Tubular Bells

Wat er ook gebeurt, altijd blijven lachuhhhhh! Lekker variëren rondom het thema van een domme clown en vervelende acrobaat. Track 1 mocht van mij het hele album vullen. Het is bijna een soort jazz maar dan net wat minder abstract. Gordel om, netjes zitten op de billen en dan maar hopen dat de weg naar de eindbestemming niet te hobbelig is. Track 2 is een beetje als een telefoongesprek met een langdradige gesprekspartner, je kunt tussendoor gerust even weglopen/wegdromen en als je terugkomt haak je gewoon weer probleemloos in. Al zul je je dan wel afvragen waarom je opeens een soort gruntende piraat aan de lijn hebt.

Kinda interesting but not that great to listen to.

perfectamente aceptable pero si no fuera por el exorcista…

This was strange but cool. Haven’t heard any of this in many years.

Interesting album. A historical curiosity and somewhat impressive for its time, but I don't feel it has aged well.

80% background music 20% weird throat noises

Pretty sure I've listened to this before? Opening is iconic. Side one is great, side two not so much

This was weird! I liked parts of it and not so much others, but the downside of the extremely long song lengths is there’s not a single song I liked completely, as each had sections I enjoyed and sections I didn’t.

Genres: Progressive rock Formed: Late 60’s Run time: 4 songs, 56 min, 7 sec The debut studio album by Mike Oldfield. It wasn’t until track 1, "Tubular Bells, Part One" was used in the horror film “The Exorcist” in 1973, that the album gained traction and went on to become a major worldwide success. The album consists of two long instrumental tracks: "Tubular Bells, Part One" and "Tubular Bells, Part Two”, plus two short tracks: “Mike Oldfield’s Single” and “Sailor’s Hornpipe”. The later contains spoken words, but it is utter rubbish! The two long tracks comprise a number of sections, so it’s not 20 plus minutes of the same thing. Despite the name, tubular bells aren’t actually a large component of the album. The name and imagery would go on to feature in much of Mike Oldfield’s subsequent work. I’m not a fan of Prog Rock and these instrumentals are not to my taste. It is a unique album and well crafted, but I wouldn’t call it ground breaking. Great for the theme to “The Exorcist” but it’s not for me. Listen Again?: No My Rating: ***

This was quite the journey. It’s worth reading the wiki page for context on this album.

My favorite part was when he started calling in instruments like Pokémon. This album contains about 10 minutes of eargasmic perfection and 40 more minutes of random goofing around with a bunch of stuff Mike Oldfield found in his garage. Man ruined what could have been one of the best drops in prog history at 11 minutes into Pt. II by making horrible growling orc noises. I've heard people complaining about them before listening to this, and it's even worse than I could have ever imagined. Special shoutouts to the short "Mike Oldfield's Single". It's not on the official release of the album, but it was on Spotify so I listened to it, and I liked it more than Pts. I and II. Weak 3/5. It sucks how much better this could have been without the goofy noises.

Innovative, but I can only listen to it on odd occasions.

If the title, average track length, album cover and fact that this album is entirely instrumental (aside from some interesting monster growls and a narrator telling us about a secret painting in an old house) haven't turned you off yet, congratulations. You might actually get some enjoyment out of it. Though not totally tubular, this isn't made up of all bells. It's actually a decently produced prog rock album with some lush guitars and catchy sections. However, I do feel like the two title tracks do meander for a bit too long; almost as if chasing a 25 minute runtime was part of the challenge.

This is a strange album. There are only 4 tracks but probably should have been divided up into more. Some of it is great, and other parts are pretty silly.

3/5

You know that certain kind of crazy person who convinces you he's not crazy (despite his former erratic behavior), you believe him because he seems so convincing, but then he ends up being crazy anyway? Well, that's this album. It's schizophrenic at its core, not knowing what it is--or rather, intensely knowing what it is in a precise moment, but then forgetting when it moves into a new moment, thus knowing itself once again anew. So many fractured pieces coming together, coalescing in a unified musical statement at the end of Side A, convincing the listener, in the quiet moments of flipping over the vinyl, that all is well. This deception continues in the calm, pastoral phrasings of the beginning of Side B, only to shock you out of your complacency with a punch of the piano keys, howling at the moon, and growling in gibberish. This insanity returns with a full-on mad carousel ride.

Quite boring.

J’ai été surprise par le thème de l’Exorciste au début! C’est certainement mémorable. C’était intéressant de voir les pistes se déployer sur de longues périodes avec de nouveaux instruments

Reminds me a bit of a new era take on early Pink Floyd. Not my favorite but I could appreciate it I guess. 5/10

7/10

Enjoy the start but got a bit boring towards the end

Yawn

Gotta admit my expectations were pretty low after hearing the theme from The Exorcist at the beginning but was blown away by the rocking instrumental jam that it evolves into.

Delightful instrumental to end the week. Title track had a lot of radio time back in the day due to use in the Exorcist movie. Fresh listen with a much better audio system and quite nuanced!

Well that was fun. A bit weird towards the end, which is a shame because I really enjoyed track 1 and probably would have given it alone a 4.

honestly not bad? gives me videogame soundtrack vibes

I was immediately put off by seeing it had two 20+min tracks however it was better than I expected. Learning it was entirely made by a 19 year old in the 70s is quite impressive. It's fine as background music but I wouldn't listen to it again.

I used to have the iconic bit of tubular bells as a monophonic ringtone for a long time when I first got a mobile! I enjoyed him telling me what instrument I was about to hear in the track.... This was pretty nice to listen to in the background while working, quite prog rocky without the rock. Did enjoy it but shouldn't think I'll be going back. Not sure about the weird sailor bit, but ignoring I think Tubular bells part 1 was the best bit. 3.5 if I could

Alrighty then. Next.

