Tubular bells... Anyone remember that music?

[Outbackjack]

I stumbled across an un opened CD today... Mike Oldfeild: Tubular Bells. I have never played that album through my new HT system , so I thought that I would give it a burl... what a revelation. This CD should be on everyone's list. It should be taken into your favourite hi fi shop and played on any hard ware that you might be considering buying.... I cranked up the volume a little and discovered that my relatively new amp is not up to the job. At any volume that is a little "loud" it over heats and shuts down..... Very poor Mr Yamaha...

But in any case What an album!!!

[Bushbasher]

Yup, Mike Oldfield. Have a copy of it somewhere that I've had since the early 80s'.

Go look for Jeff Waynes double CD War of the Worlds.

[Vekgib]

Without a doubt, one of the greatest albums.To think that he was only 20 when he unleashed this, as well as the fact that it was recorded in one night, IIRC, only adds to its timeless beauty and power.
"Incantations" was another great Mike Oldfield album worthy of a listen.

[brismike]

Try to get a hold of the Mike Oldfield DVD where he plays in Berlin on Millenium Eve (1999>2000). Awesome concert where he, and his awesome musician friends, play bits of Tubular Bells live. (Checkout the blonde female bass player on the five string electric bass). The man is a genius and has put out many, many awesome albums over the years, most of which I have.

[93EB_SXR6]

Yes, it's a good one. At age 12 I started collecting "vinyls" and Tubular Bells was one of the first I received.
Sounds amazing through a quality hi-fi system.

[Outbackjack]

Originally Posted by Bushbasher

Yup, Mike Oldfield. Have a copy of it somewhere that I've had since the early 80s'.

Go look for Jeff Waynes double CD War of the Worlds.

image

Totally agree, I have that on CD somewhere and on vinyl.... I am seriousy thinking about a turntable... the number og 200gm vinyl recordings that are available seems to point towards a resurgance of the humble, but, superior old black disks....

[nikko2]

Mandolin

[Syndrome]

Only knew about this album when I read the Richard Branson biography. Was tubular bells really that good?

[Outbackjack]

Originally Posted by Syndrome

Only knew about this album when I read the Richard Branson biography. Was tubular bells really that good?

An album were the only real vocals are in what sounds like Klingon.... yep its good. I'm not too sure how most of todays music listeners would take it. But to lots is a real classic.

[Outbackjack]

Originally Posted by nikko2

Mandolin

Two slightly distorted guitars.....

[Legit290]

And introducing

[Outbackjack]

Originally Posted by clarkey117

And introducing

Acoustic guitar...

[brismike]

Music from Tubular Bells was also used in the movie "The Exorcist" which assisted in it becoming famous and a hit.

Richard Branson owes a lot to Mike Oldfield. Back then Branson was the owner of a fledgling record label called Virgin Records. It was going nowhere until Mike Oldfield came to him with "Tubular Bells" which had been rejected by other record labels. On Virgin it was a massive hit in 1972 and Virgin Records never looked back. Branson of course went on to bigger and better things.

[gcg2503]

One of my favourite tracks.

[Burnout]

Listening to the original vinyl, there is so much noise.
It was said that Oldfield recorded Tubular Bells I in his kitchen and played most of the instruments himself using the overlay system on a muti-track tape recorder.
The first time I listened to that recording in 1972 it was through a pair of Altec-Lansing A7X speakers in big W boxes.
The background was very obvious.
I have copies of Tubular Bells I, II and III.
Most of Oldfield’s stuff is on youtube too. For example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHAxjxJaw-g

[Kevxr8Leexr6]

Oh Dear. I have a double album Amerok and tubular bells and I was too embarrassed to play it after the kids told me its drug music . lol.

[LG17]

I used to have it - bought it when it first came out but like all of my vinyl it went with the ex other half!

[Lukeyson]

I have it on CD and SACD.

I remember as a kid in Sydney (early 80s) that 2DAY FM used to play it as an 'oldie'.
They wouldn't be caught dead playing quality like that anymore hey ........ :(

[Dash_XR]

Desert Island, one album.

Everyone hates on number two but that was the one I grew up with. They are both brilliant.

