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Olivier Group: Super Admins Posts: 1868 Joined: Nov. 1999 Posted: April 30 2003, 12:49 www.mikeoldfield.org has 2 reviews of Tubular Bells 2003 (thanks, James Steele). On May 7, 2 new reviews have been added. Back to top

christopher Group: Members Posts: 270 Joined: Nov. 1999 Posted: April 30 2003, 14:53 The two reviews seemed more like criticism than a review!!  They really didn't tell us much except for Paul to tease us with the knowledge we already know - Tubular Bells 2003 LImited Edition Double - available at Amazon.de - which undoubtedly contain the demo tapes from the original.  and further in Paul's review he goes on about the piltdown man section and how it might be different, but refuses to tell us anything.   In Chris' review he criticises the album through out and like I had said from the very get-go - this is a marketing suicide on Mike Oldfield's part and will probably loose him all his creditablity.  But, who knows, the media might truely surprise us all and take it to heart and give great reviews.   Aside from telling us what we already know guys... with all do respect you told us nothing we don't already know! In retrospect I am still looking forward to this re-recording because it will be more like TB2 - happy and cheerful with it's dark moments as compared to dark moments with some happy highlights as in the original 1973 version.  You can't really go back and make something as you intended for it sound because your mind is in a different state as apposed to a 19yo Oldfield who was troubled.   My only hope for Mike Oldfield is with having accomplished what he wanted to do in the first place - and that is to re-record the original - HE WILL NO LONGER MAKE ANY REFERENCES TO, ANOTHER, or ANYTHING CLOSE TO TUBULAR BELLS EVER EVER EVER AGAIN - HE WILL PUT IT IN THE GROUND, VAULT, or WHATEVER AND BARY IT FAR BELOW THE GROUND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   I really love Tubular Bells - but since becoming a fan in 1992 with the release of TB2 - all I've heard from him is Tubular Bells Tubular Bells Tubular Bells every fucking five years... PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLESAE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE STOPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!   MAKE THIS THE LAST MIKE MAKE THIS THE LAST MIKE... (keep repeating this to yourself Mike... "I WILL NEVER MAKE ANOTHER REFERENCE TO OR ANOTHER TUBULAR BELLS!" and mean it and DO NOT CHANGE YOUR MIND AGAIN... ARRRRRGGGGGG!!!!!   With getting this off my chest I can't wait to hear the RR of TB!! Christopher Back to top

James. Unregistered Posted: April 30 2003, 15:07 Not too much given away in those so called reviews then perhaps thats good to preserve our surprise on buying it. Reading between the lines It seems to have changed? I wonder. Back to top

TOBY Group: Members Posts: 1562 Joined: May 2002 Posted: April 30 2003, 15:38 Reading between the lines things don't sound very positive, not a good sign. Back to top

tubularbills Group: Members Posts: 528 Joined: Aug. 2000 Posted: April 30 2003, 16:33 It doesn't sound very positive because people only say stuff about the bad parts. I knew that they weren't going to say anything extremely exciting before i even read it, because i knew it would simply be comparing and only pointing out the parts that they didn't like. No one ever says, "Yeah! the intro sounded better than before, the quality of sound was better, etc..." . Im sure there were a few parts where they liked it, perhaps even made an eyebrow lift, but they're not going to say that. It's always easier to rip on something than to praise it, unfortunately. -------------- Terrible, Wonderful, Crazy, Perfect. Back to top

ian Group: Members Posts: 473 Joined: Nov. 1999 Posted: April 30 2003, 17:29 It was not really a review,just a summary of what the old Tubular Bells has meant for the last 30 years or so.I will still buy it as I am interested in recording technology anyway and like to listen to new production ideas. I just hope Mike goes on to producing music that used to supprise us and bring a smile on our faces like Amarok and SOTDE. Back to top

tubularbills Group: Members Posts: 528 Joined: Aug. 2000 Posted: April 30 2003, 20:01 Quote (ian @ April 30 2003, 16:29) I just hope Mike goes on to producing music that used to supprise us and bring a smile on our faces like Amarok and SOTDE. The second and third renditions of Tubular Bells (i.e. TB2 , TB3) was a nice surprise to me (and TB3 put a HUGE smile on my face). its neat to see how someone can keep a basic idea but change it slightly. Much like a theme and variation of the old time classical music. -------------- Terrible, Wonderful, Crazy, Perfect. Back to top