Amiable meandering bollocks.

the power of christ compells you ... to listen to the very end

Mixed emotions. Was kind of digging this on and off, and then the Klingon wailing bit started and I was like nah...

Interesting album but would have been bored if it weren’t for the throat singing.

Ok

Definitely interesting, not the most amazing thing I've heard but a good listen.

uuuuuUUUUUuuuuuuu

Interesting music. Impressive how he created so many changes off a few movements. Probably won’t listen again, but mainly because tracks this long are hard for me to appreciate

Fun sounds

One man's schizoid dreams made into an interesting and visionary album.

Je sais pas si c'est bien ou pas....

PREFS : Tubular Bells, Pt. 1 MOINS PREF : Tubular Bells, Pt. 2

Very weird, very interesting and very much a must listen. This is a nice slice of life from the explorational age of music when electronic instruments were starting to be used. 3/5.

It’s a modern composition and one that will never not sound menacing and almost tribal. Those tubular bells certainly cause a helluva ruckus.

Allememaggies! Iconische piano-intro, die iedereen van onze leeftijd (in NL althans) herkent als de muziek van Bassie & Adriaan (in het buitenland bekender van the Exorcist blijkbaar). Verder stroomt het als een kabbelend beekje voort met al dan niet interessante gitaarpartijen en synths. Alleen al voor het jeugdsentiment verdient deze plaat een paar sterretjes, maar het is niet iets wat ik regelmatig zal opzetten.

Tubular Bells seems to be the prog-ambient icon I never knew I wanted (at least visually) to know. The approach doesn't make me an instant fan, mostly thanks to the excesses of the former genre. Projects like this, though - the same name on both LP sides kind - deserve looking-at as a simple piece, and in that Tubular Bells easily surpasses its name.

Way more rock and roll than I thought it would be. I especially liked the upbeat turn that part 1 takes at around the 10 minute mark and then the part where the narrator introduces the different instruments as they join the mix. This is much more than the ubiquitous melody from The Exorcist. Maybe you had to be there to see what makes it so groundbreaking. Still quite impressive that the album is 100% the brainchild of Mike Oldfield who produced, recorded and played every instrument. 3.5 stars

Background music but ok

How am I supposed to know the shape of the bells of I can't see them?

Actually quite kooky

only listened to first song, pretty cool music

This was pretty interesting! Equal parts cool and bafflingly weird lol. Don't think I'll need to revisit it any time soon, glad I heard it once though!

Buen disco instrumental para escuchar de fondo

What is this? A classicalfolkprog endurance-test novelty record? If I could, I’d give parts of this a 1, 2, 3, and 5. So I’ll average it.

When you go too far Prog do you just become Classical?

I've still somehow never seen The Exorcist (who someone on here seems to think was directed by Roman Polanski). Tubular Bells II came out when I was a kid though to a big buzz so this was everywhere for a while, I believe I may have listened to this in full once or twice then, and not in fact the maligned sequel. After the famous recognisable part is over... Well it's more prog rock isn't it, but is it good prog? I'm not sure it is really. For large swathes the ideas come thick and fast and then he's done and moved on. Of course there's a Mellotron in there, which is kinda fun as usual. It's basically one big solo jam session. Not my kind of prog either, mostly. There are high points though obviously, usually when he sticks with an idea for more than one minute, who knew. So the beginning, and the end of part 1 are both obviously great. Anything redeemable about part 2? Er, well not from the first half. The second half, with the Klingon and whatnot, erm, no. The very end of the album is good - nice, noodly and chill. Which is then ruined by him launching into Barnacle Bill - whyyyyyyyyyyyyyy Overall, a very mixed bag, which is an entertaining enough listen as a one off for this but can't see why I'd put it on as a whole piece again.

eh

Neat

One great song...the rest is fine but nothing great. 3/5

I avoid prog-rock, in general, and I wasn’t looking forward to anything that gets listed as both “rock” and “new age.” Still, this was interesting, and it gets an extra star just for the dwarves growling vocals at one point.

Still fresh and on point in 2022

C’est un classique. C’est plein de bonnes idées, mais ça sonne comme un moodboard pour mettre des idées pour les tounes d’un album, pas comme un album.

Tout à fait en accord qu'il faut avoir écouté cet album. Cette ouverture est magistrale et ajoutée au film The Exorcist, ce mood froid a influencé le genre dont notamment John Carpenter pour ses réalisations. Une ouverture vraiment importante pour la musique de film et pourtant elle n'était même pas dédiée pour ça! Donc les 4 premières minutes de Tubular Bells (Pt. I) sont pas mal l'essentiel de cet album et auraient été suffisantes. Pour le reste, c'est un beau travail d'exploration autour d'un thème, mais ça vient long. Est-ce que son âge (19 ans!) à cette époque peut expliquer ça? Probablement.

BASSIE EN ADRIAAN!!!!

Sometimes you have to appreciate aptly named content. This is what the name says it is.

crazy sounds. 3.5

So this was another album that just blended into the background. Nothing to make my earholes bleed, but also nothing that grabbed my attention or interest. Very meh, for me...

This was different. Creepy and then so completely not creepy that it was kinda creepy. And then just ordinary. I appreciate having listened to it but I can't say that I really liked much of it.

They were high AF when they made this

Interesting

This is a pleasurable piece of work, for all the bits that are now known there are still musical interludes that are interesting and challenging. That a record company was built on the back of it (and indeed the whole Virgin Branson empire) is amazing in retrospect. However, it's not going to get me to 4 or 5 as I wouldn't listen to it again and again.

