too much of a good thing? thatliardesmond would probably say y

[acroyear]

lets see now...

• the original 1973 LP (scratched all to hell, 'cause hey, I was 2 years old at the time...)
• the first CD pressing (actually a gift to faireraven but, well, somehow I got it back...)
• the 2-track digital 1994 remaster from the Elements boxed set
  
• an actual 12" picture disc (of the album cover, both sides), acquired at phantasmagora before that place went away
• the 2-track mix-down of the 1975 quad version on the "Boxed" set cd release (gift from my father)
• the 2003 re-recording on 2-channel cd
  
• the same 2003 re-recording on dvd-audio surround, 5.1 dolby and dts
• the 2000 remaster hybred-SACD featuring
• the quadrophonic master from 1975 as a 4-track sacd
• a new remaster in sacd 2-channel
• the same remaster in normal CDDA format
• live versions from
• 1973 (side one only)
• 1978 (both sides, 3 different concerts)
• 1979 (both sides)
• 1981 (side one only)
  
• 1982 (side one only)
• 1983 (side one only)
• 1999 (midnight 12/31/99 - 7 minutes of side one)
• several excerpts and single releases
• plus the 1992 sequel (studio and 2 live versions)
• and the 1998 sequel (studio, singles, and 1 live version plus several live excerpts)

yeah, that's my Tubular Bells collection.

and yes, they really are all recognizably different and unique.  and unlike, say, Dark Side of the Moon, each subsequent remaster has been better than the previous, but I don't advise Virgin records push their luck...

and yes, i'm a geek.

Update: and i forgot to mention the Orchestral Tubular Bells...*sigh*

Comments

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

the other thing is that very little of it is actually "electronic" in the original '73 recording. only one moment of a synth, otherwise Farfisa and Hammond organs and the grand piano are the main keyboards, and the guitars have no distortions or pedals that anybody else wasn't also using for the era.

most of the originality is in the music itself and in the mix and the patience that went into that considering he did the whole thing on a single 16-track system.

modern musos with "infinite" tracks all on hard-drive, all instantly accessable and mixable, are insanely spoiled. :)

[theshaggyfreak.livejournal.com]

Yeah, we are spoiled. Some of the Tangerine Dream live recordings are great where you can hear them tuning oscillators in the middle of a song. I hope I can afford some sort of analog system at some point but they are mighty expensive. I want a Hammond B3 as well.

[theshaggyfreak.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I have a bunch of their earlier stuff as well. A lot of it is very atmospheric in nature.