Reviews (page 7 of 9)
not bad but not good
La premier toune est nice sinon le reste est low-key ass
The exorcist theme, then 43 more minutes of prog rock nonsense
You have to read up on it to figure why it's on the list. A very early one-man-band, a 19 year old on the first album from Virgin Records, and it takes an entire second to feel the wrath of The Exorcist's eternal hold on pop culture. I'm impressed, but I don't really like it. Prog rock can be much more entertaining. Knowing how this was made gives it a few decimals in its favor, but I'd only ever hear this again because of the history. I'd buy the record for a dollar. 2.2/5
Bekend van Bassie en Adriaan en The Exorcist. Daar doet het zijn werk maar het album is naar mijn idee heel erg overrated. Zijn allemaal sfeer fragmenten aan elkaar gelijmd zonder dat het een groter geheeld word. Lijkt bij eerste keer interessanter dan het is. Leuk voor onder filmpjes. Het is ook niet mega irritant. Lege sferische huls.
Een kind op de basisschool had t altijd over Mike Oldfield, die kende het van zijn ouders en hij was geleerd dat dit hele goede, interessante muziek is. Ik heb het nu voor mezelf kunnen ontdekken, maar ik ben wat minder enthousiast. Er wordt alsmaar gezegd dat Mike Oldfield alles zelf heeft ingespeeld, opzich knap hoor, maar dat maakt de kwaliteit van het album niet per se beter, een beetje corny stukje vond ik toen hij al die muziekinstrumenten ging opnoemen, waarna je het instrument daarna even hoorde. Het album is misschien wel creatief, maar voor mij niet echt smaakvol.
Totally tubular
It helped create a new genre and it creatively pushes all kinds of new sound but in the end I just don’t think it stands up that well - it falls flat
This album truly has bits that immediately transport me into a specific setting, but when you truly look at it it sounds like what comes out when I mess around on GarageBand for an hour. It has its moments but the whole thing just isn’t it
Has anyone listened to this beyond the first four minutes? You’ve wasted your time if you have. It starts off with the iconic orchestral bit, and then… he just runs out of ideas? So we basically just get every instrument you can think of for about 50 minutes, and then two short tracks that aren’t that worthwhile. Now I’m not saying the art narration over The Sailor’s Hornpipe didn’t have its comic moments, but it hardly suggests that he had plenty of ideas left does it?
its a mental struggle to listen to a track that's 26 minutes long.
2.5/5 https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/mike-oldfield/tubular-bells-14/ What a strange strange little album. First you get scared because it’s the theme from The Exorcist and then throughout the album it goes in all kinds of weird directions to finish off with some sort of Old Macdonald had a Farm sound alike. But for the most part is decent relaxing music. Probably inventive for the time, but hardly relevant today.
I really got in to this aged about 14 or something. What a fucking weird kid
I felt like what he was trying to achieve was a contemporary version of a classical music composition, which in itself is quite admirable. Does it land? Yeah sort of, not sure I’d come back to it or if anything in it was truly memorable though
Skipei na segunda música de 200 minutos
This is pretty bad (boring/tedious, plodding/ponderous). Apparently made when he was still a teenager, and I'm tempted to say it sounds like it was made by a teenager. Impressive at some level, of course, that he had the focus to make it at all. But it's the music that I'm evaluating, and it's between 1 and 2 stars for me. It's not like I'm opposed to music in this category. I'm a big fan of Terry Riley, e.g., who apparently influenced Oldfield in the use of tape loops and overdubs. I vaguely recall a friend or two in middle school and/or high school talking about this album admiringly (probably appealed to the same people who liked the Alan Parsons Project), and was aware of the single (used in the movie "The Exorcist"), which was a hit in the US in 1974. I'll be nice (less mean), and give this 2 stars, for the youthful ambition of it, and for maybe opening up some people to other kinds of music. Will not seek this out again, though. Might go listen to some Terry Riley, to cleanse my ears.
twas indeed tubular
Identifiquei música famosa de trilha sonora e tem coisas bem elaboradas ai, mas uma música enorme não dá pra mim kkkk
Tubular Bells was a term Len Houmous’ 16th wife used to describe his genitalia. 2.0 1/4 Tubular Bells Pt1
Tubular bells, yep a fantastic 4 minute tune... What do you mean it's almost an hour?
