THE ORCHESTRAL TUBULAR BELLS

With Tubular Bells having taken the world by storm, any opportunity to milk it for more income was welcomed by the fledgling Virgin label. Thus, the whole album was re-recorded as a straight orchestral piece, the only concession to contemporary sounds being a brief section of lead guitar towards the end.

I would love to say that this is an inspired move, and that the orchestra takes the album to new heights, but frankly it is dull as ditchwater. One of the many appealing virtues of "Tubular Bells" was the diversity of sounds and atmospheres. Here all that is removed to be replaced by a straight playing of the notes as they are scored, devoid of all excitement. The loud bits are dominated by the brass section, the quiet by the strings section, it is as simple as that.

The various collections of pop and rock classics played by an orchestra have shown that with the right interpretation, they can at times sound pretty good. Sadly, "The Orchestral Tubular Bells" only demonstrates that with a lacklustre interpretation, even the best music can be transformed into boring drivel.

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