Coming in all I knew about this album is that it has the theme for the Exorcist, which in hindsight created certain expectations that made the listening experience less… satisfying than it might’ve been otherwise. There is a lot of innovation and I have a ton of respect for what this 17-year old musician put together, but personally I found the album meandering and inconsistent. There are brilliant bits, but also parts that made me thing “oh yes, there is a teenager behind it”. Inconsistency aside, the first 4 minutes alone made me curious enough to want to check out more of Mike Oldfield’a catalogue and if the internet is right, I should not be disappointed.

Tosi kiva

The vocals actually breathe some life into what was a pretty underwhelming track. Decent overall, though.

disappointing this album came up the day after halloween for me hahah, || Very cool how long and winding the first track is, and how far away it gets from the spooky Exorcist theme melody it starts with.

Not a great fan

I was super skeptical of this to say the least. But this was way better than I was hoping for based on the description. Very cool stuff!

Reputation precedes this one for sure. I can hear a VERY talented multi-instrumentalist exploring what he can do. Sort of aimless. And then once in a while the clouds part, the low end gets DEEP, I mean *DEEEEEP*, and the clouds part to expose some focused and really interesting music. Definitely deserves a spot, but would I ever return sober? Nah.

Surprisingly listenable - initially I dreading having to go through it but it’s actually fun at times and while still a little oddity - it’s still easy on the ear. Now that I know it was the brainchild of a 19 year of mid triply impressed.

alright but somewhat of its time in a bad way

Alright I guess

Iconic opening track though it changes and morphs into a glorious sound from its eerie start. Diverse.

Absolutely so weird. But I didn’t hate it?

osea ya lo sentí muy snob IGUAL soy re hincha de los instrumentales así que no me molestó tanto y lo disfruté en bastantes partes pero bueno mentiría si dijera Seee lo re escucharía de nuevo!! 6 / 10 ig no pq sea mala música pero bueno no me Copa

Wack af

You know, I don't mind this. It's a bit pretentious and a bit weird but unlike other cerebral entries on this list, it doesn't sacrifice listenability on the altar of pseudointellect.

Uniquely creative and it felt like a 70's rock opera. Don't know if it's just my inability to speak instrumental but, all in all, this one left me a bit empty in the end.

Familiar and interesting with an unexpected (and unsatisfying) ending.

Weirdo wunderkind Mike Oldfield creates two long mostly instrument tracks but the smart part is though they are jam packed with different sections, none of them last longer than a minute or two so before you can get bored, it moves and keeps on moving. Best Track: Tubular Bells - Pt. I

LETS GO!!! Tubular bells first track out the gate is Exorcist, this is awesome. Also noticing some guttural growls on the second track. There's only a few on this album but what a wild experience. And an even more wild album cover! Finishing the album up, I think the first track is the best, there's some talking on the next few tracks that takes you out of the music a little bit but overall this was a really fun album.

This was my first real listen to this record. I feel like it commanded more discussion than it warranted. It was music from the future, like the year 2000 or something. I bet it wrestled with the robots from the Flight of the Conchords song...

Creepy once you realise this was the Exorcist theme... some impressive instrumentals but I'm not entirely sure what all the original fuss was about.

Heard before: yes I enjoyed it more this time round.

Me ha gustado bastante aunque hay algunas cosas que quitaría. En la primera parte cuando enuncia cada instrumento, creo que se podría presentar cada uno musicalmente solos y en la segunda parte algunas de las partes vocales, el final también me ha rallado un poco, pero me ha gustado :)

27th July 2022 Started in the morning and finished the morning after. Went to Joyeuse market, swam and got pizza. From the exorcist theme to a sailors jig and everything in between. Did not expect the funny news report at the end.

Immediately recognized the exorcist theme in the beginning. The song evolved and I'm impressed on how good the composition is. Not really something I would listen to frequently.

Weird but interesting

I had been hoping for something wildly different and boy did we get it. I listened to the full album twice and still don't know if I enjoyed it. I appreciate the groovy sounds, luscious tones and jam feeling over most the album. The spoken word and growling caught me off guard. Overall it felt completely unique and oddly beautiful.

Who? Okay. Interesting. I am kind of liking it but it takes some weird turns from time to time. Ahhh, it's music used for The Exorcist, which makes a lot more sense. So I am back in. Context matters. The instrumentation is crazy. So much going on. Pretty cool. I think accompanied with visuals (and/or drugs), even basic, this album could be an amazing experience, but without them, the tone changes end up feeling strange on a first listen. Sailor's Hornpipe... wut? This might have been the difference between 4 and 3 stars. How does this fit in the context of the album? I am clearly missing something on that one.

Segurament, el clàssic instrumental més important de la història del rock. Les primeres notes formen part ja de la cultura pop universal, molt lligades a la BSO de "The Exorcist". La resta, un bon exemple de rock progressiu fet des de la ment i técnica d'un artista de veritat, com és Oldfield. Molta elegància i savoir faire, tot i la juventut que encara tenia en aquella época

Just not my sound. It was well done but didn’t appeal to me

What a ride! I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did. It started off on a deeply eerie note with the actual theme music used for The Exorcist. Those opening tones carried so much menace I wasn't sure I could listen to a full album of it. As it progressed to the midway point of the first track it leaned into a more triumphant rock groove. And it just kept shifting and changing tonally countless other times from there. It was an oddball record that charmed my way through to the end.