Innovative for its time, sure, but apart from a few high points it's a fairly drawn out way to get the hornpipe stuck in your head.
truly amazing how music imprints on you. props to Oldfield for me not having any idea those 4 tracks could have been generated by the same person: iconic horror soundtrack, steve-reichish minimalist, hobbit music, three minutes of talking
So it's about 2 minutes of one of the greatest movie themes ever and then 45 minutes of some ponderous stuff.
Supposedly, serial killer Dennis Nilsen burned the body parts of some of his victims, while listening to this. 2.5 minutes in and I can see why it appealed to him.
Of all the albums Mike Oldfield put out, this sure might've been the first, but I really wouldn't say it's the one you'd have to have listened to.
The album that launched Branson, eventually into space...
Listening session: july 23rd, while chilling at home Listened to before: no Thoughts: I liked the first part of Tubular Bells, but when the grunting started I got annoyed Favourite track: Tubular Bells - Pt. I
When I told my boyfriend I was listening to this, he said, and I quote: "I regret to say there is no reason to listen to the entire Tubular Bells record (sorry, British)." Having now listened to the entire thing, I can confirm he is in fact correct. There are a couple of interesting parts, especially in Tubular Bells - Pt. I, but everything kind of goes off the rails in Pt. II. Definitely not going to listen to it again & can't say I would wholeheartedly recommend it.
Very calming until the growling started
Interesting
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.
I remember being bored listening to this in the 80s. Nothing has changed.
Interesting to hear but nms
Long
This would’ve been perfect for Halloween. Four songs, an hour long. That’s a lot of whatever this genre is.
What a shame - this album would have been perfect for last Friday (Halloween.) I was of course familiar with at least the opening of the first track from The Exorcist but am pretty sure I had never listened to the entire song. It takes a weird turn about 6 minutes in! The part at the end where they are naming instruments and then playing them seemed unnecessary, but it's a 26-minute instrumental piece so I guess "necessary" is a pretty relative term. I found the story of this album fascinating, particularly how it was discovered/chosen for the film and its essentially accidental role in the survival of Virgin Records. I actually liked the first few minutes of "Tubular Bells, Pt. II" more than just about anything else on this album. And then that one gets really weird about 12 minutes in. And closes with a very familiar tune that I now know is called "Sailor's Hornpipe." I don't hate this but it's not really my cup of tea.
Listening to this takes dedication. It's not bad, but I needed space from it after.
Thoughts before listening: Ambient early electronic recording from the 70s. I'm pretty sure that's the general idea here. Probably going to be better than that description would indicate. Review: I would say that I mostly had the sound right. It's fully instrumental and brings in a lot of different sounds. There are long tracks with many different sections, some of which I really enjoy and others that are pretty boring. I was surprised that there were some strong guitar solo sections that caught my attention. However, for the most part this is new age-y, ambient music that doesn't really resonate with me. 2-stars
Weird. It had some moments but overall quite an odd listen.
i mean it's fine, it's better when it's attached to a movie. star deducted for significantly contributing to forcing richard branson on us
A bit too prog for me. It seems like good music, but random music-ettes constantly changing.
Even guest vocals from the Tasmanian Devil couldn't save this one
Sure why not. The sprawling, orchestral opus is a fine way to spend an hour. A change is as good as a rest and ive had too much 90's hip hop recently. Never again but fun
i love the exorcist song of course…then when the oboe really starts making an appearance in the latter songs it’s quite different for me
It wasn't terrible, but also pretty boring except for the first 4 minutes where I thought I had turned on The Exorcist soundtrack by accident. 2/5
Iconic to some degree but bleh
Yeah this had cool and interesting moments. It was a strange blend of like Atom Heart Mother with a touch of LSD Beatles. The opening track started strongly then it got shit then you realise you still have like 15 or minutes or so of it to go. That encapsulates the album really.
I've just started listening but is nice for studying or if you're doing something were you need to be concentrated. Lovely album in terms of the amount of instruments that are played in. The part II is really bad though. I would only listen to the first part tbh
Hey it's that one song from SpongeBob! ...God I'm so cooked.
