Reviews (page 8 of 9)
Not for me
God, what a frustrating listen. It comes so close to being great but then shits the bed every single time. Some great guitar work but overall a really tough album to try and enjoy, and not in a good way
I think this sort of thing is why punk was made, so I can't dislike it entirely.
Disappointed with this one, before listening my preconceptions were it was an iconic album. The lengths of the two opening tracks suggested, as was borne out, this was going to be a musical journey and things started well with that well-known musical motif, but it got a bit too artsy and unhinged as the minutes wore on.
oh so its like from that movie haha oh yeah cool no like that scary movie haha yeah cool lol
No
Meh... whatever
Exorcist
No estoy seguro de querer probar las mismas drogas que Oldfield uso mientras componía este disco. Si, es influyente. A mi siempre me pareció un disco exagerado, maximalista. Como un tótem, un disco objeto, de esos que la gente solía comprar solo para tener en el escaparate de la oficina o sala, como los de Pink Floyd, otros sujetos que están demasiado volados en su propia droga.
Eh
I'm going to assume this was the first experimental instrumental album released, because otherwise if the reason for it's inclusion on this list is it appeared in the exorcist that's a joke. Pretty poor stuff to be honest. I've seen this album referenced a lot so that was a big let down. Massively overrated. The sections were too jumpy, haphazardly moving from one segment to another without any link or keeping the listener engaged and understanding the flow. When he started listing instruments that were due to come it was time to bow out. Way better pieces have been made by this. If there's no Steve Reich in this list but this makes it in that's a crime against humanity.
This started out so strong, and I was really expecting to adore it, but then it kept going, and going, and going…. There’s just no consistency, no arch — it starts dark and turns light, and then, after that arch is finished, it spirals into solos and experimentation without reason. The longer it went on with these sparse solos, the more bored I got, and the minimalism made it almost sound amateurish and strained my ears to their limits. I was so desperate for something exciting that the growls pulled me back in! But then the last 2 minutes threw me completely out again. I fully came in with an open mind expecting to love it, but hey, at least The Exorcist pulled out the best section for its score.
Much weirder than it needed to be. I had high hopes too.
Exorcist theme. Integral part of the movie. Don’t see listening to this unless someone is spewing pea soup and their head spins around 180 degrees
…If XMAS was a horror show featuring congested elves on a boat that overstayed it's welcome…
good instrumental. Really needs a separate scale. 2 which is highest for instrumental. Not my favorite instrumental but cant give it a 1
This did not age well at all. Was a favorite when it came out experimental, unique, quite interesting. Had forgotten this album and now I know why, sadly it is not a classic.
An iconic, influential song but no one needs to hear it for 26 minutes, even if the guitars did take us by surprise. A good song but not a good album.
Starts off promising, goes nowhere
to be h i feel like i might hate this but imma give it a chance. NEVERMIND THEYRE FUCKING 20 MINUTE SONGS BRUH. tubular bells 1- damn spotify wont even load it, its trying to protect me. bro not the michael myers theme 💀. idgaf. 3. and theres still 15 minutes left..... tubular bells 2- booooo even more boring than the last somehow. 2. why did he start making noises...... goodbye mike oldfields single- how to train your dragon type beat. 3 sailors hornpipe- dont care
Goofy goober type music
Sounded familiar
Ouch. Talk about pretentious. 2 stars
gets a bit repetitive and annoying after a while
Some highs and some lows. Very quirky
Again good background music
Music meanders, themes are used and layered atop repeating arpeggios and prior themes. It sort of works but also is self indulgent and boring. There's strange vocals announcing what is happening, sometimes with grunts. This is an art piece album and just not for me as much as I enjoy a good jam. This is not sophisticated enough to be considered a classical piece.
Boring
It’s fine? Rather boring, but great talent.
Ridiculous concoction of simple melodies and then a cataclysm of instrumental oddities. I don’t even like this ironically. It’s boring and superficial.
Meh. Orchestral stuff isn’t really for me.
Oddly interesting, weirdly charming at times, and it feels like I imagine the 1970s to have been. But also it's not something I'll return to.
I don't know what I'm missing but I just don't get it.
Momentarily interesting, decent enough background music, Mike Oldfield was nineteen when he made ‘Tubular Bells’, and he played all the instruments, which is, let’s be honest, quite an achievement. When I was nineteen I could still barely tie my own shoe laces, let alone make a record that sold millions. Still, the main problem I have with ‘Tubular Bells’ is that while Oldfield’s technical ability on multiple instruments is excellent, the actual album is largely devoid of melody for long passages and so ends up being rather…boring. Also, I can’t help thinking that if it wasn’t for the Exorcist using the opening minutes of this album, it wouldn’t be as fondly remembered as it is.
"Sorry. All our agents are busy. Please stay on the line and..."
