Tubular Bells 2003


Tubular Bells 2003 is an album by Mike Oldfield, released in 2003 by Warner Music. It is a complete re-recording of Oldfield's 1973 album debut Tubular Bells, which had been released 30 years earlier. To date, this is the most recent album from Tubular Bells series.

Background

Oldfield had always been uncomfortable with the original recording because he had only a few weeks to record it and the technology at the time was unable to cope with all of his requirements. As a result, mistakes could not be fixed and some instruments were out of tune on the 1973 release. Due to contractual reasons no re-recordings were allowed for 25 years after the original release. The release of Tubular Bells 2003 took place in the year when Oldfield celebrated his 50th birthday and the 30th anniversary of the original version.
To remain faithful to the original album, Oldfield obtained a copy of the original 16 track tape, from Richard Barrie of Air Studios; this multitrack was then recorded into Digidesign Pro Tools. There were a few parts of the multitrack recording missing however; this included parts of the "Finale", "Caveman" and "The Sailors Hornpipe" sections. These original tracks were then moved into Emagic Logic, where Oldfield used MIDI to create a tempo and time signature map; some sections of the original album had not been in time. A guide MIDI keyboard was laid on top, for which Oldfield usually used some Roland Strings. The first instrument to be recorded was the Glockenspiel at the beginning of Part One's "Introduction", and the final part to be recorded was the "Caveman" vocal track.
The album was released in four versions: a CD in Europe, a CD in North America, and a DVD-Audio edition. The copy protection on the CDs caused many complaints about playback difficulties, including claims of damage to CD and DVD players.
Due to the extensive use of digital technology, Tubular Bells 2003 has a more synthesised and brighter sound than the original. Because of the death of Vivian Stanshall, who was the original master of ceremonies on the 1973 release, Oldfield had actor John Cleese introduce the instruments in the "Finale" part.
A CD audio/DVD Video-audio 5.1, was released in Spain and México.
There is a facetious warning inside the cover of CD: "This stereo record can still not be played on old tin boxes no matter what they are fitted with. If you are in possession of such equipment please hand it into the nearest police station". This warning references a similar note, without the word "still", from the original album.

Promo single

A video and Spanish promo single were produced for a remix version of the Tubular Bells "Introduction" theme, entitled "Introduction 2003". Released as a single in Spain on 24 April 2003, it features drums and more synthesized instruments, and a conceptual video was also produced. This video is available on the DVD Audio version of Tubular Bells 2003.
The second publicly released MusicVR game, Maestro, used various extracts from Tubular Bells 2003.

Personnel

; Performers
; Non-performers

CD

; Part one
  1. "Introduction" – 5:52
  2. "Fast Guitars" – 1:04
  3. "Basses" – 0:46
  4. "Latin" – 2:18
  5. "A Minor Tune" – 1:21
  6. "Blues" – 2:40
  7. "Thrash" – 0:44
  8. "Jazz" – 0:48
  9. "Ghost Bells" – 0:30
  10. "Russian" – 0:44
  11. "Finale" – 8:32
; Part two
  2. "Harmonics" – 5:12
  3. "Peace" – 3:30
  4. "Bagpipe Guitars" – 3:08
  5. "Caveman" – 4:33
  6. "Ambient Guitars" – 5:10
  7. "The Sailor's Hornpipe" – 1:46

    Bonus DVD

  1. "Introduction" – 5:51
  2. "Fast Guitars" – 1:04
  3. "Basses" – 0:46
  4. "Introduction 2003" 'The video' – 3:41

    DVD-Audio bonus material

The DVD-Audio edition includes the demos Oldfield recorded in his flat in 1971 and two excerpts from other Oldfield DVD releases.
; 1971 Demos
  1. "Tubular Bells Long" – 22:57
  2. "Caveman Lead-In" – 2:46
  3. "Caveman" – 5:05
  4. "Peace Demo A" – 7:00
  5. "Peace Demo B" – 4:18
; Live Excerpts
  1. "Sentinel" – from Tubular Bells II – Live at Edinburgh Castle 1992 – 8:06
  2. "Far Above the Clouds" – from Tubular Bells III – Live at Horseguards Parade, London 1998 – 4:40

    Equipment

Hardware

; Mixing desk
; Computers
; Plug-ins
; Outboard effects
; Microphones
; Electric Guitars
; Acoustic Guitars
; Pianos and Organs
; Keyboards
; Soft synths
; Percussion