[MercurySilver]

old lady had it on album i reckon
written at 20yo and recorded in a night

zing zing i reckon
like most good albums were written on the gear back then lol

[Nanoraptor]

Cripes, there's my childhood all over again. Mike Oldfield... and Jean-Michel Jarre, Kraftwerk, Vangelis, Tangerine Dream.

The ending to Oldfield's Incantations IV too - whoa.

[Bill M]

I too am a fairly recent fan of this album and musician. (since 2008)
One of my co-workers would download music via bearshare and burn it to CD and bring it to work to play, once I heard it I had to have it!
Great post!

[anolade]

dad had tubular bells on LP but back didn't make much sense no real vocals in it, now older we can enjoy and crank it right up but not on the decent sound system it deserves does leave modern music feeling sparce and naked;

[Bushbasher]

If you want something to really test out your sound system go look for an album called Re-Entry by a band called White Noise. Google the name David Vorhaus and White Noise III and you'll find it. There are 2 points on the album where the base is so low and intense, to mimic a rocket launch, that on a top shelf sound system you won't so much hear it as feel it cos it'll rattle the walls.
A mate copied it from vinyl to the best,(at the time), Memorex metal cassette tape he could find and then took it into one of the big HiFi stores in Adelaide, Douglas HiFi I think, and cranked it up on a top end stereo and it made everything on all the shelves rattle. The panicked look on the faces of the sales guys and other customers, who thought there was an earthquake for a moment, was priceless.

Bushbasher

[Outbackjack]

Originally Posted by Bushbasher

If you want something to really test out your sound system go look for an album called Re-Entry by a band called White Noise. Google the name David Vorhaus and White Noise III and you'll find it. There are 2 points on the album where the base is so low and intense, to mimic a rocket launch, that on a top shelf sound system you won't so much hear it as feel it cos it'll rattle the walls.
A mate copied it from vinyl to the best,(at the time), Memorex metal cassette tape he could find and then took it into one of the big HiFi stores in Adelaide, Douglas HiFi I think, and cranked it up on a top end stereo and it made everything on all the shelves rattle. The panicked look on the faces of the sales guys and other customers, who thought there was an earthquake for a moment, was priceless.

Bushbasher

I vaguely remember that music. I just has a look around and it would appear to be almost impossible to get now... As far as speakers go I have a pair of Martin Logan Montis hybrids... I haven't heard anything that they cant handle yet. There are a couple of CD's called "the planets" and "the kosmos" they run some amazing bass lines as well. Strangly enough one of those has a rocket launching....

[black13]

So many stand out releases back then. Another fav of mine is fanfare for the common man http://youtu.be/fK92hdp6u18, I still have albums of some of these great bands ......... the memories

[zilo]

Brings back memories of the 70's.

It's dope party music, when we were all much younger that was, we would get off our faces and listen to that kind of early vinyl synthetic stuff with it repeating over and over cause the arm on the auto changer was unhooked and no one had the strength to get up and change it....


Enigma was another good album btw.

[2011G6E]

Originally Posted by Bushbasher

Yup, Mike Oldfield. Have a copy of it somewhere that I've had since the early 80s'.

Go look for Jeff Waynes double CD War of the Worlds.

image

Awesome...I have the LP's (with the beautiful artwork book inside), the cassettes, and the CD's which came with a small artbook...not as good as the LP one though. There was a fairly famous custom panel van many years back that had that painting in a large mural along the side of it, the one from the album cover with the Martian war machine turning its heat ray on an ironclad...the painting was called "Death of the Thunderchild".

Tubular Bells was a pretty big hit back in the day. A lot of Oldfield stuff was.

[Sox]

Originally Posted by Nanoraptor

Cripes, there's my childhood all over again. Mike Oldfield... and Jean-Michel Jarre, Kraftwerk, Vangelis, Tangerine Dream.

The ending to Oldfield's Incantations IV too - whoa.

Don't forget Alan Parsons.

I might have to dig out my copy of Tubular Bells tonight...

[snowcone]

Mike Oldfield - tubular bells III - far above the clouds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpJMOb4TZGc
Turn the volume up LOUD for this one