Classic Rock Bottom

This week's selection might be the eighth in a series. Then again, it might not.

Some people complain about the number of songs on albums. They think 8-10 is enough. Of course they're wrong, but just to make them happy this week's pick has only TWO songs so there should be no whining. 

Some people might be familiar with portions of 1973's "Tubular Bells" by Mike Oldfield. I won't mention why, but it does have to do with a movie. I won't mention the movie because it's more fun for you to figure it out yourself. I will say that I like the third movie as much as the first and the second one is quite funny.  

Prog? Art-Rock? Classical? New Age? You decide.

Since there ARE bells, should you listen to this at Christmas when the family is all gathered together?

And now, a brief history of Mike Oldfield, courtesy of allmusic.com:

Composer Mike Oldfield rose to fame on the success of Tubular Bells, an eerie, album-length conceptual piece employed to stunning effect in the film The Exorcist. Born May 15, 1953, in Reading, England, Oldfield began his professional career at the age of 14, forming the Sallyangie folk duo with his sister Sally; a year later, the siblings issued their debut LP, Children of the Sun. By the age of 16, he was playing bass with Soft Machine founder Kevin Ayers' group the Whole World alongside experimental classical arranger David Bedford and avant-garde jazz saxophonist Lol Coxhill; within months, Oldfield was tapped to become the band's lead guitarist prior to recording the 1971 LP Shooting at the Moon.

Tubular Bells, originally dubbed Opus 1, grew out of studio time gifted by Richard Branson, who at the time was running a mail-order record retail service. After its completion, Oldfield shopped the record to a series of labels, only to meet with rejection; frustrated, Branson decided to found his own label, and in 1973 Tubular Bells became the inaugural release of Virgin Records. An atmospheric, intricate composition that fused rock and folk motifs with the structures of minimalist composition, the 49-minute instrumental piece (performed on close to 30 different instruments, virtually all of them played by Oldfield himself) spent months in the number one spot on the U.K. charts, and eventually sold over 16 million copies globally. In addition to almost single-handedly establishing Virgin as one of the most important labels in the record industry, Tubular Bells also created a market for what would later be dubbed new age music, and won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition in 1974.

The follow-up, 1974's Hergest Ridge (named after Oldfield's retreat in a remote area of Herefordshire) also proved phenomenally successful, and dislodged Tubular Bells at the top of the British chart. With 1975's Ommadawn, he explored ambient textures and world music; however, the emergence of punk left Oldfield baffled, and he retreated from sight for three years following the LP's release. He resurfaced with 1978's Incantations. Platinum, issued a year later, kept its eye on the clubs, and featured a dance version of the Philip Glass composition "North Star." With 1980's QE2, Oldfield moved completely away from his epic-length pieces and traveled into pop territory, a shift typified by the album's cover of ABBA's "Arrival." He continued in a pop vein for much of the 1980s, as albums like 1983's Crises, 1984's Discovery, and 1987's Islands encroached further and further upon mainstream accessibility.

In 1992, Oldfield teamed with producer Trevor Horn for Tubular Bells II, which returned him to the top of the U.K. charts. The Songs of Distant Earth appeared two years later, followed by a third Tubular Bells update in 1998. In 2003, Oldfield re-recorded Tubular Bells in celebration of its 30th anniversary, with John Cleese as master of ceremonies replacing the late Vivian Stanshall; the album was issued as a two-disc set including a video disc.

Light + Shade, a double-disc conceptual work of new studio material, appeared in 2006. An album-length classically influenced piece, Music of the Spheres, appeared in 2008, followed by a live offering. After a four-year break from his own work, Oldfield reentered the studio and began working on a return to pop/rock-influenced music. In early 2014 he emerged with Man on the Rocks.

Of course this isn't complete without an album review, also courtesy of allmusic.com:

Mike Oldfield's groundbreaking album Tubular Bells is arguably the finest conglomeration of off-centered instruments concerted together to form a single, unique piece. A variety of instruments are combined to create an excitable multitude of rhythms, tones, pitches, and harmonies that all fuse neatly into each other, resulting in an astounding plethora of music. Oldfield plays all the instruments himself, including such oddities as the Farfisa organ, the Lowrey organ, and the flageolet. The familiar eerie opening, made famous by its use in The Exorcist, starts the album off slowly, as each instrument acoustically wriggles its way into the current noise that is heard, until there is a grand unison of eccentric sounds that wildly excites the ears. Throughout the album, the tempos range from soft to intense to utterly surprising, making for some excellent musical culminations. Mandolins and Spanish guitars are joined by grinding organs and keyboards, while oddball bells and cranking noises resound in the distance. In the middle of the album, guest Vivian Stanshall announces each instrument seconds before it is heard, ending with the ominous-sounding tubular bells, a truly powerful and dominating instrument. The most interesting and overwhelming aspect of this album is the fact that so many sounds are conjured up, yet none go unnoticed, allowing the listener a gradual submergence into each unique portion of the music. Tubular Bells is a divine excursion into the realm of new age music.