Wieso han ich immer die weirde? Ich finds voll okay aber mich nimmts mässig mit. Han chli s gfühl es isch eifach experimentell, damits experimentell isch. Luut em qobuz artikel über s album woni glese han (und wo findet es isch e absoluts meisterwerk) isches teilwiis würkli so. D caveman noises gege de schluss sind gsi wel de produzent gseit het er söll gsang iibaue und er het extra chli dumm tue. Finds eifach chli mässig originell, wär villicht anderer meinig hettis '73 glost. I glaub es het au meega relistenability wels so komplex isch und da hani mega gern. Bim 10 mol lose fändis wohrschinli genial aber i ha kei bock zums nomol lose wels für mich gar kei hook gha het. Da hend anderi ähnlichi albe vo dere ziit. Und moment woner d instrument seit wo ie chömed isch uuuultra cringe, da isch nöd peter und der wolf do.
han nöd mega vill dezue z sege. erinneret mich chli ah filmmusig, aber nöd speziell guet iwie, sorry mike :( han funny gfunde woner di verschiedene instrument vorgstellt het hahahah jz gad im nachhinein erinnerets mich glaub chli an suufjan? also han iwie s gfühl aber ich los nöd nomal ih das arschlangwilige album vom suufjan inne. eig hett ich ihm sölle es 1 geh, ich han en us irgeme grund sehr en subjektive hass uf ihn, tja aber ja leider isch de mike nöd vill besser, au wenns nüt "schlimms" isch
Prog dressed up as instrumental experimentalism. Not as bad as most prog, saves it from a 1 because it has some curious moments, but enough of this fucking instrumental stuff please.
Does an incredible job of creating a mood for most of the first track (which is 26 minutes long tbf), but loses its way after that. Can't decide whether I like him naming all the instruments as they come in towards the end or not. However, there's not enough there to warrant a 23 minute track two, which is a variation on the same themes, and no one deserves the odd growling in the middle of the track. Then the third track is a cut of part 1 that they could release for radio, and the last track is a horrific sailor's jig. 2/5, pushing 3 but the good first 10-15 minutes isn't good enough to hold up the crappy final 40.
Everything I thought it would be
The intro from “Tubular Bells” was famously used in the movie “The Exorcist.” Somehow that was enough to elevate this album to a must-listen and Mike Oldfield to a national treasure worthy of an Olympics ceremony performance? It’s a memorable bit of music, but it doesn’t even feel like a horror theme. It sounds more adventurous or magical. If I had never seen or heard it, I wouldn’t guess it was used in “The Exorcist.” There is a lot that is interesting on “Tubular Bells,” but it all feels so random and disjointed. Progressive rock needs to ebb and flow, with threads of sound coming in and out to unite the piece. Prog songs tend to be long, but the 26 minutes here is just excessive, and mostly missing those hallmarks of the genre. “Tubular Bells (Pt. 1)” sounds like several separate songs - though all mostly interesting. Until the 20 minute mark, with the unexpected naming of the instruments. Luckily the song finally ends after that derailment, and “(Pt. 2)” gets back on track.
There was plenty of this that was perfectly pleasant, but the naming of the instruments in track 1 and especially the growling in midst of track 2 ruined this for me.
After he said GLOCKENSPIEL, did anyone else wonder if he was gonna ask whether we wanted to touch his monkey?
Like a score to a weird art film thats really annoying and pointless. Even the bit where he shouts the name of the instruments is terrible and managed to make them sound meh. Enjoyed the sailors horpipe though especially the viv standshaw version.
Probably ought to be on this list, but apart from the few interesting moments here and there I didn't enjoy this
I struggled with this one. I knew of Tubular Bells because of The Exorcist, already iconic in my mind, but never listened to the album - I was told (at the time) it was a modern classic. Listening today, I can only assume that everyone only heard the opening 5 minutes of the title track, yes iconic, then spirals off into a prog-rock mess. Reminded me of the first time I went to Za Za Bazaar, too much choice, you pick everything, now you got to eat with a mountain of food from every corner of the world. Vindaloo flavoured Dim sum is interesting, but regrettable. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. The rest of the album has its interesting parts, but quickly forgettable. I didn't hate it, just felt messy (as an album).
I had previously known of this record and how it came to popularity from the Exorcist soundtrack. Honestly, I’m quite surprised it gained as much popularity as it did. It’s ambitious, no doubt. Oldfield was 19 when this was composed. There are great moments in this record, especially the guitar playing. It just feels a bit directionless.
There are some fun guitar moments but on the whole this album feels pretty empty. I didn't hate it but it didn't really grab my attention at any point.
Merkwürdig sphärischer Instrumental Rock
As soon I started listening and heard the opening, I got goosebumps and thought this is from Halloween. After reading, I found it was the Exorcist, bur gogdamn, it did give me goosebumps. This was a very unique album. I didn't really mind to much in the beginning, but it seem to get progressively worse. But the surprise guest appearance of the Cookie Monster from Sesame Street in song #2 may be the highlight of the album. Well done, Mike! Really enjoyed the lyrics to Sailor Hornpipe too. Especially the line, "buggered if I know." A little torn on this one. Such a unique album that I would never listen too, yet I found myself talking about it after the listen. I got goosebumps and I smiled when I heard the Cookie monster and finally the lyrics to Sailor Hornpipe leave me at a 2.5. Scoreboard will show a 2. 2.5
The Exorcist theme is an hour long? I like it better a 4 minutes. Totally not tubular, bro. Except for the Exorcist part. 2
Huh?
Nice background music, but that's about it. I don't get it.
Had "The Exorcist" not used this in their soundtrack I'd guess that this album would have languished in relative obscurity. Stripped of the visual context (the movie) or lyrics, I found this to be kind of a tedious listen. It seemed so self-indulgent, especially the bits where he growled throughout the song and where he would announce the various instruments as they were added. I hated the ending. After the spacey sound journey he suddenly dives into this jarring, square-dance, Popeye themed hootnanny which was so disconnected from everything that came before it. It totally took me out of the listening experience. Another one and done listen.
