Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells

Classic 1973 album & one of the best selling in history. The first SACD playable on all CD players. The idea to produce the first multi-channeled SACD (Super Audio Compact Disc) came from Simon Heyworth (Mike Oldfield's original engineer and co-producer for Tubular Bells) who located a pristine condition four-channel master of this legendary recording. Unique -style jewel case. 2001 release. Album Description

If you want good surround buy the 2003 re-recording!

The two stars are for the recording not the music. This quadrophonic version of Tubular Bells is historically interesting but the sound is poor and tinny and the separation just demonstrates that although Mike was a multi-instrumentalist he wasn't a very good one! However, he rectified all of this when he re-recorded the entire thing for the Tubular Bells 2003 disc. That version has fantastic sound, better musicianship and the best immersive surround mix I've ever heard (and one sympathetic to the piece itself). If you want Tubular Bells in surround, skip this one and get the 2003 one. Even Mike Oldfield agrees its better! August 9, 2008

Warning do not buy if you loved the original!

I have never been prompted to write a review but this disc is so bad I felt that if I could warn anyone about this travesty then it is worth doing.
If, like me, you grew up listening to Tubular Bells on the original LP you will be shocked at the remastered version. (SACD Stereo layer)
They have taken a classic piece of music and completely destroyed everything good about it. The reproduction is so tinny it actually hurts my ears. There is no sound stage worth speaking of. The instruments sound like they are all synthesized where of course this was a wonder of true acoustic and electronic instruments played by a real human being. The end of side one with all the instruments being presented by Viv Stanshall sounds like an MP3 at 128.
The mix is so bad that I am actually hearing less than the original. Notes and whole phrases are missing.
The guitar riffs halfway through side one are some of the most powerful ever recorded, but on this SACD they are shrill and lifeless.
I actually had to play a couple of other discs to make sure my system was working OK.
BTW...I am listening to it on the latest mega buck Krell system.
Ouch this really hurts....and it's getting returned.
I'm giving it one star because I have to.
Terrible! June 11, 2008

Classic Rock sounding better then ever

If you enjoy multi-channel recordings this one is a must have.Although it's actually a quad(4 channel recording) taken from the original quad master,the sound is truly amazing. Tubular Bells has never sounded better and I had the original quad LP. Even if you don't have a multi-channel setup you can still enjoy in spectacular stereo. A truly remarkable cd! December 18, 2007

Still a masterpiece

Mike Oldfield's first solo album, leading to a string of distinctive works spanning a decade before he drifted towards commercial mediocrity, remains a masterpiece.
As progressive as instrumental progressive rock gets.
We've all heard the opening piano-and-bells sequence in The Exorcist, but surprisingly few have listened to the equally-remarkable remaining 20 minutes of Part 1, much less Part 2.
Oldfield specializes in complex, overlapping, syncopated melodies and polyrhythms, foreshadowing the nouveau-classical works of Vangelis, Jean Michel Jarre, Steve Reich and many others. September 30, 2005

Original Tubular Quad Mix!!!!

So much has already been written about this title musing and pondering over this "format" and that "remaster" so I'll keep my words brief.I don't claim to be an audiofile nor am I an expert on the works of Mr.Oldfield but I do know a good recording when I hear one and this particular reissue of "Tubular Bells" sounds incredible.I am not old enough to have heard this recording in it's original Quad vinyl pressing and cannot see the need to spend money on a Quad Turntable(record player) so I can hear a few recordings from the seventies the way they were meant to be heard.Therefore,I'm more than happy to be offered the chance to hear these four channel mixes of some of the greatest albums of our time on SACD(check out Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon").Besides,I don't care how expensive your turntable is,you will still get surface noise and rumble coming through your speakers.Something you don't hear off a digital disc!So,if you are not too pedantic about how you listen to "Tubular Bells",this is the closest you can get to true Quad Sound in 2005!!! Fantastic!!!! August 23, 2005

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