Definitly 'of its time'. The concept and execution sound are very dated today, but I respect the album for the ideas and the sheer ambition of it, for what it is, when it was made. Obviously it's got a big reputation now for booting Virgin, but I think there's a lot of charm to the idea when it first came out that it was made primarily by just one guy.
It's practically deviod of any 'feeling' or 'soul', but it's careful considered enough to be interesting, and holds some really solid melodies and moments, especially in the first half.
Agree with this apart from the last bit saying it has no feeling or soul. The guy put everything into it. It's not his best album but i love it. To think an album like this sold so much and most of the momentum for the sales built from word of mouth is incredible.
Really surprised to hear all this bad rap about this album. This album was monumental at the time it was released.
"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." (allmusic) _________________ "And can’t you see you’re in on it?
You were born though you need not
And is that not some cause
For worship, being born among these trees?"
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