Not sure why this is on the list
2.5
Great 80s pop.
All time favorite
Prog rock? More like slog rock, because it was a slog getting through this snoozefest.
Really interesting to listen to. A bit of an oddity, but solid.
LSD?
When this album was released I was a child, which probably explains why I liked it. Now I'm an adult, apart from The Exorcist segment(!) it's fairly tedious showing off.
Decent album but a bit repetitive
Too much tubular bells
I was feeling charitable, but then I hit 12:01 in "Tubular Bells, Pt. II" and immediately rescinded my generosity.
These bells are totally tubular brah. Ngl this was trending towards a 3 for a while then the songs just became difficult. I’m not a horror movie person so I cannot relate to this Exorcist hype.
D+ Tubular Bells, Pt. I 2 Tubular Bells, Pt. II 2 Mike Oldfield's Single 2 Sailor's Hornpipe 1 This was annoying because of the length of the first two tracks. There were parts of the 50 min or so that were actually great, but they were stuck in tracks that were 26 min and 23 min long, so it kind of ruined the music for me.
Nope. weird and far too long with the same weirdness. 2 stars.
Prog-rock that's a little too prog
Some interesting. Some not.
going in, i recognized the opening song as the iconic theme to the movie “the exorcist”. however i was not aware that that song is 26 effing minutes long. in fact the album contains only two songs, and the other one is just over 23 minutes long. in other words, only one song per side on a vinyl record. both songs are mostly instrumental and progress into stages. it’s almost as if each song can be separated into about half a dozen suites. it was not really my thing, but it was well crafted.
Meh
Oh, THOSE tubular bells
Found this really uninspiring background music for the most part
I can't say this album is a "must hear" album for me. It's interesting to listen to and the background that he played all the instruments is...interesting. Out of that context though, it's an album of instrumental music that is good for me to hear once, but not sure I would listen to it again. I just don't know WHEN I would. A person can be talented and make music that I think is background music, but it is not a reflection on the talent.
haha the exorcist-soundtracket! lite gås men ah.
Interesting and important, but not actually that good. Obviously "the exorcist" blah blah blah, but the hornpipe section is weirder to me - not sure why though!
Like choosing between ham and lamb Woah shack yeti, Ham lamb man. Woah shack yeti, Ham lamb man. Shack yeti loves lamb, Lamb and ham. Shack yetis from the land of the isle of man.
Background music with occasional death metal vocals I guess. Ok.
Interesting tunes
Pretty boring. I see why they only use the first bit for the Exorcist.
?!
Boring.
I don’t get why it’s labeled as “rock”, maybe seeing that made me have different expectations of it, instead just left me feeling slightly confused
While I understand songs can have different 'movements' or whatever, Mike has clearly just stuck a bunch of different bits together and called it a day. Obviously know the exorcist theme at the beginning and nothing else, which I don't think is enough to call it an essential album, don't imagine other film soundtracks are coming up in the list. There were some parts I enjoyed in isolation but there's nothing that made me want to repeat.
A bit tedious and boring. It kind of amazes me that there was enough demand for two sequels to this album.
How much LSD does it take...
Good bits here and there. But far too long for it’s own good.
Hugely iconic, with great moments, but overall not a great album. In fact quite a lot of needlessly odd or bad.
Kind of ridiculous but I can't help but like it. Jumped the shark a little when he started calling out instruments as they came in. OK having waded all the way through Pt. II I have to admit this album is not actually all that good. I started listening certain that Tubular Bells belongs on this list but finished somewhat more ambivalent on that point.
kinda boring ngl, never really did anything for me as a kid and still doesn’t do anything for me now Passages that don’t go anywhere, no emotional build up or climax. Instrumentation is cool I guess
Lovely for background music, but kind of boring for 20+ minute long songs.
miiiiiiiiid
Bells bells and more bells
When I saw the name come up, I misread it as Oakenfold. I unfortunately was disappointed.
Ook dit is weer een verzameling geluiden. Een ander album op de lijst liet al walvissen met de band mee spelen. Hier zijn het onder andere wolven. Wat moet ik daarmee? En moet ik nu echt uitleggen dat gerochel niet het mooiste geluid is? Natuurlijk. Je kan er niet om heen. Er staan iconische fragmenten op dit album. Die rechtvaardigen een plek op de lijst en die moet je waarderen. Ik overwoog zelfs nog een 3 (2,5 is ook een 3). Maar dan sluit het af met een nummer waar doorheen gekoekwausd wordt. Hou toch op.
I can't not hear the exorcist. too creepy.
Tava esperando um rockzao progressivo mas o sim é muito sem vontade de viver
Some pleasant parts in the first song but not very easy to listen to.
Listened Before? N Interesting but not my cup of tea. The 70s were a magical time. Something like this would never go mainstream today. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Mike's Single
This definitely sounded like tubular bells. It was good background music while I painted my kid's room, but not really my cup of tea.
Let's be honest the album is only list because of the exorcist. Side one is pretty good but side 2 is meh.
Not for me. Some of the bits were fine. But it sounded like listening to a movie soundtrack at best. Was glad when it was done and I can't see I'll put it on again.
