MIKE OLDFIELD - Tubular Bells 2003
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Free Music Notes for Tubular Bells 2003
Free Music Review: What's the point?
Hit: 2 Stars
Mike Oldfield reaches back to the past to rehash his "Bells" for the n-th time. When Glenn Gould re-recorded the Goldberg Variations, he breathed so much new soul and new ideas into the new version. For Oldfield, the Bells have been such a cash cow that he can't let go of milking it. It speaks for the evolution of modern music that with digital precision the spirit of the music vanishes and all you get is perfect sound, polished like a Britney Spears dancedoll without much individuality or meaningful musical contribution. Had Mike truly revived his Bells with new artistic ideas, it would be different. Even naming them TB 2003 (like Windows 2000) shows the bad taste in this marketing stint. Empty and disappointing.Free Music Review: Get the original instead. PLEASE, do yourself a favour and get the original instead.
Hit: 2 Stars
This remake will only sound "better" to you if your definition of "better" is nothing more than replacing real instruments with hi-tech synthesizers. If you care about the technological aspects of music more than the music itself, you'll probably like this one more. But if you care about emotional resonance, PLEASE, do a favour to mankind and forget this one. Tubular Bells will remain timeless and awe-inspiring, while this remake will date very, very quickly. If you already have the original and want something more, go get "Incantations" or "Amarok", and only get this one if you worship soul-less exercises in technology like "The Songs Of Distant Earth".Free Music Review: The repeating point
Hit: 2 Stars
how many times do we hear it? "tubular bells","Tubular bells II","Tubular Bells III","The millenium bell","the best of tubular bells"......Man - it is a good music but it gets boring every time when Mike's rides on his legend making another bells...what next - "Tubular bells IV" ???we don't need another bells - for all of you who wants to buy it - get original "Tubular bells" - it is much more interesting and less synthetic.
Free Music Review: If I were to judge it solely for the music, it would be 4 stars
Hit: 1 Stars
Tubular Bells... A seminal record, arguably the one that spawned the New Age genre. The soundtrack of many mind-expanding late-night listening sessions, with candle light and the warm, full sound of legendary turntables by companies such as Thorens and Linn. Loved by millions of listeners worldwide and with millions of sales behind...
Then, perfectionist Mike Oldfield comes back in 2003 to re-record it, as he was not satisfied by his playing on the original recording. The new recording is technically pristine and has given new breath to sections of the original composition that we didn't pay that much attention to. For instance, check out "Russian" and "Harmonics".
Is there anything I don't like about this record? Yes.
First of all, I simply detest Mike Oldfield's distorted guitar tone. He uses far too much preamplifier gain (and, what's worse, he goes for - gasp - DIGITAL distortion), with too little power stage gain, meaning that the tone is not full-bodied, as it should, but, instead, it's fizzy and mushy, with absolutely no note definition in the distorted chords. And no, I do NOT listen to the music I've painstakingly bought through "old tin boxes".
Second, I do not approve of his choice for a Wal bass over the original recording's Fender (if I remember well, it was a Jazz Bass). The Wal sounds too dark, brooding and uncontrollable.
Third, I prefer natural violins over synthesized ones. The same goes for all the real instruments that were replaced by synths and computers. No matter how perfect and "life-like" the emulations are, there's just something missing from them. Getting back to the violins, would you ever imagine City's "Am Fenster" played on a computer? I think not.
Fourth, the "copy protection" system, which is what ultimately made me give this record only ONE star (and also made millions of music lovers turn their backs on mr. Oldfield, outraged by the multitude of CD and DVD players that were damaged by this disc). The "CD" version is simply NOT a Compact Disc, it is incompatible and non-compliant to Philips' Red Book standard and might not play properly on your machine; in fact, it might even damage it. And Mike Oldfield's attitude was annoying, as he dismissed the complaints of the legitimate buyers, teaming with WEA. Sorry mr. Oldfield, I am NOT on your side here. If you really want the re-recorded and reworked Tubular Bells, order the DVD-Audio or SACD version (provided your player is up to it), which really let the recording shine.
So...
Music: 4 stars
Usability: 0
Artist's attitude towards his fans: 0
There you have it.
(...)
Free Music Review: Deeply Disturbing
Hit: 1 Stars
They say that the sign of an artist losing his creativity is that he begins to plaigarize himself. In the case of Mr. Oldfield, we can see one of the most startling cases of self-plaigarism in the history of recorded music. He has taken his most successful album and pilfered it for ideas and inspiration not once, not twice, not thrice, but FOUR TIMES. Mike, STOP IT! The latest, Tubular Bells 2003 represents a recent trend in the artistic community that is deeply disturbing to me. The REMAKE. Let's take a classic moment of artistic inspiration and creativity, and make it again so that it's brighter and shinier and free of all the rough edges. Be honest, was Star Wars really improved when George Lucas vandalized it? Did the Psycho remake add anything whatsoever? It seems as if the art industry has become so utterly devoid of originality that all they can do is feed us leftover goulash made from past efforts.
And now we have Mike Oldfield and Tubular Bells. As a young musician, he created one of the most original, creative and incredible pieces of music ever recorded. On the original recording (as with any original), we have, captured on tape, the moment of inspiration. All great works of art have this. It is something intangible that comes through, something that's hard to describe, but you can FEEL it. You can feel the excitement that the artist felt at this moment of inspiration. It doesn't HAVE to be technically perfect. To remake a masterpiece with the aim of infusing technical perfection entirely misses the point. The new Tubular Bells 2003 might just as well have been a computer generated copy: technically superior, but entirely devoid of emotion, humanity, that intangible feeling that made the original so special.
My advice to anyone interested: DO NOT BUY THIS. HURRY UP AND BUY THE ORIGINAL RECORDING BEFORE SOMEONE DECIDES TO MAKE THE 2003 VERSION THE ONLY VERSION AVAILABLE.
Recognize this for what it is. It is not a work of art. It is a business decision. Like all remakes, it is a quick and easy way to make few dollars without really having to work at it.
There. I'm done.