Mike Oldfield
Tubular Bells II

HELLO EVERYONE... here we are together again (I commented on Planet X's first album, slightly different in sound). I invite you to read my reView (you figure out why the big V) on an album that's truly spectacular like Tubular Bells II by the great Mike Oldfield...

Let's start from the premise that, without taking anything away from the first real Tubular Bells of 1973, this CD seems in my opinion much more catchy and engaging in sound, it still contains very valuable prog elements... Once again, one can admire the talents of a musician who we can say gave a twist to the prog world with his first work of '73...

The album starts off great with the song "Sentinel", the piano part you hear is very calm and sweet, it immediately immerses us in the "enchanted" atmosphere of this CD; always with the piano, it connects right after to the main theme of Tubular Bells (which we all know by now, I hope), in my opinion definitely renewed in sound. The second track "Dark Star" is very lively and rhythmic just like "Sunjammer", which towards the end showcases a very beautiful small piano "solo"... The next track "Red Dawn" is masterfully performed by Mike’s guitar, very passionate, even with the addition of a soft female voice, a finale worth mentioning that introduces "The Bell", the album's main song where the same chord progression is played to then introduce new instruments each time and, finally, closing in style with the instrument par excellence (very famous), as you might guess, "the bells", the majestic tubular bells, which make the piece "explode"... Very peculiar is the song "Tattoo" where the bagpipes dominate, truly an engaging sound... The only sung song is "Altered State" with a male voice in the verse of the song transformed by effects, surprising: it can be defined as the only "commercial" song on the album (still very beautiful)... The small piece "Moonshine" closes the album, you could say beautifully, just like in the original version of Tubular Bells, a very fun song (almost danceable)...

In short, Mike Oldfield after many years wanted to "redo" his first masterpiece, and I would say he succeeded admirably, composing a very prog work-suite reconnecting to the much-loved '70s, but with a sound decidedly fresher and renewed from the early '90s. A complete work in all its aspects, from the musical point of view and from the emotional point of view, from the emotions it evokes within our soul when we hear it...

BYE... THANKS