This pissed me off. Every time I thought it was going somewhere it ended up being some fuck shit
Lotta fucking insanity, shout out to the Exorcist, probably never returning to this album
People make way too big a deal about this. The title track is alright and the bit at the end with someone narrating Sailor’s Hornpipe is fun, but there’s a lot of fluff in the middle.
blah
*1973. English instrumental prog rock. *Sounds like Manheim Steamroller's Christmas album... lots of bells. *Totally fine background RATING - 5.5/10
Not quite as entertaining as the start would have me believe. Sailors hornpipe got me shufflin' a bit. Pairs well with decorating a Christmas tree.
Ehhh. I'm not mad. I just don't really need most of this. There are some nice moments, but generally speaking, I don't have a reason to spend more time with it.
Tubular Bells was definitely an album that had potential but unfortunately wasted it. It definitely has an interesting structure for an album with it just being 2 songs but having multiple parts to them. I can also really appreciate it for trying loads of different styles of music. The problem is some of the parts sound really bad. These parts were mainly the parts where Oldfield decides to commit musical war crimes with his guitars and dear lord, these could get incredibly abrasive. Even some of the good parts could get repetitive. I can't in good conscience give this a 1 because there were good areas and there is also my appreciation for him trying many musical styles but i still don't think its a very good album. Best Song: Tubular Bells, Part Two Worst Song: Tubular Bells, Part One Side note: Yes, i know it is kinda redundant to have a best and worst songs area since there are technically only two tracks here but i don't care, i do as i please.
Not what I expected for my first album! An interesting listen. I think I could put this one while working to help me concentrate
At the beginning I was actually liking it. But it got boring for me really fast. There are songs that you like because they are good background music but this wasn’t that either. I actually did like the theme from tubular bells, but considering it was only a bit over 3 minutes from this whole thing…
Not really for me!
(37/100)
i was intrigued by this album at first but it quite simply did not deliver. it just sounded slightly messy and disorganised, with two 20+ minute songs giving it no real structure. i just didn't understand it. there were specific parts of songs that i could enjoy/appreciate but overall i just found it quite dull and unsettling.
Kan ærligt ikke huske ret meget af det ud over det var instrumentalt. Der var ikke noget memorabelt.
Et virkelig godt album havde det ikke været for store dele af både åbnings tracket og lukkeren.
Interesting listen. Strange, but interesting.
I live near a medieval church and often cut through the graveyard on my way to the local shop. Today I got to do that while pretending I was in a horror movie as I listened to the bit from The Exorcist. But that was probably the most fun I had with this otherwise slightly dull album.
Very interesting way to start my day
Inexplicably, I was sort of enjoying this. I'm thinking, this is way more than just the famous riff from The Exorcist .... and then Mike starts naming the instruments he's playing. Then halfway through Part II, the ACTUAL demon from The Exorcist grabbed the mic for some reason? What?? And then we get into Turkey in the Straw. Hahaha. What is this?
It was alright, but I'm not going to come back for another listen anytime soon.
Tubular Bells is an interesting and ambitious listen. There are some genuinely lovely moments throughout, and it’s incredible to think that Mike Oldfield played every instrument himself—especially considering he was only 19 at the time. The album is made up of just four tracks spread over an hour, with the opener stretching to 25 minutes. It’s a unique structure, but one that makes it difficult to stay fully engaged. For me, it quickly became background music rather than something I actively wanted to focus on. It’s a clever, experimental album with some strong musical ideas, but ultimately, it’s not something I’ll return to. Favourite track: Tubular Bells Pt. 1 – the most recognisable and engaging piece. Least favourite: Nothing stands out as bad, but much of it feels like musical nonsense by the end. Album artwork: An iconic and instantly recognisable cover.