Blue Dolphin Group: Members Posts: 1232 Joined: Nov. 1999 Posted: April 30 2003, 21:28 Mmm... well, only 25 days to go or so... Be patient and we can hear it ourselves. I'm now listening at Amarok and i'm really getting homesick to that era of Mike (early 90's). Shall he ever make a masterpiece like that again? (in silence I hope so...) When he gives his next concert I'll be shouting "Amarok" to Mike during a silent piece. A fan in Rotterdam did the same during the 1999 tour. Everyone laughing in the building! -------------- -The mark of a good musician is to play one note and mean it- Mike Oldfield - 1980 Back to top

MusicallyInspired Group: Musicians Posts: 1445 Joined: June 2001 Posted: May 01 2003, 02:26 Yes, I too think the early 90s was his best era. TSODE, TB2, Amarok all in one. It must have been somewhere around TB2 when he fell, not that TB2 was bad or anything or even the albums after, but the albums after just didn't seem 'epic' enough to me. TSODE was the last epic. Then he made a really good, yet somehow unaccepted, calmer album Voyager. Around TB2 tho I think he went down because that's when he was exposed to Trevor Horn. And Mike himself said from then on "My problem is I have too many ideas" and said on the Elements interview that Trevor Horn was a like a judge in a court room and his 'filter' to weed out all the 'bad' parts. I think this ruined him and it got worse when he kept Trevor's 'advice' throughout his later albums and 'that Oldfield touch' was lost. Though somehow TSODE managed to slip through untouched before he went too far downhill. Maybe it was the last attempt to do something like that before he went down the road of 'simpleness.' TB3 was again another great piece but wasn't as epic as TSODE, IMO. Sure the ending and some of the themes are epic but the album as a whole doesn't feel epic. And then MB isn't epic at all. Then he just went calm and laid-back with Tr3s Lunas. Yes...I think Trevor's 'advice' is what destroyed him. I hope he can wake up and realise what happened and get back to his 'too many ideas' stage. What say you? Sorry for being *slightly* off-topic. About the comments. I think they are rather what I expected from the album already. I wish they could have told us more about the album. Like maybe a change here or there that's noticable and cool-sounding. But oh well what can ya do? -------------- BrandonBlume.com "The beauty in life is in the embracing of the variety of things. If all the world was blue there would be no colour blue." Back to top

Dali Group: Members Posts: 31 Joined: May 2002 Posted: May 01 2003, 03:57 Quote (christopher @ April 30 2003, 14:53) Tubular Bells 2003 LImited Edition Double - available at Amazon.de - which undoubtedly contain the demo tapes from the original.   Can anyone please tell me more? I cannot find this at Amazon. Is it still different from the 4-pack box set with TB 2 and 3? If so, do I have to buy a 4-pack and a double if I want to have everything? Talking about marketing... Back to top

raven4x4x Group: Members Posts: 1535 Joined: Jan. 2002 Posted: May 01 2003, 06:11 I agree, I'd hardly call those 'reviews', because they hardly mention the music at all. I won't pay too much attention to those reviews, I prefer to make judgements based on how I hear the album, and I'm going to have to wait 25 days to do that. -------------- Thank-you for helping us help you help us all. Back to top

paul@mikeoldfield.org Unregistered Posted: May 01 2003, 06:51 Contrary to some comments, I did say that the sound. amongst other things was of better quality.  My review was written to have a broader appeal, i.e. with all of the context and rationale for the re-recording, since it is likely to also be used elsewhere. Most of the album is different, it has be re-recorded for heaaven sake. It is not always, though in many cases is, a note for note reproduction.   It is as I said, how Mike intended Tubular Bells to be 30 years ago.  It is bound to be the same, yet different at the same time. Back to top

paul@mikeoldfield.org Unregistered Posted: May 01 2003, 06:55 Just as raven4x4x and I said - you'll have to listen to the album and make up your own minds... Back to top

