Label : earMusic/Edel
Review by Davide Torresan
I am 26 years old, almost 27, and I don’t know who’s Mike Oldfield. Yes, you‘ve read right. Sometimes I’ve heard his name, but I’ve never listened to his music. Or at least I thought it. When “Tubular Beats” arrived on my desk, I fixed this issue looking a bit around and I can honestly say that I was surprised by what I’ve discovered since he’s the author of the famous hits “To France”, “Guilty” and “Moonlight Shadow”. I was really blown away by his skills and the boundless musical talent of this artist. “Tubular Beats” was the album that pushed me to browse within his infinite discography.
This new album is not a new experiment for Mike since already in the past it has been released something similar. “Tubular Beats” is the summary of all his most famous songs in a dance reinterpretation. The author of this work is Torsten “York” Stenzel, a famous producer and dj in Ibiza which every summer entertains thousands and thousands of people on the dancefloors. The name, and obviously the album cover, derive from “Tubular Bells”, the most renowned work of Mike and from its sequels.
The sound of one of the milestones of progressive rock of 1973 has been completely revised, creating melodies close to house and chill-out music. Is it a successful experiment? I would say not. If on the one hand some melodies are really suitable, on the other hand they killed a masterpiece in the history of progressive rock. The lovers of “Tubular Bells” will judge this album outrageous and infamous. I can fairly declare blasphemous the remix of “Moonlight Shadow”. How dare they!? The only song that I liked was the conclusive “Never Too Far”, which sees the former singer of Nightwish Tarja Turunen on vocals. This song stands out from the others for its sweet and calm rhythm and the light hints of piano and keyboard in the background. Tarja‘s voice is placid and soothing. Sincerely I have never heard her voice in a musical genre like this, but I appreciated very much this breath of fresh air. The tone of her voice is not aggressive as usual, but soft and ethereal. I really hope that she will take this type of song as example for her next solo album, and also for the arrangements.
In conclusion, I don’t know if I can advise this CD or not, but let’s do this way. Are you fans of chill-out and dance music and you don’t want to find some informations about Mike Oldfield? Then “Tubular Beats” will be right for you. Are you hardcore fans of Mike or you recognize his enormous talent as a musician? Then don’t waste your time and above all your money.
Personally I found this work needless and, as I said before, I appreciated only the good work done with Tarja. Now excuse me, but I’m going to listen again to “Tubular Bells”.
Rating – 55/100
Tracklist
- Let There Be Light (York Remix)
- Far Above The Clouds (York Remix)
- Ommadawn (Mike Oldfield & York Remix)
- Guilty (Mike Oldfield & York Remix)
- Tubular Bells (Mike Oldfield & York Remix)
- To France (York & Steve Brian Radio Remix)
- North Star (Mike Oldfield & York Remix)
- Moonlight Shadow (York & Steve Brian Radio Remix)
- Guilty (York & Mike’s Electrofunk Remix)
- Tubular Bells 2 (Mike Oldfield & York Remix)
- Never Too Far (feat. Tarja Turunen)
Line Up
- Mike Oldfield
- Torsten “York” Stenzel