Different but listenable
I guess this is a 2.... It's not bad, I just didn't want to listen to it anymore. If I had more patience it probably wouldv'e managed a 3 - 2 instrumental songs totaling 50 minutes. Fun concept, let's see... - Strong start. If the quality holds for 50 minutes this will rank well - 6:20 -> oh no, annoying guitar enters. I hope this doesn't ruin everything - Quality is starting to wander a little but it's not bad - Paused around 8 minute mark. Much less patience when I returned. I’m not going to make it all the way through this
Arranque desde casa ya sintiendo que me seguía un ser no identificado y me di cuenta que seguía en el mismo estado de alerta en Avellaneda, como va a durar tanto los primeros 2 temas man. Le sume una estrella porque me pudo mantener mirando el cielo tanto tiempo.
Wow extremely uninteresting. Listen to the first three minutes of track one for that spooky Exorcist vibe, then sign out. You’ve heard the peak and you saved yourself 55 minutes of boredom.
Cool motifs, but they feel a bit hackneyed these days.
#647. This sounds like movie soundtrack music. 2/5: not something that you need to listen to before you die. Feel free to die before you've heard this.
._.
Nice melodies, but too long and kind of the same after all
Well, I suppose it is a feat that this was done by a 19-year-old mostly by himself. Consider me impressed. I am also not at all interested in revisiting this. The guitar work around the 18(ish?) minute mark of the first track was my favorite part.
The first few minutes were cool, as I saw The Exorcist when I was way too young and this song being played on the radio freaked me out. I discovered it no longer does. The rest was just not my thing. If I was at a Ren Faire I suppose it would be tolerable, but I was listening at home. The grunts, and announcing of instruments, was just unnecessary.
ijbol when I saw that ONE song was 26 minutes. You are not Beethoven, Mike Oldfield.
Not feeling the vibe on this one,
Actively dislike this one - would be a 3 or 4 out of 10 - I quite like the opening part and there are occasional moments of brilliance scattered throughout. I also think it's quite funny (in a good way) when the instruments all come in and the posh narrator guy starts saying what they all are. I feel a bit closer to a 2 for now acknowledging it occasionally has me interested.
J - 2/5 Best Track - N/A F - DNL
Weird
It may seem unfair to use an album released in 1973 as a metaphor for living in the AI era, except that somehow the comparison seems apt. After all, it's one guy playing all the instruments (for us). There is a certain randomness and lack of cohesion to the two songs (which are actually named "I" and "II"). Neither track offers any sense of completion. The whole thing feels automated. It's the music is the product of ChatGPT.
Preferred Mike's stuff with the mechanics
Giga boring
Interesting album. Clocked the horror theme to begin with
# 497 : Tubular Bells : 06/06/2025 I know this album. A good friend of mine thought it was the bees knees back in the day, but alas I am not one for instrumentals. I hadn't really listened to it before, just snippets, and this time I found my mind wandering whilst I was "trying" to listen to it. A bit boring and sleepy. ok, but not 5 stars.
I was mildly drunk whilst listening to it, which I think helped.
I remember seeing a re-release of The Exorcist in the cinema in the late 90s. Having never seen it before, I didn't really know what to expect, but both me and my mate dissolved into fits of giggles at the infamous head revolving scene. The rest of the cinema was unimpressed at our disrespect. Anyway, to the album: it's another album my parents listened to when I was a kid in the 80s! Not one of the ones I remember with any fondness, or really remember at all minus the Exorcist theme. I am not sure how I'd blanked out the werewolf, but I clearly had. I am glad I listened to this as an adult, I liked parts of it a lot, but for the love of god, give me a proper song structure! And less grunting. 2/5
An important album, but not to my liking.
Interesting. 2.5
Tubular Bells is so much more than just the soundtrack to The Exorcist. It is also a lengthy, self-indulgent wankfest of epic proportions. My favorite part is when he introduces all of the instruments by name.
Normally a fully instrumental album would get an automatic one star, but this has the poltergeist theme.
I like how towards the end of the first track, he just starts listing off all of the instruments his keyboard can play.
🧌 Piltdown Review (Caveman Voice): "Ruhhh... GONGGG... hmmngrrhh TWO SLIGHTLY DISTORTED GUITARRRGH... brrrrrngnghh TUBES! BELLS! WHALE NOISES! HURRGHHH." (Translation: "This album is culturally significant, but also, who invited the neanderthal to grunt through track II?") This legendary one-man prog epic earns points for innovation, ambition, and accidental horror movie stardom — but let’s be honest, it’s a fever dream in symphonic form. Between the Celtic-tinged serenity and the full-on throat-grunting descent into madness, it’s equal parts fascinating and exhausting. By the end, I was just trying to survive the roll call and hoping the Piltdown Man doesn’t follow me home.