Not my cup of tea
Weird af
I didn't even realize The Exorcist had any music in it, let alone a theme song. Maybe it was just overshadowed by all the head spinning and "FUCK THE BREATHING". At any rate, John Carpenter's Halloween Theme blows this shit out of the water. This dude was apparently all of 19 years when he recorded this and played most of the instruments. So, props I reckon? The phrase "not my cup of tea" constantly comes to mind.
Kinda spooky, I can see why they wanted the music for The Exorcist. Overall, a very strange album. Parts of it were very cool but ultimately in my view it wasn't enough to justify 45 minutes. Standouts: There are literally 2 tracks on this album.
Wtf is this
Don’t like to listen to an album of this kind of moviemusic
LP Classifieds (1973): “Wannabe Soundtrack in search of Melodramatic Film. Should enjoy occasional rambling incoherent dialogue. Please meet me in $1 bin at the nearest used record store.”
Kinda felt like it went on forever. Read up on it, apparently this album is pretty renowned? I recognized the Exorcist theme. Impress he made this album at 19 years old. Feel like it could've been chopped into tracks instead of being 2 crazy long pieces. Maybe I'm missing something, but just ok for me. Yet to have an instrumental album really grip me.
Haunting Exorcist theme aside, how listenable is this really? Does it transport you? Does it amaze you? I fear this is lost on me.
It struck me that the album starts like a Tool album, if Tool had only chimes to work with. I got through half of track one and just can’t spend my time on this one. I see the value but it’s not my thing.
I will never listen to this again
This was pretty odd to find in this list. The melodies were interesting but the musicianship was bad, often the different instruments are not even playing together. It really feels over hyped due to the exorcist
dude wtf is this?
por momentos me gustó, y por otros se me hizo un suplicio seguir escuchando. sería un 2.5/5 pero redondearlo a tres me parece demasiado
I'm not sure if it is brilliant or if it is the most pretentious load of twaddle I have ever heard. I'm going with the latter.
Not enough variation on the theme for a whole album IMO. Was this the dawn of synth-wave?
While it may be great music, it's not something I would listen to again, it gets a 2 for being important for the music scene, but not being a great listen.
Didn't finish. Cool to hear the exorcist pulls, but I'm good on random instrumentation sporadically inserting itself throughout a 20 minute track. Not for me.
Des bouts sont excellents, d'autres plus étranges et certains sont répétitifs voir annuyant.
Feels like it goes on forever
Such an amazing bell song , of course it will always make me shiver with its link to horror flick! Dont even need to list movie….we all know which one
Well this... this was certainly something. If you crammed EVERY genre of music into some psychedelic form of music this would be it. I just picture people tripping their balls off and listening to this. It doesn't really seem to make sense to me, but I am obviously not the intended audience here, though who really is? How did this wind up in this list? I will never know.
A bit repetitive.
Made writing an ethic application seem slightly more epic in parts.
It wasn’t as bad as I was expecting.
lol
The music was ok, but a bit too experimental for my tastes. Wouldn't listen to this again. Normally I'm a fan of longer songs, but it was tough getting through parts of the first two songs.
This was used in the exorcist! I thought it sounded familiar. Nice album, probably ahead of it's time with modern world music / new age-y sort of feel to it as it came out in 1973. Many of the transitions are kind of blunt in my opinion and don't have much finesse which weakens the overall experience. A good example is halfway into the first track, about at the 13 minute mark it goes from a computer-y dual clean guitar part - to a groovy distorted guitar chunker section for a total of 20 seconds- then immediately into a humming piano part. and it kind of lacks panache. To me it comes across as a million ideas all stitched together without a lot of development.
Yeah ok the first 10 mins and the bit with Viv Stanishall are great, but you're not telling me there's not filler on side 2. And the hornpipe. Grrr.
2 fuckin song’s and mostly instrumental I already know I won’t be a fan… Well technically you could just consider it one track being a part 1 part 2 scenario… Part 1 is quite cool it lives and breathes through multiple instrumental parts, much more interesting than any instrumental by tortoise. The song is very diverse, my favourite bit is the rock section around 14 minutes in it’s quite cool to be fair. At the end of the song there’s a tiny bit of speaking but no vocals as such so yeah a shame on that front. The second part is slower and calmer,like an album closer should be there’s cool elements scattered throughout this to be fair and the middle section is essentially a song in it’s own right being this weird way energetic track backed by inaudible noise! I mean at least it was easy to review. To be fair it’s great background music but other than that the chance of a revisit is very, very low.
Musically proficient and rumour has it that it paid for the Sex Pistols but this is so not my thing.
I loved this as a teenager - the soundtrack to many a ZX Spectrum gaming session - but listening now, it just feels a bit limp and odd and the opposite of what I find compelling in music
weird
It starts really well, but it seems like it runs out of steam after about 15 minutes and then it seems like a kitchen sink approach... "what if we throw in THIS next!" begins to seem like a random collection of styles glued into the same song. Also what is going on at 12 minutes on track 2?.... it made me think "what would it sound like if Meddle was bad?"
An experience. Don't know if it was a good one or not.
Oh hey, it's Poltergeist...And then a bunch of prog-rock with plenty of variety the whole way through. The 2nd act is way more prog-rock, but for some reason about halfway through the 26 minute track, they decided to add unintelligible grunts and dry-heave noises that would have been better left out. Overall...fine? I don't have the attention span for these extended journeys through musical exploration that might have ingenious bits scattered about...It's not my job to edit your album, buddy.