What an interesting album. Of course the classic theme from Halloween is the highlight, but there is some nice work throughout. It has plenty of oddities and strange bits, yet it takes you on a journey. And that's what music is about.

This album is okay for what it is, but I found it a bit dull. The part where he is just announcing the instruments as they come in sounds like an old Disney documentary about sound. It's cool that he was so young when he did this, and that he played all the instruments. It's one of those examples of an album concept that was produced with a huge amount of talent and effort, but still doesn't work that well in the end. Also, I've never really understood why people like the movie The Exorcist so much. I just figured while I'm tossing out unpopular opinions related to this album I might as well air that one out as well 3/5

Interesting instrumental music again

Best Song: Tubular Bells Pt 1. Particularly the spot around 12:30 where the instruments harmonize together. Worst Song: Tubular Bells Pt II. The part where he begins to sing(?). I'm not certain that what this album needed was traditional rock drumming and non-traditional vocal shouting. It doesn't sound bad, necessarily, but it deviates so heavily from the musical themes set up in part one that I feel it ought to have been placed on another album entirely. Overall: Tremendously weird. The instrumentation is fantastic, and all of Part 1 is engrossing and interesting, genre-defying music. It is only in Part 2, when the weird gets turned up a bit too high, when the progressive elements take over and the album feels like it starts to lose its mind a bit, even if it retains its soul.

Loved parts of it. But just because it's interesting, doesen't mean it's good. 2.5

As a fan of early Genesis, Yes, ELP and Pink Floyd, I'm surprised that I was unaware of this album until about 4 years ago (2018). Seeing that the album was recommended, I listened to part of the album, and the 'Mike Oldfield 'Tubular Bells' Live at the BBC 1973' concert. Apparently I have only heard Part I. The weird grunts and growls in Part II were an unpleasant surprise. The album is worth a listen, but I may not get to Part II again.

Exorcist theme.

Good, but slightly silly. Very groundbreaking I suppose; but is one to listen in that mind frame?

New age. Progressive rock. An interesting listen. Wasn't a huge fan of whatever the growling was partway through, but the whole album is unconventional enough that it was like "well that's odd... ok." Can't hear anything but The Exorcist during the first song haha.

Not bad. A little boring but not entirely uninteresting. Not sure what situations I'd listen to this in.

Technically impressive? Yes. Fun to listen to? At times. A bit of a slog? Of course. British music in a nutshell. 6/10

Some interesting bits, some strange bits and some very daggy bits. Somehow I've escaped listening to this until now - good to check it off the list I suppose.

Part 1 is decent but part 2 drags

Intriguing, musical and corny in equal measure

This is wicked cool and dynamic. Those are some TUBULAR bells.

The first 10 minutes are a fascinating idea, and so groundbreaking for the time, but it loses steam pretty quick.

3, NICE

Kept oscillating between thinking it sucked and thinking it was genius, so will go in the middle. Would be good music to study to. 5/10

Instrumental con referencias a toda una película clásica. Agradable de escuchar y con diferentes melodías.

EXORCIST!

Melkosen pitkiä biisejä. Välillä soundi oli oikein mielekästä eikä edes vituttanut kuunnella. Kolmonen yläkanttiin.

Hm, kai tää on ihan hyvä proge. Pitäis varmaan kuunnella vielä useemman kerran niinkun pitkien progebiisien kanssa yleensä että sais jotain kunnolla irti, mutta ihan hyvä tunnelma vaikutti olevan ensikuuntelemalla, ja ihan ok siirtymiä. Ei ehkä kuitenkaan säväyttänyt niin paljoa että ansaitsis nelosta.

Very odd to hear the iconic, familiar opening with its absolute association with The Exorcist, then have it unfold into the much different context of the overall composition. I admire the inventiveness, technological experimentation, and boldness of the composer in putting such a thing out there. It doesn't all hold together however, and the vocalization on side two in particular struck me as truly pointless and actually detracted from the whole.

It's The Exorcist music! Your Mother darns socks in hell! The power of Christ compels you! It is nice. Mostly just showing off the advancements in studio technology I think, but an engaging tech demo. And one which features the dulcet tones of Viv Stanshall, one of the greatest rock madmen to ever exist. His job is to list instruments, oddly enough. Part 2 is less exciting, possibly due to the lack of connection to one of the greatest horror films ever made. It's also just a bit more meandering, lacking the urgency of part one. It improves (by which I mean gets very odd) about halfway through. Fans of four minutes of weird guttural growls (well hello Mike Patton fans) will like it. Then it gets dull again. Then it goes all last night of the proms. Overall it's pretty good. Occasionally too drawn out, but when it's good it's great. When it's not, it's background noise. Can at least see why it's on the list. One of the weirder multimillion selling albums!

A lot of talent to write, play, record, produce, release this at 19. Not very “listenable” though. I did enjoy the unexpected Klingon remix of The Joker.

This album is purely instrumental and that is not a thing bad. I enjoyed it. The main song is recognizable because it is the theme song to The Exorcist.

but its definitely a unique way to go about an album and the music isn't -that- bad...probably like 2.5 or so out of 5 and when you factor in its nearly 50 years old to still be unique now is impressive

I have never heard any of Oldfield's stuff before. I am familiar with the riff from Tubular Bells, as any prog-head should. When I first sat down to listen to this, I hit play, and then I looked at the length. I did not realize this was going to be one of those "Thick As A Brick" type of affairs. Worse yet, there's no real lyrics on the album. It gets very... meander-y. The worst part of it was when he was naming the parts that came in. I wonder if that is what non-prog fans think of some of progressive rock music. I was impressed by his musicality, but as a whole I don't imagine me listening to this again.