The start of this was epic but quickly devolved into something I wasn't too keen on
Kinda good, but there were moments of displeasure (bells/goblins)
prog-tacular!
This album is like the shitty music they put on in the background of restaurants, and that's not a compliment. ha
Wasn’t in the right mood for that.
Incredibly overhyped. Nice as a background tune while doing your job but otherwise very mediocre.
5 minutes of the famous Exorcist bit followed by prog rock silliness. Ruined my Saturday morning coffee and newspaper reading. Pass.
Huh, wouldn’t have guessed the Exorcist theme song would’ve turn up on here, but life is full of strange little surprises isn’t it? A bizarre album. 2.5⭐️ that’s rounding down for that growly ass werewolf shit going on towards the end. What the hell was that about? What was any of this about?
A super weird album, where the weirdness actually works pretty well? I don't really understand why, but I don't make the rules I just follow them. The vocalizations in part ii ruin most of that part for me, though. Take that out, and this is a much different rating, because I did, for the most part, really enjoy this album. But why am I listening to monster man scream at me. Favorite Song(s): Part i
It's definitely technically impressive and the fact that this guy played all of the instruments on this album is really cool but it's really forgettable just feels like Mike flexing that he can play a bunch of instruments. 5/10 Favourite: None Least Favourite: Pt. II
Cinematisk progrock, multiinstrumentalr, the exorcist
Lost interest very rapidly
i understand that it was in the exorcist but it doesnt need to be 25 minutes long
I like the Tubular Bells, but the rest of the album feels unnecessarily long.
For most of it, this was a pleasant listen. I just have to ask, why is it on the list?
Lowkey when he was like "tubular bells" and then he started playing the tubular bells, I kinda popped off. A close second was when he said glockenspiel and then started playing glockenspiel. Musical wallpaper, otherwise. Rating: 4/10
Reminds me that i need to watch the exorcist. Although I enjoyed parts of it (particularly the section of part II with vocals), there are a lot of ideas in here, many of which are pretty disparate and some of which are not very developed. It feels like a bunch of ideas that aren't of sufficient quality to carry a song have been combined in a linear way as if the value of the music is just the sum of its parts. There's not much complexity or quality of musicianship and I don't really feel like there are the thematic links or continuity to justify being two long tracks. Tone/production is not awesome either. My dad loves this album so i'm kind of surprised that i was so underwhelmed but I just didn't see much value there. Sounds like a 19 year old has dicked around with a lot of instruments and this is what's come out.
I spent the first bit of my listening scouring the net for tattoo artists that could give me the Sam and Dean Winchester ward tattoo that would fend off demons and ghosts from possessing my body. Then I gave up and turned it off.
This was good, but not something I'd seek out.
For context, in prog rock: just very recently, I had King Crimson and Genesis' "The Lamb...", both absolutely delightful. Now, this? Is not. Credit where credit's due, dude recorded all of that by himself with overdubs, but... I think I can hear that, in this incoherent, self-indulgent mess I had no whatsoever fun with. There are a few fine musical themes in here but those all end up being fucked with by some stupid - "Gimmick:" - gimmick or yet another - "Layer:" layer and there weren't too many good themes to start with, really, in this new age flavoured noodling. It's like Oldfield repeatedly got bored throughout all of this - I guess I can't blame him - and wanted to let us know. Nicest bit, for me, was the part past the angry Klingon; reminiscent of Pink Floyd, albeit without Gilmour's sense for melodies of course - only to be interrupted by "Hello! Now I'll play the jig from Popeye! Wheee!" (-_-) Is this humour? I don't know, I didn't laugh. Just random, cringey and disconcertingly odd, the whole thing. The way this album annoys me puts it into the one star category, but I'll grant it an attainment bonus. It's still rather shit.
Meh.
Wasn't expecting The Exorcist theme. Part 1 was okay background music but Part 2 was garbage.
Idk. Not really so Tubular. Sounds like Halloween them on opening track.
