Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells 50th - Blu-ray Audio 05.26.23 (Atmos/Quad/5.1/Stereo/Demos)

Enjoy!

 

So just listened to Side One in Atmos. Also revisited Side One sections in the Quad Mix 1975 and 5.1 mix 2009.

The Atmos has some interesting soundscapes from time to time but generally avoids screaming "look at me I am in Atmos". Which is a good thing. At around 6 minutes things ramp up for a bit. There is a percussive zing that I don't remember from other versions which is fun. The bass is more subdued than I would like. Oh, its 24 -48 Atmos. I don't know much about Atmos technically, maybe its always 24 -48? Audyssey probably works in conjunction with Atmos (I suppose Dirac would also) so anything over 48khz is truncated by Audyssey anyway (little known fact).

The 5.1 mix is 24 - 48 and exactly what could be downloaded for a bit from a hifi vendor. Thinking it was B&W and it was around $15. Anyway that had the same bit rate.

The Quad mix is in 24 - 96 and is the SQ mix from the Boxed set and as released in full non compressed on SACD around 2001. I have owned Boxed on Vinyl and CD and always loved it. Fortunately I did buy the SACD and it still sounds great. But so does the Quad mix on this set.

And I suppose its familiarity but overall I vote for the old Quad mix. The bass in the 6 minute segment is much meatier and more to my taste.

 

My hearing (and/or my playback equipment) is not good enough to identify the wonky bass in the bagpipes section on the 2023 remix. I'm looking forward to winning the lottery so that I can upgrade to Atmos. (I may have a long wait - I don't buy lottery tickets.)

 

I am enjoying this immensely - perhaps a bit brighter than I remember it, but nothing distracting.
The records are flat and the first one is pretty quiet - much quieter than my copy part of the 2009 Deluxe Edition, but not whisper quiet, unfortunately - but I believe it might be Optimal, not Pallas.

Don't overpay, it's €35,99 at amazon France (haven't checked the price elsewhere since I placed my order mid-April)

 

Just want to say that I really enjoyed this performance:-

 

Any early thoughts on how the original stereo stacks up against past releases, mastering-wise? Getting my SDE blu-ray ripped for portable listening as I type this. Hope to play it on the home rig this weekend.

 

So a post appears in one of my Oldfield facebook groups mentioning the skull(s) on the back cover of Tubular Bells. Keep in mind, I've never had a vinyl copy with the larger artwork. I get out my CDs (and Blu-ray). I see at the very bottom left of the 2009 3 disc version is something that might be a human skull with bones towards the center of the photo. This part also includes text and a barcode. I pull out my 2000 copy and none of this bottom part of the picture is anywhere to be found. It's completely cropped. The 2003 re-recording did not re-create the beach part, unlike other aspects of the artwork. As for the blu-ray, there's more of this shown on the slipcover than the case. You probably noticed that the bell and the sky has changed but the ocean is the same, yet the seagulls are gone.

Here's what wiki says (Trevor Key was the designer and photographer and Sue Steward was a Virgin Records press officer):
"Steward accompanied Key to a beach on the Sussex coast to photograph the cover's backdrop. Key brought with him bones shown burning on the beach on the back cover, but the day was bitterly cold and it took some time to set light to them. The perfectionist Key also spent several hours photographing the seascape until he had a shot of the waves that he was happy with."

I could never tell what the white stuff and driftwood was at the bottom of the photo. Turns out it's burning bones.

Did you guys know about this all along?

 

Yes, the burning bones are very clear on the LP album sleeves. I don't see skulls, though.

 

Here, for interest, are the sleeve notes for the Quad mix from the SACD...