From the opening sound I thought "was this from Halloween?" Clearly too early for that, but apparently it was used in the Exorcist. So right genre, wrong film. Cool stuff, I definitely wouldn't have turned to it on my own. Amazing that Oldfield played pretty much every instrument himself (and there were a ton of instruments). The first song started off strong but got weird in the latter half. The "singing" didn't seem to fit; ditto for some of the instrument mixes. Second song was more of the same - some really cool stuff mixed in with some weird.

This isn't the first time I've listened to this album. I've tried to figure out why this is considered such a great album and I just don't see it. It's not bad, I just don't see why it's all that. I'm a big prog rock fan and this one just doesn't connect with me at all. I listened three times this time and still don't get it. Oh, well.

Quirky and pretentious. I enjoyed it.

6/10

What a fucking bonkers album. Forgot how completely insane this is. I totally respect his efforts to make a big intricate piece of music with unconventional arrangements. However, although I own this on vinyl myself, I must admit I hardly ever put it on, except maybe for people who haven't ever heard it before, just to take them on the wild ride. I prefer the following album "Hergest Ridge" and feel it is a much more cohesive statement. Blows me away that this was accepted by popular culture in the 70s. Speaks to the open mindedness of the era.

Fascinating read about this album and the production/artist. To produce this at 19 is pretty impressive, especially back in the 70s. In terms of execution it feels a bit too polished for me though, I would have preferred a more minimal piece, which apparently the original demos were according to Wikipedia. Not my type of instrumental music (sans the Tom Waits-lite screaming), but I respect it.

experimental ambient collides with an absurdist radio station. everything seems lightly out of tune...

Liked it. Which was a surprise to me

Can't really assess, though definitely appreciate the work for this period of time

Tubular

This album was not spectacular but it was not bad. Just took some getting used to.

Mjaaaa.. 2 lange numre Egentligt lidt imponerede. Men også meeeget lange

This was boring

Erg gave experimentele muziek met een bijzondere keuze aan instrumenten.

Obviously everyone loves this. I thought it was fine but not something I would want to listen to again.

wow that Tubular Bells Pt II was surprisingly wanted … that’s about it

It wasn’t just scary music!

grew up on this 25 minute song

Strong start, tapered off a bit.

I can the talent and art, but not for me

cool

6/10

My impression is that I had already previously heard this everywhere but didn't even know, it sounds like a typical horror movie soundtrack. hauntingly beautiful, makes you feel like you're roaming around a hall of distorted mirrors and smoke comes down..then it turns epic.

Album art:1

Fun to listen

Tubular bells part 1 - like the start but then changes and goes a bit weird. Part 2 - also a bit strange

couple of cool instrumentals but to Long

it was really exciting at first but the fact it was a 25 minute song made it seem never ending, and the short songs were just disappointing. really loved the beginning tho!

Anyone above a certain age knows the beginning theme from the first two or three notes and for some it immediately sends a chill down the back of their necks. So I'm one of those and I love that beginning part.... yet amazingly had never heard the entirety of either the album or even the full song (although to be fair it is 26 minutes long). There's so much more to it than the blood-curdling proggy-intro: ventures into heavy rock, Chuck Mangione-type light jazz, Yes-like progressions, fusion, new age major chords via synthesizer... I definitely don't know how to review this, nor how to recommend it, but I will say it's a really really interesting listen - the two lengthy tracks at least (the final two short ones are weird throwaways). I give it 3 stars for the genius mind that put this all together - it's not exactly catchy due to the fact that it kind of sounds like a very long rock opera prelude, but I could see putting this on again.

Melodic

Very interesting music. Had not heard the musician or album before.

weird pipes ? idk

Instrumental album that has impacted the course of other composers and instrumental efforts such as Blue Man Group.

It does take you on a musical journey and I like the range of styles, instruments and transitions. However, it doesn't quite have the maturity or refinement I would expect from a prog rock album. If you take out the classic riff then the rest is a bit uninspiring musically.

An album that I have fond memories of, but listening now I can only appreciate more than enjoy.

I can see why this was special on release and impressive in parts but time has been a cruel mistress or something - still enjoyed parts of it

It's on the verge of popular music - it sounds more like philip glass or steve reich to me. I do quite like it for the same reasons I like those musicians, it's an unusual one for this list

Fascinating story as to how this ended up as the theme to The Exorcist. Don't think I would return to this as an album, but I can appreciate the composition and the cultural impact, and actually really enjoy the music Saved: Mike Oldfield's Single

Saved Prior: None Off Rip: Tubular Bells Pt. 1 Cutting Edge: None Overall Notes: Some really cool parts, some eh parts. That'll happen when the songs are 20+ minutes long. Crazy enough, I liked those better than the shorter songs at the end.

3/5 some iconic sounds, but nothing to buy it for.

What an interesting ride that was. Thanks 1001 for providing the motivation to listen to this whole album with no skips or breaks. Thanks Mike for taking some big risks. This thing went all over the spectrum from motononous repetition to straight up weird human growling. Pretty in many spots. Very moving in two spots. "TUBULAR BELLS". Mike, you're no Beethoven but I respect your modular experimental soul. B

Production: 15/20 Songwriting: 12/20 Innovation: 13/20 Bangers: 10/20 Emotional response: 8/20 =58 Interesting stuff. Some bit's were banging. Some bits were well annoying.

Bueno, pero la verdad es que no me atrapó

It’s fine as background music in a show or a video game. Is it terrible like some other reviews make it appear? No. The guy is certainly talented playing most of these instruments himself at 19. The final track really brings this down though. Short attention spans aren’t going to let a lot of people tolerate this album though. Maybe if he just split the tracks up they’d have liked it better. It’s good music. I just don’t have a desire to listen to background music much these days.