This has not aged well. The famous opening aside the rest is just noise. Pity.
Listened to previously, and not my thing. Appreciate the skill.
Very impressive musical composition. Once in a long while listen.
its ok. very very long.
I’m not really a fan of any songs where the instruments used have to be introduced to the listener whilst the song is ongoing. It’s not great is it.
Well at least they tried something different!
What a weird album for all the fuss made about it. Prog but not. Classical and folky but. Somewhat twee. Keeps you kind of interested because the songs never end, but without ever actually being interesting. And that’s just Pt I, Pt II is plain dreadful. The only positive thing coming from the album is the confirmation (albeit we all knew this deep inside) never to finish an album on a sailors jig. Bonus point for making everyone think this was the future on release.
Eka biisi ainakin on ihan ehtaa klassista. Ensimmäisten sekuntien kauhuteema (en muista missä leffassa toi on) oli hyvä ja myös lopun hetken kestänyt mandoliinipimputus. Kyllä tätä on Oldfield saanut miettiä ja varmasti tietylle yleisölle pärähtää.
Ykkösbiisissä on harvoja kohtia, jotka eivät olisi jollain tapaa tehokkaita. Miinuspiste örkin soolonumerosta kakkosbiisissä.
I honestly did not know what to expect and could not be more confused by the journey this album took me on. Pt. 1 was pleasant. Pt. sounded like GWAR and Enya had a baby?? This is so weird. I did not have the patience for all the extra tracks on the 50th (!) anniversary edition...
Bit of an odd one…
Interesting listen. Starts as the theme to the exorcist but then changes quite a bit. Good background listening
Odd music
Interesting but will never listen to it again.
The Exorcist music. Long and drawn out. Not good for car jams. 2/5
I liked the bells enough but could have done without the growling
Liked this more than I expected to! A solid 2!
2.4 1x great track one with the exorcist but towards the end of track 2 he lost me
I almost skipped ahead, which would have been unfortunate. If I hadn’t finished the first track, I never would’ve gotten to hear him show off all the sounds his new synthesizer could make and would never know what an artificial glockenspiel sounds like.
Not bad. Just not really my thing.
Oh for the love 2 stars barely
Isn't this the theme from the Exorcist?! Epic song, but does it need an hour long extended version? I don't think so.
The first 4 minutes or so were fun, but the rest was extremely wanky, the way a lot of prog can be.
Wasn’t a big fan
Didn't make it all the way through this but I think I got the gist (although I am not sure I really get what he was doing here). This album had some interesting sounds but wasnt really for me. 2.5.
Just...weird!
Damn. I was really vibing with this until the vocals in part ll...
It's definitely not for me. It's not "bad", but I don't see why this album is on this list.
The Exorcist Theme part and the rest of the prog record is very impressive as a debut at 19. A weird record you'd need more than a day to accurately rate.
Jako mi je naporno slušati ovu Egzorcist ponavljajuću melodiju, dođe mi da vrištim. Ovo je opet slučaj u kojem kužim zašto je nešto veliko, ali jebemu mater... 10 minuta in, i dalje mi nije napeto. 20 minuta in, postajem dosta nervozna😂 ne volim kad mi glazba to radi. Melodijica na kraju Pt. I mi je jedino kul na albumu dosada, ne mogu se sjetiti gdje je još korištena. Drugi dio Pt.2 mi je donekle zanimljiv, ali nedovoljno da utječe puno na završnu ocjenu. Pošto sam bila sretna kad je završio album, može se zaključiti da nisam baš uživala u njemu. Meni je ovo 2/5 ili 4/10 i to čisto zbog tih par dobrih dijelova i rispekta za glazbenu svestranost.
Pa ovako, Ako se uzmu u obzir sve stvari oko ovog albuma, da je mikey imao 19 godina, da je mikey snimio sve instrumente, da je ovo kultno, da je ovo statigajaznam, bila bi ovo čista petica Realno će biti dvojka Samo zato što znam za ovaj album već 20 godina, a u cijelosti sam ga poslušao 2 puta Nije toliko ni loš kad ga se sluša, samo mi nema taj potencijal da ga više puta slušam Mislim, kupio sam ovaj album na ploči prije 8 godina i nisam tu ploču pustio niti jednom Et
This loses its way significantly after the first five minutes or so, and just becomes rather generic and unexceptional prog rock. And what's with the caveman on side 2?
