- The Orchestral Tubular Bells
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The Orchestral Tubular Bells 
Live album by Mike Oldfield Released 28 August 1975 Recorded September 1974 Genre Symphonic rock, progressive rock Length 50:46 Label Virgin Producer David Bedford, Mike Oldfield Mike Oldfield chronology Hergest Ridge
(1974)The Orchestral Tubular Bells
(1975)Ommadawn
(1975)Tubular Bells series chronology Tubular Bells
(1973)The Orchestral Tubular Bells
(1975)Tubular Bells II
(1992)Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Allmusic 
[1]The Orchestral Tubular Bells is an orchestral version of Mike Oldfield's album Tubular Bells, arranged by David Bedford and recorded in 1974 by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, featuring Oldfield himself playing the guitar. In 2000 it was reissued by Virgin as a HDCD.
Excerpts from the album were featured in the 1979 NASA film, The Space Movie. It peaked at #17 on the UK Albums Chart in 1975.
Contents
Differences from the original Tubular Bells
The main difference between Tubular Bells and the orchestrated version is that Oldfield does not perform the majority of instruments himself; he only plays an overdubbed guitar. All of the melodies from Tubular Bells are the same, although transferred to different instruments. Vocal chords were not performed as vocals and there is no 'Master of Ceremonies' reading out the instruments at the end of part one.
Oldfield himself was not happy with Bedford's orchestrated interpretation of his work, which he stated in his autobiography, Changeling.[2] In 1975 New Musical Express described the album as a logical extension of the piece.[3]
Recording
The Orchestral Tubular Bells was performed and recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall in September 1974 by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. This was shown on a British television station, BBC2, with Steve Hillage (of Gong) playing guitar. Oldfield later added his playing to the album by overdubbing his acoustic guitar at Worcester Cathedral.[4]
The Orchestral Tubular Bells was not the only Mike Oldfield album that was orchestrated at the time, David Bedford also wrote the score for Oldfield's second album, Hergest Ridge. However, The Orchestral Hergest Ridge was never released to the public as an album. Excerpts from The Orchestral Hergest Ridge were also featured in the 1979 NASA film, The Space Movie.
Album cover
The album artwork depicts the "bent bell tube" image from Tubular Bells, originally by Trevor Key, in a partly blue/grey box, surrounded by a black border. Some later releases from 2003 have had the bell on a yellow/orange skyscape.
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Mike Oldfield.
Side one
- "The Orchestral Tubular Bells, Part 1" – 26:32
Side two
- "The Orchestral Tubular Bells, Part 2" – 24:29
Charts
Chart (1975) Position UK Albums Chart 17 References
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ Oldfield, Mike (2007). Changeling - Autobiography of Mike Oldfield. Virgin Books. ISBN 978-1852273811.
- ^ "Review of The Orchestral Tubular Bells". New Musical Express (hosted at tubular.net). 1975-01-11. http://tubular.net/articles/75_01.shtml. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
- ^ Oldfield, Mike (2007). Changeling - Autobiography of Mike Oldfield. Virgin Books. pp. 164. ISBN 978-1852273811.
External links
- MikeOldfieldOfficial.com – The official Mike Oldfield website
- Mike Oldfield Discography - The Orchestral Tubular Bells at Tubular.net
Categories:- Mike Oldfield albums
- Royal Philharmonic Orchestra albums
- Live albums recorded at the Royal Albert Hall
- 1975 live albums
- Virgin Records live albums
- 1970s album stubs
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