A solid variety of different genres mashed together to make a distinguished soundtrack. Not sure if there is much replayability for me personally though

nice minimalism. Hard to separate from the exorcist. Immediately got chills listening to it. nice guitar work.

has a lot of hype but its very meh

Oh shit, this is the opening from the Exorcist. No wonder this is rad. Prog rock as all get out. The album is quite ethereal and gutsy. Like a lot of early 70s prog, this skirts the line between playful and far too self serious. Still quite enjoyable. Even if I'd like more defined song structure. It's a full symphony made by a single young man.

Goofy 70s prog noodling. Not my thing at all. I can’t even judge if it is good or not.

First rating, personal scale may change

Manheim steamroller presents!

weird but good

false

It's a different album. It's not something good all of the time, but it's really well made.

A bit of a weird vibe but pleasant background listening.

Tubular Bells aka The Exorcist theme (plus a whole lot more). Some neato 70s-era prog rock. Swanky

It was quite weird in the beginning, but it was pretty trippy by the end. Quite awesome.

Interesting, love the different instruments used. Prefer the second part of the movement when everything comes together and kicks in. Theme is good too.

It was fine

cute😐

I mean it's all very clever and impressive, and you do spend a lot of it going, wow, what an effort and piece of brilliance to create this at 19 and play most of it yourself! But, I can admire that and still not like it particularly. Portions were nice and I think it's worth being on the list, glad to have listened to it. But... I'm probably okay without listening to it again.

How can this separated from the context/ reference point of “The Exorcist”?!? I appreciate why Oldfield gets props as a New Age/ Prog innovator, but some things are too time-stamped.

movie soundtrack. 2.5

Love the movie but I can’t do instrumental for that long

I don't know how to evaluate this. I like the actual Exorcist theme part, but I think songs are typically under 10 minutes for a reason.

More like Tubular... Balls hehehehehehehehehehehehehehe

Alright buddy we get it. Exorcist theme was cool then it went on. And on. And on. 3/10

Would not listen again, but interesting

I never knew this was album. I guess Mike crawled so Vangelis and others could run.

Valid placement on the list given the cultural importance of being part of The Exorcist, but there are a few bits I didn't enjoy, like for example the new instruments were announced or the grunt/singing on the second side of the vinyl.

Pretentious

la película elexorsista le dio a este experimento un increíble espaldaraso.No es lo que más me gusta de este compositor...pero el futuro traerá un par de melodías qué si valoro.

I was vibing with it but it really hits a wall after track 2.

This brings back some childhood memories of "Bassie & Adriaan". But overall it's not really my thing

works in the movie

Interesting how all these sounds are going on at once and yet none of them are entertaining.

long winded instrumentals. oh boy, my favorite! it sounds cool but i would not listen again. Also what’s up with the growling. So dumb

Och nu kom lååånga låtar. Funkade som bakgrundsmusik.

I get the "iconic" Exorcist bit, but listening to the whole thing (admittedly for the first time ever) it now sounds like an elaborate demo of all the effects etc on a keyboard. As such it might well have been some sort of breakthrough but not sure where it leaves us at the end.

I was willing to sort of like this, but he lost me halfway through Tubular Bells pt. II with the weird growling noises.

Not my style, and maybe not tubular?

I get that this is a significant album, I even quite like the 25 minute songs. Instrumentally it is interesting. What I don't get is the growling. It was good to hear, but for me it's a oncer

2/5 Favorite Song: Pt. 1

bells

Mostly just weird.

Hmmm.... there were sections of this that I really liked... then 11min at pt II came on and it made the whole thing weird. 1973 had some real bangers and some interesting takes like this that brings the 70's back to earth from it's lofty place in music history. 2.5/5

Aside from the opening track, this album doesn't really offer anything exciting or captivating to the listener. I can understand, potentially, the groundbreaking nature of this album when it came out, but I feel we've progressed enough musically since then for this to not need to be included on this list.

This is #day656 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here we are with some early-'70s stuff again. My first-ever listen to Mike Oldfield. The guy can surely play the hell out of many instruments, but it all feels too loose, or whatever. Sonic doodles, if you will. Another case in point that most progressive rock just isn't my gem. Also, WTF is that growling in Pt.II for? Let it be a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day657.

Definitely a groundbreaking album, with a very fascinating origin story. Unfortunately its not an album that one just listens to, as it gets very tedious very quick. I get why its on the list, but its not an enjoyable listen

That’s one of the greatest 1001 albums? Pretentious much?? 2

vibing but like not really!

Is this the theme to a horror film? Idk I don't think I'm cultured enough

Si bien este es un experimento interesante cuando hablamos de nuevas formas de componer y utilizar los instrumentos y técnicas de grabación que surgieron luego de la explosión creativa de los '60s; no hay que verse la suerte entre gitanos- Mike Oldfield alcanzó la cima de los tabloides solamente porque los primeros minutos de su "movimiento" Tubular Bells aparecieron en el éxito de taquilla "El Exorcista" de 1973. ¿Un antepasado del post-rock? Probablemente ¿Aburrido? Totalmente

Almost sapped my will to live

Liked parts of it but didn't feel cohesive

tubular bells spoilers // when he animorphed into a cat-wolf in the middle of part 2 and started hacking up hairballs and howling broooivdjfvfbf fave track: tubular bells - pt. ii

First 3 minutes are amazing

Odd

Nice enough as background music but doesn’t stand out as something I will listen to again.