 

perhaps the looped pianos gives it a synth feeling. i think it was a loop! i've got a buncha CD versions, but not the original lp, save the 45. seems he played that figure for awhile, then copied and edited?
anyway, i watched the picture, the exorcist, director's cut and at 1 hour 52 minutes...i might hear something. [i'd totally forgotten they were jesuit priests, wow...] i'm not as familiar w/ the whole lp as many of you are. but i saw it first at theatre. and had a betamax copy much later. i think movies were 50 bucks in those days! pre-rental. anyway, the end credits/music really are different. you hear the tb riff played twice then the copeland-like orchestra comes in blaring for awhile, and then tb starts abruptly again at 2 hours :09. going on memory but the font was different. white on black, not as large... hey, i realize this kinda bs, it ain't important. it was the book that scared the heck outta me! was i ever really 19?

here's the promo mono mix. probably a fold down.

 

I just checked it out on Tidal using a portable Bluetooth speaker and can easily hear what you’re talking about. You wonder how nobody noticed that - although that section has always been a bit odd harmonically since the tympani aren’t really that in tune all the time anyway!

 

I understand there are some differences between the quad on the 2001 SACD and the quad included with this blu-ray release. Is it worth re-ripping the quad mix and keeping both copies or are we talking about minor eq things?

 

Well it is not an exhaustively analyzed opinion, but here goes.

I think the Quad versions of SACD and on the BluRay sound very similar.

 

I've been able to find more info here: Mike Oldfield "Tubular Bells" (limited-run SDE Blu-Ray with Dolby Atmos, 5.1, and Quad mixes shipping 5/26)

Meanwhile, I also ripped the disc, and while I agree that EQ is similar, I think this guy found an error on the front left channel, part two.

 

Ah, could well be there is an error on part two. I greatly prefer side one and haven't listened to the BluRay version of the Quad mix for side 2. Guess I am keeping the SACD after all.

 

This magazine has 15 or more pages devoted to TB, including an exclusive interview with MO and interviews with other people involved with the recording: Simon Heyworth, Tom Newman, Sally Oldfield, Phil Newell, John Field, Richard Branson.



The interview with MO does not reveal anything of note, really, and no comment on his retirement or Tubular Bells 4. Here are a couple of snippets:-

“Tubular Bells I is still my favourite,” he admits. “It remains unique and has stood the test of time. I can’t believe it’s 50 years since it was released.”

Nearly 40 years after the original record’s release, Oldfield returned to London to contribute to the 2012 Summer Olympics. He enthuses: “Composing and performing for the opening ceremony was, and still is, the highlight of my musical career, mainly because of the commitment and enthusiasm of all taking part. I couldn’t believe that Tubular Bells had been chosen, in part, to represent the UK for this spectacular event. Working with the director, Danny Boyle, and all the other participants was a pure joy.”

As the 50th anniversary of the original album and its definitive reissue draws near, Oldfield is in a reflective mood. “It is, of course, a very special time for me. I left it to my record company’s expertise to come up with the perfect ideas to celebrate this particular milestone and I’m very happy with the result.”

Th magazine has four black & white Tubular Bells-related postcards as giveaways - photos from rehearsals for the first live gig, I think - but they are marred as potential collector's items for framing by the intrusive inclusion of the magazine logo on the actual photos. Shame.

 

I read somewhere that the quad mix has the channels out of sync and other issues + the 2023 mix has an out of sync bass guitar.
Any info on that?
I listened to the 2023 mix on youtube and at the mentioned timings (9min, Part II) it does sound a little weird, but that could be an artistic decision? not sure.

I also noticed the "Intro Demo" is just a lossy MP3 source they transcoded up...

 

this was the theme from the excorcist was,nt it?

 

Exactly

 

fit the film perfectly,very scary.

 

That is dissapointing.

 

It was used in THE EXCORCIST. But it was never to be the theme. Tubular Bells was written before the movie came out, not for the movie.

 

it,s a great piece.fit the excorcist to a t

 

Listening to the atmos mix for the first time today (I had ignored it so far since I don't have an actual atmos setup) and the out of time bass during the bagpipes section is so loud and obvious it makes that whole part sound messy. I had read about it before on this thread, but I didn't figure it was gonna sound so wrong. Oh well. At least there's all the other variations to play.

 

How about the quad mix that is on the old SACD. Does it have the same problem?