Product Description

Debut album from instrumental wonderkid Mike Oldfield, the first million seller for both Oldfield and his label boss Richard Branson. The eerie music was used to great effect in the film 'The Exorcist' and remains synonymous with it still.Apart from Vivian Stanshall, who announces the instruments as they appear, every note was played by Oldfield himself.

Track Listing

1. Tubular Bells

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #630 in Music
• Released on: 2000-05-29
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 49 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The opening bars of this classic album by Mike Oldfield were heard by audiences that packed theatres to witness one of the scariest films of all time--The Exorcist. And it wasn't long before this debut release, not only from Oldfield but also from Richard Branson's new record label, Virgin, found itself in the upper echelons of pop charts around the world. Primarily an instrumental album, with performances on almost every instrument credited to Oldfield, it takes the listener into widely varying musical territories, ending as Viv Stanshall formally announces each instrument as it joins the mix. --Paul Clark

Customer Reviews

Maybe you were really looking for Parsifal?
Amazon, for some reason, has suggested to me that I might want to buy this.

Ah no.

If you are really desperate to hear tubular bells, can I suggest a good recording of Parsifal? It has the virtue of being, if only subjectively, shorter.

This is how music should be
Alone amongst the arts, music has the ability to reach inside our weather beaten shells, grab our soul by the scruff of the neck and beat us to death in a darkened room. This album does just that. Stick it in the CD player, turn off the lights and be transported.

From the quiet, mesmerising start to the glorious finish Oldfield weaves in all sorts of themes and rythmns, whirling them around in sublimely a co-ordinated composition. The whole thing last over 45 mins and you never once get bored. The fact that he was only 19 and yet managed to play dozens of instruments from the guitar to the percussion, without it being really dreadful, speaks volumes.

Sure it was created in a hurry by people who didn't know what they were doing. But they sure learned fast. Yes, it has odd, sometimes crazed bits, but no the Sailor's Hornpipe is not just 'tacked on'. Oldfield had a party trick in his folk days - playing the Hornpipe faster and faster - and it is brilliant, it ends the album on a high.

Incidently, why this man has been not being knighted escapes me, especially when you think of some of the muppets from the music world that get gongs. But then politicians don't have souls so will not appreciate this delight!

Buy it. Buy it now , don't be a politician - feed your soul!

Grand Piano!
For a teenager to compose and record an album of this scale, playing every instrument himself, is quite an astonishing achievement and is something of a lost art these days. How many multi instrumentalists of this quality exist today?
Tubular Bells was the inaugural release on Richard Branson's fledging Virgin label in 1973 and is still arguably that label's biggest seller. It also started a trio of epic instrumental works that would continue with 'Hergest Ridge' in 1974 and end with 'Ommadawn' the following year.
Strangely, I prefer the flowing seamless music on the next two albums to 'Tubular Bells', which flits from one musical theme to the next with an almost jerky agitation. Having said that the music on offer is of alarming quality.
The opening sequence of 'Part 1' is still a haunting piece, used to great effect of course on 'The Exorcist'. The rest of the track is a good blend of folk and rock with uplifting acoustic guitar one minute, and thrashy electric guitar the next. The closing sequence is an entertaining melody which sees looney tunes Viv Stanshall introduce a diferent instrument each couple of bars in a tongue in cheek master of ceremonies role. It's an amusing idea, which unfortunately, outstays it's welcome by the end.
'Part 2' is a more relaxing, 'chilled out' piece, only really interrupted by the 'beast voice' section which sees Oldfield let rip with some top lead guitar. The whole thing ends bizarrely, with a version of 'The Sailor's Hornpipe'.
'Tubular Bells' is a unique, singular work by a hugely talented composer and musician. Ironically, the uneducated see Oldfield as a keyboardist, when he is arguably, one of the most talented guitar players this country has ever produced, with an amazingly distinctive playing style.
As I mentioned before, I prefer the more pastoral sound of the next album, and the more 'world music' feel of 'Ommadawn' to 'Tubular Bells', which doesn't flow as well and is perhaps guilty of being a tad too long but it's still terrific stuff, even 35 years later.