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

[theshaggyfreak.livejournal.com]

As an electronic music artist myself, I really should own a copy of that but I don't. What do you consider the best?

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

any '73 edition is usually "good enough". the cd's in most stores that carry it are the '94 remaster distributed through virgin's american off-spring Caroline records. the 2000 master was done exclusively for the SACD initially and i don't know if there are any plans to use it as the master for future standard cd rereleases.

the '73 and '03 versions are each different enough that having both is reasonable. its interesting to hear how much the music, while note-for-note perfect, has changed as a result of both technology and attitude. Oldfield's "trance" stylings of recent years (from '94's Songs of Distant Earth to the most recent Light and Shade) has resulted in a mellowness of his keyboard stylings, plus the general improvement of the instrument line.

the '73('75) quad and '03 dvd-a are really the audiophile/collectors only editions, and only if you have the equipment. with the quad, its much easier to hear the out-of-tune elements in the middle of side 1 that he wanted to "correct" by re-recording it in '03.

the live versions are all just for the collector. most of mine were downloaded as mp3 bootlegs before the RIAA clamped down. the variations are fascinating, but only after one has totally internalized the original.

in fact, the variations he puts in during the 80s concerts actually yield some interesting tidbits about what he was writing at the time. once you hear the variations of the infamous theme incorporated in the renditions in those concerts you hear it in the "new" material of the time much more clearly - he never really stopped using that basic fugue technique, in Taurus 1 ('81), Five Miles Out ('82) and Crises ('83).

Elements is good for live '78, but a much better version from that same year was released in a limited-pressing American lp called "Airborn". I have that vinyl (with a couple of tragic "skips") and an mp3 downloaded from somebody else's digital scan. no cd of that has ever been released.

[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. :)

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

and actually, looking up on amazon it appears as though the current "standard" release of the '73 IS the 2000 remaster i described, not the '94.

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

oh yeah - if you look for the 2003 release, look for pressings from Warner Canada, rather than from Warner Spain, as the European pressings are "protected" cds that won't rip or copy (or even play on some players) without work (or errors).

[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.

[thatliardiego.livejournal.com]

Yes.

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

dad had the 8-track for Hergest Ridge, but only the vinyl for TB and Ommadawn.

[theshaggyfreak.livejournal.com]

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