Tubular Bells 2003 - Background

Background

Oldfield had always been uncomfortable with the original recording because he had only a few weeks to record it and the technology at the time was unable to cope with all of his requirements. As a result mistakes could not be fixed and some instruments were out of tune on the 1973 release. Due to contractual reasons no re-recordings were allowed for 25 years after the original release. The release of Tubular Bells 2003 took place in the year when Oldfield celebrated his 50th birthday and the 30th anniversary of the original version.

To remain faithful to the original album, Oldfield obtained a copy of the original 16 track tape, from Richard Barrie of Air Studios; this multitrack was then recorded into Digidesign Pro Tools. There were a few parts of the multitrack recording missing however; this included parts of the "Finale", "Caveman" and "The Sailors Hornpipe" sections. These original tracks were then moved into Emagic Logic, where Oldfield used MIDI to create a tempo and time signature map; some sections of the original album had not been in time. A guide MIDI keyboard was laid on top, for which Oldfield usually used some Roland Strings. The first instrument to be recorded was the Glockenspiel at the beginning of Part One's "Introduction", and the final part to be recorded was the "Caveman" vocal track.

The album was released in three versions: a CD in Europe, a CD in North America, and a DVD-Audio edition. The copy protection on the CDs caused many complaints about playback difficulties, including claims of damage to CD and DVD players.

Due to the extensive use of digital technology, Tubular Bells 2003 has a more synthesized and brighter sound than the original. Because of the death of Vivian Stanshall, who was the original master of ceremonies on the 1973 release, Oldfield had actor John Cleese introduce the instruments in the "Finale" part.

There is a facetious warning inside the cover of CD: "This stereo record can still not be played on old tin boxes no matter what they are fitted with. If you are in possession of such equipment please hand it into the nearest police station". This warning references a similar note, without the word "still", from the original album.

A video and Spanish promo single were produced for a remix version of the Tubular Bells "Introduction" theme, entitled "Introduction 2003". The second publicly released MusicVR game, Maestro, used various extracts from Tubular Bells 2003.