Mike Oldfield
Tubular Bells

LA RECENSIONE

Creating a 49-minute instrumental track, even in the "progressive" early '70s, was certainly a gamble. Only a small label dedicated to alternative and experimental music could take it on, and so in '73, the newly founded Virgin gave an unknown musician nine months in a recording studio, resulting in the ten million copies sold of "Tubular Bells". Put like that, it seems like nothing, but who could ever have predicted that such an undertaking would achieve such commercial success? At Virgin, they must have been crazy or geniuses; in any case, it worked so well that this long track that enraptured the listener in an imperceptible crescendo, that enveloped them in the coils of its thousand intertwining themes that appeared and disappeared, that fascinated with even outdated sounds and especially with the sound combinations derived from their fusion, worked brilliantly.

"Tubular Bells" quickly became one of the most exploited and plundered musical moments by cinema (the soundtrack of The Exorcist), television (countless themes and backgrounds), advertising, etc., but for Oldfield, it was a true curse. As often happens, debuting with a triumph sets your bank account, but marks you forever. After the tubular bells, Oldfield continued with this type of musical operation, creating at least two excellent albums like "Ommadown" and "Hergest Ridge", but eventually losing his edge and public interest. The only solution he found was to "pound and repound in the same mortar" (as Montalbano would say). Thus, there is now an indefinite number of versions, reconstructions, and reissues of Tubular Bells, both in the studio and live, more sequels than Rocky, and perhaps only one truly deserving of praise: the orchestral version by David Bedford and the Royal Symphony Orchestra, capable of highlighting musical aspects that the original version concealed. However, the crystal-clear, simple perfection of that first chapter would never be reached again, staying all the more distant the more desperately it was sought after.