Back in college, one of the guys in the dorm used to play this VERY LOUD, so that it echoed all through the Quad. Somehow, I rather enjoyed it more in the solitude and exclusivity of a pair of headphones, the sounds just traversing throughout through my head.

This was a thick piece of music. It throbbed, in a rather sensual way. It rose into peaks and dove into valleys. Mike Oldfield took a bunch of instruments, (some electronically created, some all the way live), and melded them together. The last third of the title cut starts with a bass guitar, and starts an inexorable, growing orchestra. He introduces and adds one instrument at a time to create a huge wave of sound.

I love it.

The remastering of this classic makes a huge improvement. My only gripe is that they kept the ending of the first album release, and didn't restore Mike Oldfield's original intended ending.

The album was supposed to end with a drunken version of the Sailor's Hornpipe recorded live one morning, with semi-coherent commentary by Vivian Stanshall. That's the version on "Boxed", and I so wish it was the version on this release--so much so that I edited my own version by combining the two.

This elderly recording has an earnestness and heart that shines through the limited recording technology available; warts and all, it's a better album than the 2003 re-recording.

I first heard the 4-minute (Highly edited) cut of the beginning of "Tubular Bells Part 1" on the "Pure Moods" compilation. I later saw "The Exorcist" and found that the movie used the song as well. When I got the CD I didn't realize that the whole thing (parts 1 and 2) was almost 50 minutes long. And I LOVED it!!! This is one of the most eclectic musical masterpieces of all time. Covering the range from rock to classical to funk to ambient and back like a frantic marathon runner, this is a true original piece of music. Mike Oldfield has melded the genres of rock and classical unlike any other. Only the progressive greats like Yes, King Crimson, Emerson Lake & Palmer, and Pink Floyd have succeeded at such eccentricity and even then, this truly a different and original musical masterpiece! A classic!!!

I'll get the bad stuff over with first. It all occurs in Part 2 as Part 1 is flawless. Part 2 does fine up to the point of the Scottish march which has the unsurprising ability to put people like myself to sleep. It's just so boring and dry. Then comes the infamous "Caveman" section. It's not bad but the grunting could have been left out and we would have been left with a fairly decent piece of rock music. The rest up until approx. 2mins before the end is simply some of the most beautiful and inspiring music you'll ever hear. It could have left it at that and had a wonderful finish to a remarkable piece of music. But no, Mike Oldfield decided to ruin it by playing Sailor's Hornpipe, a piece of music so out of place with Tubular Bells it may as well have come from Mars. It's a terrible ending which is why i always stop it before it comes on. So there are two really bad bits and one not so bad bit. The good bits are everything else. Part 1 is probably the greatest single piece of rock music ever composed. I know not many will agree with me, fair enough. Nobody I know (apart from my father) can sit through this 25min masterpiece. If I'm to single out the standout piece in Part 1 it's when the basses kick at approx. 17mins 20secs. Play it through a decent hi-fi and I swear you'll never hear bass like it. That continues until 19mins 47secs when we hear the MC, Viv Stanshall annonce Grand Piano. And so on until the music reaches the title instrument of the piece. Apparently, Mike Oldfield got the idea for the title of Tubular Bells when he heard the title being announced dramatically by Viv. It's a suitable climax to a brilliant piece of music. I usually put it on when I want to listen to something without having to concentrate on lyrics or when I just want to chill out. I was surprised by all the negative reviews but I know this is not for everyone. Can't say much about the album technically except the bass towards the end of part 1 tends to get distorted and fuzzy if played through a hi-fi with heavy bass. It's not half as bad as the bass in Tubular Bells 2003 which sounds like it was played by a robot. Avoid the 2003 version if you like the original as it is. Highly recommended

As a kid, I remember watching the movie "The Exorcist" and falling in love with it's theme music. Years later (like 1997) I was browsing a CD store's racks and came across "Orchestral Tubular Bells". I ran home to play it and fell in love with it. Finally, browsing through Amazon.com's music section, I search for Tubular Bells and came across what I now realize is the TRUE theme music from the movie. Mike Oldfield, in my opinion, borders on genious. He provides so many different moods within these 2 cuts it's absolutely amazing. Considering I was accustomed to an orchestra (Philadelphia Philharmonic) performing these pieces, Oldfield's original is fantastic. Orchestral has a deeper sounds, but obviously with more instruments. It's a must buy if you like Oldfield, the movie or classical music.