In my youth I would spend ages poring over the LP of "Tubular Bells" in record shops and wonder what it sounded like. It wasn't until I acquired the album on CD back in 1989 that I actually got to hear it.
This vinyl was released in 2009 and seems to play the original 1973 mix rather than the remixed version Oldfield produced in the same year. I say "it seems to play" as this pressing is so bad it is almost impossible to discern what is going on. The crackles, pops and surface noise are so bad you could consider it as unfit for purpose. Condition isn't an issue as the disc is spotlessly clean and, due to its poor performance, it has only been played a handful of times: it is just a terrible pressing. If I want to listen to this album I invariably play digital files or spin the version included in the "Boxed" box set - anything other than this GZ Media monstrosity.
The music on this record is familiar to millions, but if you aren't aware of it I recommend you play it a few times on streaming services. Whilst "Tubular Bells" might not sound groundbreaking to twenty first century ears, records like this were seldom heard fifty years ago. When you then consider the fact that Mike played all of the instruments himself, this becomes a seriously impressive piece of work.
Having said that, the first time I heard "Tubular Bells" I was rather disappointed at how acoustic and 'rock' it was. I was a massive Jean Michel Jarre fan at the time and I naively assumed that this might be similar in style. Despite not really fitting with my taste, this record did eventually grow on me and kickstarted a long relationship with Mike's music. As I dug further into Mike's back catalogue I realised his music had become increasingly electronic during the eighties but retained enough of his virtuoso guitar skills to set him apart. I'm looking forward to listening to those records again. The music on this record gets a 4/5 but the pressing receives 0/5.
