The tubullar bells...
- Nostra Dam
- May 2, 2020
- 10 min read
Updated: 7 days ago
Michael Gordon Oldfield - said Mike Olfield - is the youngest in a family of three who all had careers in song. The eldest as a singer and the second as a composer of documentary music. His childhood was difficult, with a mother who made frequent visits to a mental hospital. This has the consequence of shaping him a very introverted personality who will find his balance only in the exercise of music. While allowing him at the same time to develop a unique guitar playing technique of its kind. Very early, he formed a duo at the age of 15 with his sister Sally called "The Sallyangie". They even released an album in 1968 at Transatlantic. The page turned, he joined the group "The Whole world" in 1971 as a bass player. And it was at this time, at the age of 17, that he began to compose what would be one of his masterpieces, namely "Tubular Bells". The album would not be released until 1973, but upon its release, the innovative and purely instrumental side of music created the event worldwide. Several albums will follow which unfortunately will not have the same success. Success that will return in the mid-80s, thanks in particular to his collaboration with the singer Maggie Reilly, with titles like "Familly Man", "Five miles out" or the now cult "Moonlight shadow". He will remain as one of the greatest composers of instrumental music of the 20th century.
To discover or rediscover...
Discography (among others ...) :
70s Decade :
• Tubullar Bells Part 1 1973
• Tubullar Bells Part 2 1973
• Hergest Ridge Part 1 1974
• Hergest Ridge Part 2 1974
• Ommadawn Part 1 1975
• Ommadawn Part 2 1975
• In dulci jubilo 1975
• Portsmouth 1976
• William Tell Overture 1977
• Cuckoo song 1977
• Incantations Part 1 1978
• Guilty 1979
• Platinum Part 2 1979
• I got rhythm 1979
• Blue Peter 1979
80s Decade :
• Arrival 1980
• Wonderful land 1980
• Sheba 1980
• Five Miles Out 1982
• Familly Man 1982
• Waldberg (The peak) 1982
• Mistake 1982
• Moonlight shadow 1983
• Foreign affair 1983
• Shadow on the wall 1983
• Crime of passion 1984
• To France 1984
• Tricks of the light 1984
• Etude 1984
• Pictures in the dark 1985
• Shine 1986
• In high places 1986
• Islands 1987
• The time has come 1987
• Magic touch 1987
• Flying start 1988
• Earth moving 1989
• Innocent 1989
• (One glance is) Holy 1989
90s Decade :
• Amarok 1990
• Heaven's open 1991
• Gimme back 1991
• Sentinel 1992
• Tattoo 1992
• The bell 1993
• Hibernaculum 1994
• Let there be light 1995
• Tubullar X 1996
• The source of secrets 1996
• Voyager 1996
• Mont St. Michel 1996
• Women of Ireland 1997
• Man in the rain 1998
• The top of the morning 1998
• Far above the clouds 1999
• Cochise 1999
• Out of mind 1999
• Summit day 1999
• Pacha mama 1999
• Amber light 1999
• Peace on earth 1999
2000s Decade :
To be free 2002
Thou art in heaven 2002
Surfing 2005
Angelique 2005
The gate 2005
Spheres 2008
Harbinger 2008
Animus 2008
2010s Decade :
Sailing 2014
Moonshine 2014
Man on the rocks 2014
Nuclear 2016
Return to Ommadawn Part. 1 2017
Return to Ommadawn Part. 2 2017
2020s Decade :
Tubullar bells 4 Intro 2023
Tracks :
1973 ... the sound shock ! The dumbfounded world discovers a new sound hitherto unknown. Surely one of the most incredible and innovative instrumental pieces of the 20th century !
1973...the 70s saw the emergence of several composers of this type who would produce titles that would profoundly mark history...
1974...how can you compete with the previous gem, given the high bar ? It's almost impossible, of course, but this new opus will still come out on top...
1974...even if this new opus will be slightly a notch below in terms of inspiration, it confirms in any case that this young artist has a truly extraordinary talent...