Tubular Bells

1. Part One

2. Part Two

Availability: Starts around $6 used.

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Need to research the idea that this series is about horror movie soundtracks....

Go right ahead.

Oh my, right off the bat that beginning sounds like something from Halloween or some other horror flick.  Which is totally cool.  Anyway, I have seen this album mentioned in articles before, claiming it's brilliance.  And I have thought about picking it up several times just to see what the fuss is about.  Now I have heard it for myself.

I didn't read Jon's text until after the album started playing, but I would have never known it was in the film The Exorcist.  You see, I've never seen that movie.  I'm not really big into movies about demonic possession, and believe me, I would have never watched it when it came out.  At that age I would have been scared to death.  Still might be now.  

But like I said, it definitely sounded like something from a horror flick when it started.  And then another album void of vocals (for the most part).  I think it's been established that I like vocals, so this one faced an immediate uphill battle. But it was pretty dang good.  Pretty dang interesting.  Even without vocals.  I was never bored.  Which surprised me. There was a little bit of everything, including some unique guitar work.  There was even a part that sounded like Asian music.  

So I say this was a smashing success.  I probably won't run out and pick it up, but if I come across it at the right price, I might just add it to the collection.  Nice job Jon.

The start is the most spooky music ever made, even though it wasn't made for The Excorsist.

I saw that movie when I was 14-15 years old, and got REALLY, really scared for YEARS. If I heard the music on the radio (which I don't think, I did), I would remember that scary movie all over again. Really, I was out of my mind for almost....5 years because of the scare, I got, when I sat "alone" in the cinema (my "friend" backed out in the last second, and left me alone, among strangers in the cinema. Did I regret, not backing out too? You bet!!). What got me "normal" again, was seeing the movie one more time, when I was about 19 years old. 

The music is actually quite pleassant to listen to. It reminds me a bit of Tull's "Thick As a Brick", probably because it's mainly one long song on one album, and it's Prog.

I have only heard this album once before (not because, the main theme still scares me. I've got it as my ring-tone on a mobile, for Christ's sake). You'll have to be in a special mode, to sit through a whole instrumental (not counting the "MMmm...MMmm.. and Aaahahhh...aaahhaahh"s and the weird stuff) album only containg one "song". It's pretty rare, I'm in that mode.

Mike Oldfield is another "artist", I remember seeing/hearing for the first time in the TV-series called something like "A World In Music" around 1978. A "Documentary" where I "discovered" Jethro Tull. I remember, seeing him in his homemade studio making new age-music. It was the very last episode, so clearly, it was made out, as if he was making music for the future world.

There: now I've heard it twice. He's off course a very good guitarist, and when the guitar takes over, the album is best. But when doesn't it take over?! The best part, is probably around the middle of side 2, where "Tom Waits" "sings". A nice riff there, and a great guitar-solo. My very favorite part!! It only last for 5 min., but still. And a happy ending is always nice!!

These song titles remind me of that scene in My Cousin Vinnie when Pesci and Tomei step into the southern diner and look at the menu.   But Part One can't be heard without the imagery of a certain horror flick that scared the snot out of me and still does to this day.

And so thats where my head is right from the first note... but it quickly moves past the familiar and into the not so familiar, and its quite mellow.  Towards the middle there are some background keyboards that remind me of very early Styx, you remember the innovations of Dennis DeYoung!  Even the geetar work has an early JY tone.  Not sure why I'm hearing that so distinctly, but I am... But while those moments are brief they do keep my attention.  I don't think I caught a word he said, kinda sounded German, at least until the slightly distorted guitars comment was made. FINALLY!  Some Tubular Bells!  Not really sure where this journey was intended to take the listener, it seemed somewhat surreal and melancholy, kind of a meditative piece... maybe?

Part Two...

Opens like the start of a new day, I'm not kidding that's what came to mind.  Its like everything is all right now!  Captain Howdy is banished to Hell and the Priests are all dead, and yet everything is peaceful and calm.  8 minutes of this minstrel picking seems to be dragging at this point. The oohs and ahs don't seem to dull the repetitiveness thankfully there is a subtle shift around the 9 minute mark. 11:45 and we have something very interesting ... The pre-cursor to cookie monster vocals?! Or maybe Rammsteins early influence?  AT least the tempo change and the drums are a welcome addition.  Nice guitar work no doubt, but I must say the ho-down at the end was a wrench in the experience.   I expected Porky to poke his head out and Say "Thats All Folks!"

Interesting listening experience for sure!

PS:  I didn't get the second movie at all may have it totally mentally blocked out at this point, it was just weird, and part 3 was at least interesting towards the end.

You need to watch the second part again, just to laugh. The scariest part of the movie is the balcony.

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