As for the 5.1 mix on the DVD-A, it is wonderful: you'll hear this work in an entirely new light. Highly recommended as a fine new companion piece to the original."

Yes, re-repeat but a must

Julian Guitron | Cincinnati, OH, USA | 02/28/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, we're all aware that there are several versions of TBI out there, however I strongly feel that if there could only be one other than the original, THIS IS IT!I consider myself a diehard fan, owning 21 of MO's records. To me all of them have a very special musical "moment" that make him the genious his is. I first knew about MO though Voyager. I was so excited about the feeling it brought up in me that I got the best of and from there I got all his CDs as my tast for his music grew stronger, to the point where I can say that he is my all time favorite musician.I have to confess that when I finally made it to the original TBI I liked it but not nearly as much as I like many of his other records. Even though I found many out-of-this-world "moments" there was something that kept it from being one of my favorites. On the other hand TBII has been the TOP CD for me almost from the beginning.WHY IT IS WORTH IT in my opinion: for those of you that love TBII, TBIII as well as AMK, OMD and IncanT, the RE-RECORDING of TBI brings on the classic MO SOUND of, particularlly, his GUITARS. Hearing TBI with such a clear difference in quality of sound is AWESOME and immediately makes you appreciate many more "moments" in this classic CD. Secondly, the fact that the CD is DIVIDED in tracks is much more significant than it seems. The original one is just two very long pieces and if you are not willing to just HUNT for a particular moment that cought your attention and scroll for a good while with the FWD button, you usually have to hear the entire piece from the beginning. NOW you can very easily adv or rev through tracks and FOCUS more on specifica parts. You might no have much time to sit down and go through the whole piece, so now you just jump to track 7 or 8 for example and start enjoing.SUMMARY: specially for those of you that have a strong love for TBII, AMK, INC, OMD, this is the perfect version of TBI that will put this CD on top of your own charts!!!!"