Oh dear. I found this long and largely unremarkable. Although there are are brief moments of clarity and intrigue, they are hard to come by.

I genuinely don’t know what to make of this. I never would’ve guessed that the most horrifying part of the album is NOT the part sampled as a horror theme (cue ghoulish screaming)

Fav- Mike oldfields single 2/5

Not a fan of this album. 2 stars or D.

I've seen this album cover while flicking through the 1001 Albums book. Quite possibly on the Internet as well, though I can't say with certainty. Outside of that, I've never heard of this album or artist before, though I think it's fairly obvious that I've got a 70s prog rock album on my hands when looking at the album artwork. Might as well just get into it. Here goes. Well, what's to say about this album? The twenty-minute tracks certainly make it difficult to surmise. On the whole it's competent, though I think it's impossible for anyone to avoid spacing out while listening to this album. While I do commend the broad scope of the music, it covers no ground whatsoever. There's no sense of meaningful progression across its runtime, with the album shuffling in place and cycling through different instrument pairings before they unceremoniously cut out. Some of these instruments are decent, like in the case of the nice piano chords, the oriental, pan flute-like instrument, the prog rock/acoustic/bass guitars and the organ. In order to fit these instruments (among others) onto the album, the leading instruments of both songs are notably quite minimal, which I thought was a good and pragmatic decision. The best parts of this album typically have a "warm" sound to them, and I favoured the second half of this album for having more of that sound. The werewolf vocals are kind of strange however, even if the pianos and synths which accompany said vocals are nice. I've, of course, heard the intro to Part One of this album before. I've never actually watched the Exorcist, but I've absorbed the song through yet another case of pop culture osmosis. It's mighty surreal to boot up what I was expecting to be a prog rock album only to immediately be confronted with a tense horror theme. I'm not sure what comments I can make about such a minimal piano piece and there's no way in hell I'm breaking down the full twenty-minute piece that it accompanies. All I'll say for now is that the piano chords are effective, both in a horror movie context and the epic context of the full album. Book time. It's the "...most misused album, which today finds itself as much the fodder for dinner-table background muzak as it is the hallowed listening material for progressive rock freaks.", apparently. Features a ton of instruments. The book refers to the vocalisations on part 2 as "caveman grunts" - I prefer my werewolf interpretation. A "'70s essential". Wikipedia says Oldfield was 19 when this album was recorded (strange detail to highlight, but impressive nonetheless) and played most of the instruments by himself. Unremarkable sales at first, but obviously picked up following its use in The Exorcist. The resulting boom grew Virgin as a record label and caused the album to linger on the UK top 10 for over a year. It also sold 15 million copies worldwide, has received warm and enduring acclaim from critics, was used in a few things aside from The Exorcist (including a musical adaptation of the album) and was played in part by Oldfield during the 2012 Olympic Games. The album topped the charts in Australia, Canada and the UK in addition to placing very highly in the Netherlands, Spain and US. It was the sixth best-selling album of 1974 in Australia and the third in the UK, with the album lingering on the year-end charts for four years in the latter country. It was also the third best-selling album of the decade in the UK. Wow - definitely hitting it big on the commercial front. I cosign this inclusion - it's certainly earned it.

Liked the start but overall a bit too meandering

This was defiantly music alright. Back to back 20 minute songs to start this album off. Track one felt like just a compiled compilation of songs where he was just testing out instruments. Second track no different just added goblin sounds into it😂. Then the rest of the album was filler, tbh this whole album is filler. It was pretty forgettable 4.5/10

It's an impressive achievement, but it is also terrible to listen to.

Tubular man ..

Que desgraça é essa mano? Só quatro faixas, mas tem 1h?? Começa com a trilha sonora das gincanas do Celso Portiolli, depois vira um portifólio de trocentas coisas, parece que o cara tá testando VST. Não sei se eu entendi que que é isso cara, bem repetitivo, mais de 20 minutos as duas primeiras faixas, vai adicionando coisa de pouco em pouco em meio as repetições, aí de repente troca pra outra coisa completamente diferente. Aí uma faixa normal, e depois uma última que eu não entendi ~nada~ Sei lá mano, não sei se tem um contexto que explique isso, mas não achei divertido não. As vezes até ficava legal a música, mas aí ia pros caralho. Mas o que eu realmente não entendi é o porquê desse álbum estar nessa lista... Porque que eu tenho que ouvir isso antes de morrer..?

Tick in the box the fact this is undoubtedly an album to listen to before you die. Title track , fine - not my thing but I get it. Would probably have been three starts if not for the the two nonsense tracks at the end. Did people in the 70s listen to these and chuckle along each time (I assume they are intended to be humorous?)

Odd. First song sounds like the Halloween soundtrack.

gimmick

MIKE: Hey, check out my new album. MIKE’S FRIEND: Yeah, man. Uh decent prog stuff, not really my speed. But, um, I think people are going to find the opening pretty off-putting and spooky. MIKE: No way, man. It’s just some bells.

I dont know what to say

Some prog rock i can take and some i can leave. This is in the leave category. Props for being a multi instrumentalist abd for the loud shouting.

Guitar parts are WEAK. The strange talking introducing the instruments is dumb. I guess that was supposed to be cool. He thought it was so cool, in fact, he did two more albums following up this one. No one’s listening, right? Otherwise, they would have told him to stop.

4/10…symphonic rock / celtic / 1973

"Oh hey, that's the theme song from the Exor...omg track 1 is 26 minutes long. It's a good effort, but not something I'd listen to again.

Nope. Not a good album. For the record, someone's music appreciation project doesn't count as a great album.