1975...after a rather spectacular start to his career, the hardest part now is establishing himself. The young artist will soon realize that it's not as simple as that...
1975...just look at the level of success that decreases from year to year. It certainly remains particularly high, but it is decreasing regardless...
1975 ... a delirious sequel to the antipodes of tubular bells. The beginning of a slow metamorphosis which will spread over approximately 5 years ...
1976...in the same vein. Several pieces of the same caliber will follow one after the other and truly surprise with their whimsical side...
1977...once again, the proof is in pictures. This one is pretty good in terms of delirium either, but it seems to particularly amuse the artist...
1977 ... an uninterrupted series of small pieces of folk inspiration and brought up to date Olfield version. A truly and irreparably extraordinary inspiration !
1978...we find a musical style already more in line with what he has done in the past. It should be noted unfortunately that this new opus will be the lowest ranked of all at this stage...
1979 ... a title that perfectly sums up the musical atmosphere of the 70s alone. Everything is there, both the sound and the visual !
1979...the number of sung songs is increasing and heralds a definite evolution for the following decade...
1979 ... come on, a last instrumental piece to end the 1970s in style. Because after that, it will change ... and radically !
1980 ... when the best of the moment in terms of music meets, the result is necessarily up to par !
1980 ... the title of the transition between 2 eras and which will surely remain as one of his best titles. And it's not over !
1980 ... the arrival of Maggie Reilly changed everything ! It's the official start of large-caliber singing hits...
1982 ... the starting point for an unbroken series of mega hits that will deeply mark the 80s
1982...the hits will now follow one another at high speed thanks to this voice and this unique guitar sound...
1982...certainly not all the tracks will be released as Singles but some still deserve to be brought back into the spotlight like this one...
1982 ... an exceptional year with 3 hits. And the following year will be even stronger in terms of classification in the Charts. Yes Yes, it's possible !
1983 ... the first of the top mega hits of the 80s ! A HUGE title that will go around the world again thanks to the enchanting voice of Maggie Reilly...
1983 ... a track which will not have the same impact as its predecessor but which still largely holds the road...
1983 ... but what is the purpose of this psychiatric delirium. A scary suite ! And yet, the piece will work from the fire of god ...
1984 ... an inspiration constantly renewed and which does not weaken by an Iota despite the weight of the years ... What talent !
1984 ... the WONDER ! A magnificent ballad that will remain as the vocal masterpiece of the artist and as one of the most inspired pieces of the decade. MAS-TER-FUL !
1984 ... a continuation of certain quality but which cannot compete with the previous gem as the bar is high...
1984 ... he signs here an exceptional return to the instrumental and beautiful thanks to the soundtrack of the film 'The killing fields'...
1985 ... a change of year that rhymes with change of partner .... Welcome Anita Hegerland ! Too bad, we liked Maggie Red Hair...
1986...a second half of the decade that will prove to be much more difficult to negotiate than expected... The reunion of two stars of the moment sometimes gives birth to a mouse...
1986...there will be quality in all of that, certainly, but the brilliant side of the titles from the first part of the decade is well and truly over...
1987 ... this charming duo will prove to be a little more effective than the previous one. In general, women do it a little better ...
1987... further proof of the positive influence of women with this undeniably high-quality title. But it's clear that some have had more influence than others...
1987...even if the level of success decreases from year to year, it still remains at very acceptable levels...
1988...he still managed to rank all his works for the past 15 years, and at more than substantial levels. Respect, as they say...
1989 ... temporary return of inspiration and success thanks to this title. Which will be followed by another of the same caliber ...
1989...a year that allowed the artist to make a strong comeback in terms of Singles. But for how long ? Good question...
1989...at least for the previous two, because this one will already go a little less unnoticed. But that doesn't mean it's without interest, far from it...
1990...a decade that begins with this new opus in purely instrumental mode. A new opus that will produce only one track...one hour long !
1991...an opus that will receive little attention and will not produce any chart-topping Singles. But what's happening on planet Oldfield...?
1991...it's hard to understand why, but it will indeed be the case. After all, I'm not sure it will have more negative consequences than that...