chris@mikeoldfield.org Unregistered Posted: May 01 2003, 07:34 As fans, we will all get pleasure from listening to it, and comparing it to the original, picking out the differences and enjoying them. As I said in my review, there are differences, and I felt describing them may well have spoiled your first listen. If you agree - don't read on! I'm afraid I've just not found the album particularly exciting! Most of the album clones the original but with improved sound quality. There are differences, though - many sections have become more positive sounding, reflecting the changes in Mike's personality between then and now. Both "Latin" and "Jazz" for example, bounce along pleasantly in a way which the original didn't and unfortunately don't come close to the passion of the original. I find that John Cleese lacks the presence of Viv Stanshall, or Rick Wakeman - he makes too much of a joke of it all (but without being particularly funny, ie questioning "double speed guitar?"), the caveman section sounds very tame compared to the rawness of the original, and the whole album suffers from the Trevor Horn type precision that removes the character of the much loved classic. The main point of my review is that anyone outside our relatively small circle of enthusiasts will probably not realise its any different musically, and the benefits of improved sound quality are relatively minor for me. Sorry to say it, but given the choice of which version to play tomorrow, the original will win hands down. It has far more presence, atmosphere, raw passion and character. It is absolutely unique, and just couldn't be improved. Back to top

timshen Group: Members Posts: 684 Joined: Mar. 2001 Posted: May 01 2003, 09:49 The extent to which we like TB2003 or not will probably depend on how we perceive the original TB1973. Personally, i've always found the original a bit boring in parts and a bit imperfect (which for others is the beautiful thing about it). For me, it has always been inferior to the rest of his earlier work (please note - this is my personal opinion). So, i'm looking forward to this brighter , more positive re-recording with all the out-of-tune parts in tune at last.   -------------- Expect Great Things. Attempt Great Things. Back to top

chris@mikeoldfield.org Unregistered Posted: May 01 2003, 10:15 Quote (timshen @ May 01 2003, 09:49) please note - this is my personal opinion It's kind of obvious, but good to say it - there's no definitive answer, just lots of different opinions. It's a good thing that not everyone will share mine on this one!   Back to top

TOBY Group: Members Posts: 1562 Joined: May 2002 Posted: May 01 2003, 12:13 The bit about Cleese doesn't sound to good and not very suprising really, it's the one bit that could have been so easily ruined and it sounds like it has. I don't like the Trevor Horn comparison aswell, doesn't sound promising. It has to be said this whole thing about the poor production of TB has gotten way over exagerated both by it's creator and some fans. You'd think by the way some people (and Mike) spoke about it TB was recorded on a crappy four track in Mike's bedroom, certainaly when I put TB on my stereo it's not the crap production that leaps out, its how warm it sounds and thats what I think this rerecording's fundamentaly got going against it. Who but Mike and a handfull of fans will actually apreciate the difference? Is anybody really that interested beyond the fanbase? The whole thing now sounds like an even bigger exersise in Mike's self indulgance than I originaly thought. The critics will just slam it for being yet another TB album (if indeed they care, I notice a few of the June music mags are out now without even an add for the new album far less a review) and most of the fans will by the sounds of things prefer the original, which to be fair and honest was always going to be the case anyway. It sounds like this whole thing is just going to add weight to fans (myself included) dissolutioned with Mike's output. May 26th looks to me like it's shaping up to be the biggest non-event in Mike's career. The only bit of this project I'm looking forward to is the Tube World. I'll go out and buy this recording and hear for myself but I get the feeling I share the same sensibilities as our friends at DarkStar so I'll treat this rerecording as a 30th aniversary novelty and lookforward to Mike's (hopefully soon) next proper album. Back to top

Thomas Unregistered Posted: May 01 2003, 12:39 The back of the cover show a sign "copy protected". Please tell me this isn't true! I don't have a cd-player, only a PC to play cd's. If it's copy protected, this will be the first MO album I'm not going to buy. Back to top

Tati The Sentinel Group: Members Posts: 3360 Joined: Feb. 2002 Posted: May 01 2003, 13:10 Quote (Guest @ May 01 2003, 10:34) I find that John Cleese lacks the presence of Viv Stanshall, or Rick Wakeman - he makes too much of a joke of it all (but without being particularly funny, ie questioning "double speed guitar?")(...) , and the whole album suffers from the Trevor Horn type precision that removes the character of the much loved classic. Two questions: 1.Why Wakeman,if he had been the MC, the result could have been better?  Rick is very funny,IMHO,but he doesn´t like Mike at all. 2.Trevor Horn type precision seems to me that Tubular Bells 2003 = new Tubular Bells II ? -------------- "But it's always the outsider, the black sheep, that becomes the blockbuster." - Mike Oldfield, 2014 "I remember feeling that I'd been judged unfairly and that I was going to prove them wrong." - Peter Davison, 2011 Back to top

TOBY Group: Members Posts: 1562 Joined: May 2002 Posted: May 01 2003, 13:29 I think he meant Alan Rickman who did the MCing on TB2. Back to top

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