Well, I liked the bit from The Exorcist.
Well, this was interesting. 2 25-minute suites that stopped being good 5 minutes in. Then they added growls at the 45 minute mark. Why? Also, was this where the Halloween theme came from?
Good for a nap
Manaajastako toi oli? Erikoinen setti
This was fine until the werewolf showed up. Best track: Tubular Bells, Part One
Is it a masterpiece? Yes. Is it worth the goddamn year in length? Fucking no.
Obviously a classic, but different to what I remembered. It is long and repetitive, with some bits that just make no sense. Chill out music long before chill out. Would I listen to it again? Probably, but not out of anything other than intellectual curiosity.
26 minute song to open it up. At least it’s pleasant sounding haha.
Interesting at times but also very tedious
Hilarious, at times almost psychedelic, but really not my thing. Just couldn't get past the tongue and cheek feeling of the whole thing lol. I cast you out! Unclean spirit!
Great prog weaves several distinct themes into a unified whole, meaning songs that last up to 20 minutes can feel distinct yet greater than the sun of their parts. This LP takes sharp turns, abandons themes left and right, stuffs incompatible ideas into overlong tracks, and has weird growling noises on it. This is not great prog.
Why did the muppets yell at me im so confused
Mir zu krass
schon ein komischer Versuch, Symphonie und Pop zu vereinen
Imagine getting this album because you were so impressed/creeped out by its use in The Exorcist, and then winding up with a bunch of caveman gibberish and sailor music.
2nd listen. Still just an ok album.
Good background music
Honestly? I thought I'd like this album a lot more. The start is strong, and I was very excited to hear more. About 10 minutes in however, the shifts between styles become less of a exploration of music and what instruments can be composed together to more of a excercise of jarring sounds. It's quite uncharacteristic for me not to like a long-form instrumental piece such as this, but really didn't hit the right notes. Personal pet peeve of introducing things into your song and naming them in vocals was also hit.
I feel like I've stumbled into a haunted music shop. It's a lot, too much really. There are moments of this album that are genuinely lovely to listen to. There are also some incredibly annoying elements that I'll not be seeking out again. Oldfield's musical chops are for real. He's a great guitar player. But the wide swings in tone make it hard to settle into a groove listening to this. It's also hard to take a piece of music seriously that has this much growling in it. This is undoubtedly a unique musical experience. Props to Oldfield for going all in, but this would be a firm no from me. I tried. Favorites: None
Yawn...
Which came 1st? The song or the movie? Google says the album was a slow sell until the title track was used in the movie. 2.5 stars
I'm sure I would have enjoyed this much more 20 or so years ago, but now it got on my nerves very quickly.
Nice instrumentals, but not out of this world
Too weird and trippy for me
I tried to give this a chance but it was definitely a pretty rough listen for me. Ciao.
I just don’t have the stomach for this right now. I got through the first tubular bells track. Okay Mike I get it, but honestly, what the fuck is this??
Sure, Mike, I get it. Tubular bells. Well done. I get why it’s on the list and all, I just… It’s fine. Okay? Let’s all just move on shall we? Alright? Good.
Ok, it's great that he was 19 at the time and played every instrument himself... but that doesn't mean much when less than 1/4 of it really counted as music. Otherwise it felt like an excruciatingly long intro, a few minutes of plain prog rock, an outro and then some fuckin dumb pirate melody. And none of the various segments meshed - they seemed to be just pasted together. A 25min song is meant to be a statement about your songwriting, as if to say "I'm gonna show you that I can make 25min feel like 5", but that didn't happen here. And most of it was ambient/experimental, not much substance. It's a shame I didn't like this cause I love it in theory, but it's just badly executed. 2/5.
Intressant, men gud så långtråkig. Inget jag lyssnar på igen. 2/5
Not my style at all, there were some parts that I liked in Pt. 1 and 2 but most of the time I would've wished there were some lyrics also
It only stands out for the few seconds of audio used for the theme in The Exorcist. Other than that, it is ultimately forgettable.
Its just a bunch of weird instrumentals. Not totally sure why this is so big. Again, if I was a big music theory guy I'd probably like this more than I do rn.
A weird genius I guess
pt 1 is just old school youtube storytelling background music. pt 2 is a fever dream. not feeling this one other than a hint of nostalgia.
The good / famous bit is very short. Then there's a lot of quite annoying stuff. And he supports Trump and Brexit.
A blast from the past in Miss Bird’s music class. Not the most exciting thing ever and hasn’t stood the test of time too well in my opinion but a classic nonetheless. Remember being home alone and watching the exorcist when I was a kid and this still brings me right back to it.
Did listen but wasn't very keen 🙁
My first thought was “Why is the Exorcist score on this list?” I truly don’t understand why this is on here. Like, who is this for?
.
The whole "exorcist" part on the bells is a nice motif at the start of the album, well-built and executed by Oldfield. Then the album drops off like a fucking bag of bricks, just bad. Computationally aimless, terrible mixing, a total mess of "prog rock". Oldfield excels when he's building on something, adding and taking away elements for the purposes of repetition. This magic is somewhat ruined in the part where he explicitly states the name of the instrument being introduced next instead of letting the music speak for itself. Man also need to learn variation during these repetitive parts; just something else, anything! I think this record was a fluke: Oldfield is a subpar songwriting and producer who stumbled onto a catchy-yet-eerie riff that got itself into one of the most acclaimed horror movies of all time. Outside of that, isn't worth a full 50 minutes worth of material. I can't believe I own this album.