This was going to be three stars for neutral background music while working, but then the voice started growling and howling for much of the 23 minute long second track on this album. I also don't need two twenty+ minute songs. I'm never going to listen to this again, but I didn't hate every minute of it.

really good for like.. movie backing?

One time is fine, Exorcist, Olympics, prog and on and on

Absolument chiant.

I feel like I got whiplash as the songs would go from really unique, impressive, and fun to what am I listening to? Likes: tubular bells

like why tho? Is that an Irish ditty 22 minutes into the second song?

het was wel vermakelijk maar niet perse om dat het goeie muziek was 0_0

iconic, but god did it disliked it

Tubular Bells Pt. 1 ist hörenswert, danach lässt das Album nach. Ein historisch bedeutendes Werk ja, sonst - naja. 2/5

2.5. has some really neat moments but I'm not a fan of the 2 long songs as an album and there were a lot of duller moments to me.

Someone showed up somewhere, put it out there, and recorded this album, so >1 star for that in my book.

At best in trance, at worst a scolding

Started off okay, then came the Klingon singing

One awesome song, followed by an hour of aimless noodling.

I recognize its importance in the grand scheme of things and it's a really great riff, but fuck my life! Looooooooong

Some of the proggiest sounding prog to ever have progged.

Not bad but was expecting something different from the word ‘tubular’ #TMNT

I didn't expect to start my morning with the Exorcist theme song, but most of the first two songs wasn't bad. It was a bit strange. I've seen this album cover before and wondered about it. I'd be curious to know more about it's influence, but I don't really need to listen to most of it again. I see where people might like sampling it though.

If I was a stoned teenager in 1973 I would have loved this. Alas, I am not. Good sounding but somewhat silly.

Props to Mike for getting away with this. I quite like a bit of prog rock but this is absolute nonsense - can't believe it is so well regarded

There are some bits I like in here, but it's really confounding music in a lot of places. Even if I didn't know it was all performed by one guy, those cracks really show when there are some odd tempo changes, riffs that kind of don't feel full when the movement abruptly goes somewhere else. And the calling out of instruments and some of the other vocalizations are just odd and off-putting.

friggin’ weird.

I think William Friedkin nabbed the best bit of this for The Exorcist movie. After that it sounded like Muzak to me until the sea shanty at the end. Mark described it as “ mainstream prog rock for the masses” and that is my thought also. But probably in a less positive way.

Not great. You know Tubular Bells, pt. 1 but after the beginning the rest is just ok. Not my favorite listening to the whole thing front to back.

That was weird. Especially the throat clearing part. I would not seek to listen to it again but I also wouldn’t turn it off if it was on.

Boring. Don't really get the appeal.

My rating 2.3

the one person who as ever mentioned Tubular Bells to me as an album they really like is trans and I hope that one day the realization Mike Oldfield's shithead beliefs seek to punish the outsiders who gave his work its only meaning comes along & crushes him like a little ant music: hated. (⌐■_■)

its interesting, good background music

Tubular Bells part 1 is pretty iconic. It’s an impressive piece of composition, especially considering the age that Mike Oldfield was when he wrote it. Definitely the highlight. Part 2 is ok, but kind of goes off the rails a bit. The other two tracks strike me as obvious filler and are just weird. Overall it’s worth it for part 1, the rest is just ok.

No thank you.

Some was interesting, but I got bored fast.

I haven't listened to this in 30y probably. Still enjoyable, but doesn't hit has hard when I first heard it as a kid. High 2s.

He was 20, of course it is pretentious af.

A very famous album. But still, more boring than anything else. Probably you will love it, if you grew up with it and heard it over and over again. But for everybody else, I truly believe you won't like it.

Day720 - forty five minutes of bells isn’t tubular it’s monotonous

2+ Stars (6/15)

One exceptional section does not a great album make

el famoso TP de la facu de musica hecho disco

Lo empecé, el primer tema es muy conocido. Después sinceramente me dió paja seguirlo

I guess it’s impressive that a 19 year old put this together in 1973 but it didn’t do anything for me.

Neh

not sure what the point of this was

Got old very fast. Especially at minute 12 of the second song

Not my thing. At all.

This is another album that was interesting, but these songs could have been half their length. There were some interesting things, but they went on for too long and didn't go very far.

An interesting composition. Also a little silly. 2.25

Decent, good sound variation considering Mr Oldfield played all the instruments on this record. 2.5/5- straight 2.5

It was okay but interesting Remained me of Joanna Newsom

Cool to get Exorcist and then just isn't that interesting

Was expecting more bells 2.5

oooh cousin Mike got a loop pedal 🎵 Innovation & Context When it was released, Tubular Bells was unlike anything in popular music. Oldfield, just 19 at the time, played nearly all the instruments himself and used the newly available multi-track recording technology to layer them into a continuous, symphonic composition. It was the first album on Richard Branson’s Virgin Records — and its massive success made the label. 🎧 Musical Significance Genre-blurring: It fused progressive rock, classical minimalism, and folk into a single instrumental piece, paving the way for ambient and new age music. Structure: Two long suites instead of songs, built on motifs that evolve and mutate — a bold rejection of radio formats. Production: A landmark in DIY studio craftsmanship; Oldfield’s overdubbing of dozens of instruments was groundbreaking. 🕯️ Cultural Impact The opening piano motif became globally famous after being used in The Exorcist. Beyond that, the album’s success proved there was a mass audience for experimental, instrumental music. 🧭 Why it matters It’s not just a prog curiosity — it’s a cornerstone of independent music business history, a technical marvel, and a genuinely moving, adventurous listen that still sounds fresh.