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TUBULAR BELLS by Mike Oldfield - An appreciation

 Tubular Bells remains one of my favourite albums and eclipses anything Mike Oldfield has done since. Virtually single handedly keeping the Virgin empire afloat, this album has a serenity and beauty that is difficult to describe.

Below are the main points in this extraordinary work.

 

00min 01sec - The first bell phrase starts

00.07 - The first theme is repeated and continues in the same vein.

00.49 - The theme is developed with the introduction of a bass line

01.14 - The opening chords return

01.26 - The sequence continues

01.38 - Theme is developed again by keyboards joinging in.

02.01 -A new guitar section is introduced and gradually all the themes of the first two minutes interweave.

02.57 - Introduction of a strong melodic theme over the top of existing themes.

03.38 - Fuzzy guitar enters over the top of the bell theme while opening themes continue.

04.03 - A wonderfully evocative melody starts

04.16 - A highly evocative theme of the countryside and hazy sun builds.

04.42 - Theme beds down again with guitar accompaniment.

05.08 - Glockenspiel comes in with a staccato style melody as the background bells theme fades.

05.53 - The first theme returns in a frantic manner.

06.06 - Fuzzy guitars start to drive the work onwards and a new haresher tune starts to develop and dominate.

06.57 - A bass break repeats one of the themes as all the layers begin to bring an ominous feel to the work which becomes rather discordant with an attempt to battle back towards the more melodic.

08.18 - The work becomes more discordant as an organ joins in. Suggestion that something very shortly will give

09.14 - This leads into one of the most beautiful melodies of the whole work. Pure evocation of the countryside and rivers.

09.40 - This theme breaks into the bells motif which is overlapped by Spanish and acoustic guitars.

10.05 - A further break in the rhythm and we return to the melodic passage with guitars that develops over the next minute or so.