Okaaaaaay then
De opening ken ik van met The Excorcist, maar hoe het stuk zich verder ontwikkelt vind ik dan lastig uit te luisteren. Ik heb op zich wel een zwak voor instrumentale synthesizers, maar hier zitten dan teveel andere invloeden in die ik moeilijk kan verhapstukken.
It's a classic but it goes on a bit. 5/10
First few bars are a classic. But after that what’s the point?
I thought it was wild, and I didn't really like it. I feel like it had a lot of cool parts but the way they were put together was just too chaotic for my taste.
This didn't need to be 56 minutes long
I'm not really sure what to make of this. I'm assuming it was an artistic endeavour. To create his vision and for it to be an unlikely and huge commercial success is quite something, especially at the age of 19. I quite enjoyed side one, and didn't even mind the cheesy introducing of instruments at the end. Side two was much harder work though. The Blue Peter theme at the end is just bizarre. Just going with my gut on score: 2/5.
Impressive feat as an album but there have been much better created since. Kind of cool and atmospheric but not worth numerous listens. 2.3
Lo siento pero no. Dos canciones bien luego ya es su fumada. El primer album que he tenido que pasar una canción porque me ponía nervioso. Lo siento pero no
Kind of flat metal. Little going on dynamically
Went bananas when he said the name of the album in the song
Tube music
Thanks but no thanks.
Not really for me. I can understand why it was popular with others. I wasn't feeling myself and maybe that had a part to play in it.
Kinda cool I guess
Impressive he was 19 and played everything but still a bit...dull
Boring
idk im not one for 20 mins songs first offf if the beginning isn’t pulling me in instantly. interesting though.
5/10. Pt. I is absolutely fantastic, but falls off a large amount in Pt. II, overall a worthwhile album, and worth returning to, but not as consistent as I'd like, perhaps to much to ask of prog
2,5
Unbelievably boring.
1.0/5
It's the Exorcist theme and some track with a random brit talking about art. This was a wasted space and this list keeps disappointing.
Rating thing is not working
I was 13 when this came out. I remember liking the single edit heard on top 40 radio, though also being vaguely terrified of this music due to its association with the movie “The Exorcist” (about which we had all heard the gory details, though I did not actually see the movie until well into my adulthood). Listening now, the only thing actually terrifying is the mind-numbing repetition over 49 minutes. The opening theme goes on for what seems like an eternity, with only the barest of modulation. Then when he finally introduces some new ideas, they are not all that interesting. The part in the back half of side one where he verbally introduces the instruments as he brings them in one at a time is particularly inane. Side two does not improve things. The “vocals“, apparently provided by the bastard love child of Bigfoot and the Cookie Monster, are just plain silly, and do not add to the proceedings. And then there’s the “hornpipe” introduced in the last minute, having literally absolutely nothing to do with anything that has preceded it in the previous 48 minutes. Thank you for that. Should have played it on a kazoo, I would have enjoyed it more. I started out hoping to be able to give this three stars. By a few minutes in, it was clearly going to be two. And then the hornpipe. You have earned your one star. Wear it proudly.
Joooooo!!! De eerste noten van dit album!!! Dit is direct terug naar mijn kindertijd en dan kijken naar Bassie & Adriaan!! Met dat gekke lachlag op dat eiland ergens hahaha, mega spannend. Ik kan horen dat het muzikaal goed in elkaar zit en dat men getracht heeft een verhaal te vertellen. Maar met mijn bekrompen brein kon ik dat verhaal er niet uithalen, al helemaal in het tweede lied waar een soort grunten en wolvengehuil in zat… mwah Dan brengen we deze plaat terug naar de feel en die is er nul….
I just couldn't do it. It tried the first song, it's from The Exorcist. So, no.
Listening to this record made me feel like I was the butt of a joke I truly do not understand.
makes me anxious
Not my type of music.
Sorry my guy- tried it twice and didn’t get passed the first song. I just couldn’t make myself eat the veggies today.
Not my thang
Not for me, it was nice to work while listening to, but not my style of music.
nigga me hizo escuchar el exorcista, claramente no escuche esto y me fui a escuchar toxicity y since i left you
Bloody awful. Opening track 25 minutes long? No thank you.
I don't think so.
Repetitive and annoying.
I made it through 1.5 songs
Why is this even included? Absolutely terrible.
The theme from the exorcist was bad enough, but to find out there is an entire album.. rough
I did'n understand wtf was that
Oldfield's Tubular Bells is prog rock for those who've decided they needed more of the same over & over again, which is to say that Mike must've had dreams of being mindfulness guru Philip Glass but ended up w/ the same boring antics as EL&P, Yes, King Crimson, etc. What makes this record a particular nuisance is that you can detect so much of the British folk revival shit that plagued the late 60s & early 70s, except this time it's a futuristic nostalgia that renders it unlistenable. The songs don't change direction in a pleasant way - they just fiddle around, searching for something that isn't worth our hours to begin w/. Oldfield is truly a one-man band: he has one personality, if you can call it that; one story to tell, if you'd be so generous.
