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Tubular Beats
Mike Oldfield
Label: Eagle Rock Entertainment
Released: February 5, 2013
Reviewed: February 3, 2013
As a pre-teen in the early seventies - before I became such a music geek - I was marginally aware of some of the more popular music that floating around the airwaves. I remember well the haunting strains of theme from the movie, The Exorcist – a song called Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield. The song was part of the nineteen-year-old composer’s first album by the same name.
Even a graduate from the Jethro Bodine School of Cypherin’ can figure out that that was forty years ago. As luck would have it, earMUSIC/Eagle Rock Entertainment is presenting Tubular Beats, the brand new remix album by Mike Oldfield. The album will be released on February 5th, 2013 and will include the most popular songs by Oldfield who has worked on new arrangements and new sounds for his compositions. [MSRP $13.98]
All tracks have been reworked from the original multi-track recordings and remixed together by Mike Oldfield and multi-platinum awarded German producer Torsten “York” Stenzel. Having previous worked together, the duo fused their style in a full elaborate project for the first time, embellishing Oldfield’s most famous songs with the aid of modern electronic music.
Newly recorded guitar parts by Oldfield have been added to the mix, and a brand new song featuring ex-Nightwish singer Tarja Turunen closes the album on a high note.
Classics like Tubular Bells, To France, and Moonlight Shadow shine again through fresh and danceable new versions. Mike Oldfield kept creative control throughout the whole production and despite the “new dress” the songs managed to keep the original melodies and structure intact, being brand new at the same time.
Never Too Far is a brand new song featuring singer Tarja Turunen who not surprisingly is offering one of her most emotional performances ever, as Oldfield is one of the singer’s heroes.
Tarja explains: “It was such a pleasure to work with Mike Oldfield. The song turned out to be even better than I could have ever expected. Mike has a vast career and experience in pop, instrumental and electronic music. I love his music and his personal guitar sound.
“My work in this song was inspired by Mike’s Islands featuring another of my youth idol: Bonnie Tyler,” continues Tarja. “A way to thank them for the nice melodies I grew up with was to add a line from their hit. And I believe Mike liked the idea too. That’s how Never Too Far was born. Hope that you enjoy the song as much as I do.”
If you love mood setting, danceable and, dare I say, head-spinning music, you will definitely want to get your copy of Tubular Beats.
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