1992...after three complicated years on the charts, strong comeback in this new decade thanks to the remixed version of Tubullar Bells. It just goes to show that the best soups are made in old pots...
1992 ... after the successive failures of the songs sung at the end of the 80s, he sets out again on instrumental versions which until now have always been successful ...
1993 ... back in the past about twenty years. He returns to the fundamentals that made its strength and built its legend...
1994...in ENIGMA mode ! The copy isn't as good as the original, but the result is quite successful. Now all that's left is to avoid copying and pasting...
1995...since ENIGMA mode is working pretty well, we'll continue in the same vein. As long as it's profitable...
1996...here he is in soundtrack mode, something we're not really used to. All for the cult series The X-Files...
1996...he revisited his own songs to adapt them to the series and create new versions. This would be neither the first nor the last time...
1996...a track that won't be officially released as a Single, but it would have been a shame to overlook it. Here it is, shimmering in the spotlight as it should be...
1996...same for this one. Only one Single will be officially released from this new album, so I might as well help the others get a little more spotlight...
1997...this is the umpteenth version of a very well-known Irish folk song that will be officially released as a Single. He really takes it easy, but it will pay off regardless...
1998 ... after the 'Instrumental' years, come back in force with this sung song which allows him to end the decade in style. A career of exceptional longevity and which will have seen him produce exceptional pieces !
1998...a career that is far from over, especially. Even if the sequel will be much less glorious, there will be a sequel no matter what...
1999...even if the level of success will never be the same again, what he will continue to deliver is largely on track and that is the main thing...
1999...it is certain, however, that instrumental music will not sound the same in the decades that follow...
1999...as much as it brought him the highest amount of money at the beginning of his career, it brought him much less later on...
1999...but that doesn't bother him that much at first glance. As long as he enjoys what he does, why change anything ?
1999...and it doesn't matter whether he succeeds or not, the main thing for him is to continue doing what he wants and only what he wants...
1999...and who could blame him on principle ? Given the exceptional career he's already had, everything else will just be a bonus, as they say...
1999...even if this opus will not remain as the best ranked, far from it, it will have at least allowed the artist to show loud and clear that he is still in the game as they say...
2002...here he is, quietly but surely beginning his fourth decade of career. A determination to believe until the very end that undeniably commands respect...
2002...as always, only the most gifted of each generation last this long. There are no miracles, as they say...
2002...a somewhat sluggish start to the decade in any case, and the artist will therefore have to ask himself the right questions, and quickly, about what to do next in the adventure...
2005...and he's definitely one of the most talented, who would dare say otherwise ? Certainly, the level of inspiration has declined somewhat over the years, but it doesn't matter...
2005...so like any gifted person, there's no reason for him to disappear like that from one day to the next. So there will definitely be a sequel to all this...
2005...even though the chart results leave something to be desired with this album. But it will rank regardless...
2008...because his talent remains largely sufficient to produce titles of more than certain quality and that is what is most important...
2008...there's no more brilliant inspiration like in the beginning, but there's still inspiration. Enough to continue the adventure with peace of mind...
2008...and all of this obviously delights the fans to the highest degree. All they want is for him to come back again and again, and no matter what else...
2014...we lost sight of him for almost 6 years but here he is again anyway with the firm intention of not giving up as always...
2014...certainly, productivity levels are plummeting, but a little is better than none at all. That's what the long-time fans are telling themselves, anyway...
2014...he will have gone through the 70s, then the 80s, then the 90s, then the 2000s and now he is proudly starting this 2010s...
2016...it's certain that we'll see less and less of him, but any feedback about him will definitely be welcome regardless...
2017...he really impresses with his ability to come back again and again. He won't give up until the end, you have to know that...
2017...as long as the inspiration is there, even minimal, he can continue to believe in it. And for now, that seems to be the case...
2023...he's revisiting his classic title for the umpteenth time, but each time he manages to deliver a version we haven't seen yet. While we wait for the next one...
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Official Website :
Greatest Hits :
Discography :
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