Al momento de abrir Spotify y ver que este álbum tiene dos canciones de +20 minutos, ya sabía que no me esperaba nada bueno. Disfruté los primeros minutos de Tubular Bells - Pt. I, y me pareció interesante la incorporación de demás instrumentos; ya sí pasé a la confusión cuando –para un disco que se llama "Tubular Bells"– dejaron de sonar las campanas tubulares para jugar con guitarras que no agregan nada a la canción más que la probable satisfacción del artista de decir "miren qué bien puedo tocar", lo cual sucede a lo largo de esos largos 26 minutos que tiene el primer tema. Hacia el final, la voz robótica que empieza a nombrar los instrumentos que se agregan a la canción arruina la inmersión a la que uno podría llegar. Si la parte uno fue regular, la parte dos ya fue mala: se vuelve rápidamente tediosa por repetir la fórmula anterior (pero de una forma menos interesante), ¡aunque en esta al menos te sorprende el artista hablando con la voz de un animal rabioso! Con total honestidad, no entiendo cuál fue la visión al momento de crear este álbum. Lo que "Mike Oldfield's Single" pudiese mejorar de este desastre es completamente arruinado por "Sailor's Hornpipe", por lo que ni siquiera puedo apoyarme de algo para darle a este disco un puntaje mejor que un 1. ↑: Mike Olfield's Single - Theme From Tubular Bells ↓: Tubular Bells - Pt. II, Sailor's Hornpipe - Viv Stanshall Version
This is the shittest album after muse you get to listen to
Didn't hate it but certainly not something I should be giving more than a 1 for
absolute shite
This was rough. Just sounded like a collection of instruments with very little cohesion outside 2-3 minute stretches. Almost sounded like the intent was for different artists to sample the various snippets for use in their own projects. Made it through the first half but couldn’t carry on.
2/10
🤯 Wow. The first ten seconds were very cool because I recognized them and didn't know what this album was. The remainder eventually became grating and I did have to pause partway through. I'm glad I know what Tubular Bells is about now but this was my least favorite album of this list so far.
no
Experimental prog rock…. Not for me, the last 5 minutes of the 24 minute part 2 are relatively interesting….
Goes between sounding like music from the video game Hylics to a guy at guitar center messing around with a bunch of different foot pedals. There are some 20+ minute songs on here and I just don’t got time for that. 2/10
Just so lame
That's enough bells
Also ich Check ja dass das irgendwie krass war? I guess? Aber klingt halt leider beschissen
dont get it
this one felt like watching an episode of Law and Order.
1/1
Boring
It’s really not for me. I appreciate the craft that went into making this music as it’s obvious he’s very talented, but I still had no desire to keep listening.
2/10 - Favorite song: Tubular bells pt 2
Boringggg
مو ذوقي
Tubular Bells, more like tubular balls! This album sounds like the background of a movie I have no interest of watching. I did get a laugh when he would announce the names of the instruments because it was so absurd. How and why this was ever made is a mystery.
Не знаю для какого пользователя рассчитан этот альбом, но точно не для обычного. Слушать на протяжении 26 минут только одну композицию-сложное занятие, учитывая то что само произведение практически никак не развивается, лишь моментами добавляется и убирается басс, ну и остального по мелочи. Конечно же этот альбом не для повседневного прослушивания, а скорее для создания какой то определенной атмосферы спокойствия. У меня лично были ассоциации с рдр2. Единственное что могу вспомнить это само начала альбома, невероятно популярный мотив, но в остальном нечего сказать.
this was shit from a butt dude
album estranho, instrumental… não é pra mim 1/10
This album sucks so much butt. It was everything I don’t enjoy about prog rock and classical music all at once.
loved his dicovery , but this album was boring
Listened to most of it, definitely not for me. A mix of meandering orchestral prog pop/rock and sea shanties? I appreciate its uniqueness and The Exorcist thing is sort of fun I guess.
Starts with the theme from the Exorcist ends with the theme from Blue Peter with random passages in between. I was expecting it to be innovative but it’s not a patch on what the German’s or Italians were up to at this time. Sold tonnes to pretentious geography students who grew up to be Reform voters.
In favour of Brexit and a Trump supporter… out of the Oldfield’s, I MUCH prefer Sally.
Great jungle for a commercial or moody movie, but really long in the tooth. It gets repetitive and boring quickly, and when it does pivot and change up it is really forced, a little chaotic and uncreative. Oxygene is a much better listen.
Totally out of my interest sphere. But could play in the background without much distraction. Generally not my jam. Don't get drawn into new age soundscapes which make no sense to me--while instrumentalization is clearly proficient, composition just sounds like a toddler playing around.
Self-indulgent garbage.
I have read the phrase "Tubular Bells" so many times it's lost all meaning.
The first track is an absolute mess. “I wrote 62 riffs this year. I am going to put them all into the same key (or thereabouts) and play one after another - people will confuse my mediocrity for genius and both Richard Branson and I will become millionaires” 1/5
Confused by this album Fave track: Mike Oldfield's Singe - Theme from Tubular Bells
I was already not really in the mood to hear an album like this. But what happens around the 12th minute of the second track had me so baffled, I had to end the listening experience right then and there. Yikes. 1/5
Just really bad. It’s long and boring. The instrumentations are cool sometimes I guess. But not enough to save this clusterfuck of an album
Not for me.
