Mike Oldfield: Tubular Bells III (1999) Online

Ever since `Tubular Bells' appeared, now over 25 years ago (I occasionally blow the dust off the cassette recording and give it a hearing) passing through `Moonlight Shadow' with Maggie Reilly, and then `Tubular Bells II' - a kind of plagiaristic bridging operation which did not go too far -, it was to be hoped that having recovered from the difficult task of `The Killing Fields', Mike Oldfield would come up with something worthwhile, and not just a regurgitation of the afamed original version. So, as if celebrating a belated coming-of-age banquet, lo and behold, the third version appeared one rainy night in a park in the centre of London, fortunately relayed live on one of Spain´s TV channels and captured for posterity on this 60 minute video. If the rain is an emblematic character in some of Gabriel Garcia Márquez's novels and stories, it was not less so in this first public performance of Oldfield's best work so far: it - the rain - never let up for a moment. But not a raised umbrella can be seen among the whole audience. And the wait was well worth the trouble: `Tubular Bells III' is a wonderful fantasy-sketch in eleven parts, which though starting out from the original theme, breaks away into more depth and greater maturity as the concepts involved embark on Celtic incursions into New Age, as well as certain Spanish ballad pieces, with both electronic music and human voice. The work is an education in itself as the fusion of the divergent ideas conform to an almost classical architecture: the final return to the main theme is as punctual as foreseeable. The inclusion of the ballad piece is no surprise, as Oldfield had already shown that he was well versed in both electric and acoustic guitar; Rosa Cedrón, the lead singer in the Galician Celtic group Luar Na Lubre, does not appear as a mere novelty: her singing fits in exactly with Oldfield's ideas. Oldfield owns a house on the island of Ibiza and spends most of his time there, such that Iberian influences have begun to show in his music, and nowhere more so than in this rich and exciting concert piece: it is imaginative and exhilarating. The concert begins with a short summary from `Tubular Bells I', so as to set the mood and scene, followed by the 46 minutes of `Tubular Bells III'. Frankly, I have not heard better music of this nature since `Umma Gumma' by Pink Floyd back in the late 60s. Which perhaps justifies my having the CD among my prized recordings. Enjoyable and recommended concert.

I can hardly add to Keith Hatcher's well composed review, and he certainly seems to know a lot about Oldfield's work. Still I'll just "chime in" with a glowing approval of this magnificent recording, I didn't know a lot about Mike Oldfield but of course remembered the single of Tubular Bells as accompanied the Exorcist movie from 1973. Seems I've been missing a lot, I stumbled upon this and it blew me away. Oldfield glides across so many different genres in this performance, a complex number of guitar tones, yet pieces it all together coherently until the final, dramatic jam which begins with a child reciting

"And the man in the rain picked up his bag of secrets, and journeyed up the mountainside, far above the clouds, and nothing was ever heard from him again, except for the sound of Tu-bu-lar Bells"

which might escape you the first time you hear it but there is something profound within and you'll find yourself repeating it. Mike Oldfield has a lifelong musical vision in his head with the Tubular Bells concept, and I think here, this night in London in 1998, he fully realized it. When he bows for the crowd there is an unmistakable look of satisfaction on his face. (note that though the professional musicians accompanying him put on a marvelous performance, Mike himself is accomplished at each and every instrument we see played and recorded them on the original album.)