When he started naming all those instruments, I began to contemplate purchasing a one-way ticket to London so that I may commit seppuku on the front steps of Virgin Records
Ugh. Felt like a slog
what is happening
Strange, like a movie score. Really liked the sea shanty at the end of the second song. Kind of all over the place, sometimes missing the mark. 2/5 Probably won’t listen again
Totally tubular bro. Tediously tubular, even.
Kinda felt like an organised riff session. I didn't not enjoy it but feels a bit weird for this to be on the list. Middle 2.
It sounds like if The Beatles attempted an EDM record with no bass because Paul is actually dead. Also, not my cup of tea. And I would like to know why this record is 53 minutes long for three tracks? Finally, in the track listing movement 1 is before the into movement. Just doesn’t make since to me. Maybe I am the idiot.
2.5
Kind of boring in my honest opinion.
Very weird! Really takes you on a journey. Don't expect myself to go back, but I'm glad I listened to it 🙂
WHERE ARE THE DRUMS DUDE I WAITED 49:18 AND ALL YOU COULD DO WAS HIT SOME BELLS AND PLAY SOME CRAPPY GUITAR Iconic though.
While it is impressive that he played almost all the instruments on here sometimes I wish he had someone else play some of them. The playing sometimes comes off as a little rudimentary. I’m also not big on the guttural yells in Pt. II. Some cool ideas here but most of it felt like it meandered without much direction. The latter half of Pt. I where the narrator cues in all the instruments was dope. I feel like some drums wouldn’t have hurt the project.
This was a wild ride period. My favorite part was when he started naming instruments.
I've got this on surround sound, it's a classic album, hell of an achievement by a kid and launched Richard Branson into space. But I didn't like it that much. Great concept, but effing sea shanties?
it was good enough to make a spreadsheet to. there are other instrumental progressive things I would choose over this though!
Was a real grind to listen to the enter album
Very talented multi-instrumentalist. And something to only listen to once in a lifetime
What if Kraftwerk and King Crimson had a baby who occasionally sang like the guy from Rammstein? You’d get Tubular Bells.
I didn't like it. I get it, it was a new sound design back then, but it's nothing that special tbh.
A lot weirder than I expected. Wish I hadn't read up on what Oldfield has been up to more recently. But anyway. It's a grand album, but maybe a bit too instrumentally wankerous and too influenced by medieval melody lines and instrumentations. It's also one of those big ones on the list that I was very much aware of but never actually gave even the shortest of listens. Glad I did, but I probably won't come back to it very often if ever.
I was ok
Long ass instrumental thing
2+ Paskan kaveri on kovempi.
it was interesting and cool it's from The Exorcist. But it's way too prog.
Not really sure about this one...
Interesting parts. Boring parts. Self-indulgent parts. Basically in equal measure. Crazy though that one of the most iconic horror soundtracks draws from this of all things.
This is supposed to be ground breaking but it just sounds like background music at a Ren Faire mixed with the occasional Flamenco flourish. And bells.
fattar inte konceptet riktigt. vad är grejen med 2 långa låtar osv. inte för mig, dock är inte det instrumentala helt hemskt
Classical prog
This album feels like boomers love it.
There's some really great moments on this, but I'm not about to listen to 25 minutes to hear the 3 minute section I liked. This quote on Wikipedia sums it up: After the album was released, Newman said he preferred the demo versions: "They were complete melodies in themselves – with intros and fade-outs or ends. I liked them very much and was a little nonplussed when Mike strung them all together."
Maybe I would have enjoyed this more in times past.
Famous tunes… but silly last 2 tracks
get in the bin Mike, this is awful.
Started out really cool (The first song was the theme to The Exorcist), but then it just noodles and meanders its way through the rest of the album.
I don’t know what exactly this was even going for. I feel this is more of a tech demo showing off his musical skills than a cohesive attempt at making music. Some parts are good, some are boring and too long with no change, and some are downright abrasive. Yes he is talented. No I will never listen again. 2