I'm never sure if my hatred for prog is snobbery or reverse snobbery, but this is crap regardless of that. I tried to give it a chance but it was super-noodly. THEN the guy started announcing the names of instruments. THEN, in Pt. II some guy started growling? Get me the fuck outta here.
Reminds me of an amalgam of cheesy Christmas music and Celtic Muzak.
Prefer more updated instrumental albums. Besides, the first track is theme song for the movie the Exorcist…so no thanks.
Not for me
Way too long of an album for my attention span
1/5
I have never watched The Exorcist.
Extra star for being 19 when he made this. Extra star for The Exorcist. Title song was on that Pure Moods compilation.
If a friend recommended this album to me, that person would no longer be my friend. I guess it’s somewhat noteworthy for Oldfield playing most of the instruments himself and melding the instrumental layers into a cohesive final product, but sweet Jesus is it boring. It’s difficult to comprehend the fact that this album has sold around 16 million copies worldwide and occupied a major position on the UK and US music charts for quite some time. The immediate questions that come to mind are “How”? What was the fascination? After seeing ‘The Exorcist’ did people walk out of the theater going “Man, it would be really great to have an entire album of those bells?” It’s pointless to ask these questions because I am not the audience for this album and will never understand its appeal. The random growling. The verbal introductions of the instruments. Call it prog rock, avant-garde, whatever. For me, this is what plays on continuous loop in Hell. It was a novelty that wore off before the record even ended.
Boring
Oh cool The Exorcist theme! Oh no 50 minutes for two songs that could have been shortened to one 2-3 minutes song.
“We got Pink Floyd at home.”
Mike... Mike, Mike, Mike! Mike? Mike. Mike! Mike?! Mike! MIKE!! Yeah, ok hi Mike, I think we got it, the bells, they're tubular, yeah, no I get it, tubular, Mike, yeah. Thanks.
if i wanted to listen to bells i would watch season 1 ep 9 of new girl
Gave it a try didn't make it through the first 23 minute song
Langweilif 2 richtige songs die beide 20+ gehen , nur indtrumental was nicht schlecht war aber gibt viele dinge die ich lieber hören würde
Que es esta poronga
My ex husband use to try to torment me with this album!
Meh. I almost gave a second star because it reminded me of The Exorist;; I lived in the Georgetown neighborhood when it was filmed, but no. One star only.
This album is the epitome of an identity crisis- felt like 20 musical genres mashed together.
Really 1.5… I made it through the album and parts were pretty. And then there was the caveman grunting parts…
Not a fan
Still freaks me out. Can't listen, the movie scared me as a kid. So no go on this. Silly I know.
weird
Shocker, another British album that really has no reason being on this list. As a horror fan, I certainly can respect that the music was used in The Exorcist...but this doesn't even seem like an album - it's essentially just a long progressive-instrumental recording. And one that gets weirder (and worse) the longer it goes on, mind you.
Wtf this is not acceptable
I think the only redeeming quality of this record is the fact that it has the song from the exorcist on it. I can’t think of anything else nice to say here. This is a perfect example of “weird for the sake of weird” and I did not enjoy it at all. The bizarre rambling on the last track really sealed this albums 1* fate.
This is a really bizarre album, which is usually something that I don't mind or even enjoy, but not in this case. Wanders all over the place without ever arriving anywhere. There's no clear reason for each side to be presented as one long composition, as there's no feeling that the disjointed sections of each part are at all unified into a greater, cohesive piece. Each part ends in a spectacularly annoying way: part one with someone calling out each instrument as they're added back into the soundscape, and part two with horrible guttural grunt-screaming interludes. Disastrous.
Parts are nice to listen to while working. But then some random voice comes on and sounds like they are hocking a loogie and you wonder what the hell is music anyway? Unfortunately that just ruined it for me
This is an album i feel i should enjoy. An album equivalent of an eighties coffee table book that all middle class households own and say they like. But I didn’t grow up in a working class household so the only nostalgia i have is for its use in soundtracks, but that exposure tender to be fleeting and therefore this just feels unnecessarily overblown pretentiousness of the highest class. This is not a classical work, an instrumental (i dont care it had a short burst of speaking toward the end) does not need to be 25 minutes long. It comes to something when the theme from Blue Peter is a highlight, given the programme itself was a dull patronising affair I assume Mike Oldfield’s single is named that as if he played this on his dates that would certainly be the end result. Although give it it’s due mercifully short. The final track is frankly pointless why anyone would want to listen to that i’m not sure.
what a crazy first album on the list. this sounds like a soundtrack to an 80s thriller lost to time. I have no idea why it's on a list of albums you MUST hear.
Not my type of music
I was going to write something witty, like: It's no wonder it was chosen for a horror movie; it's horrific. But in the end, all I really want to say is: No thanks.
Didn’t care for
No, thanks.
go away
This might be one of the most irritating albums I’ve ever listened to. It’s like an annoying kid poking you and you tell them to stop so they leave their pointer finger a centimeter away from your arm and scream BUT I’M NOT EVEN TOUCHING YOU. Introducing the instruments was really painful to listen. The last minute of part 2 made me want to rip my ears out. Like we get it. Shut up. The single is fine. It’s not offensive. Sailors hornpipe is.. idk i was so done with the album by this point Overall, it wasn’t the worst thing ever but I would much prefer to never listen to this again.
Nope
Gtfoh