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Topic: "!Different" TB excerpt on The Complete LP< Next Oldest | Next Newest >
Ugo Offline




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Posted: June 08 2001, 20:09

Hi. This message is aimed to all forum members (and non-members) who have The Complete on vinyl LP.
The excerpt from Tubular Bells, on Side Three of my LP, sounds noticeably different from what TB sounds like in ALL its other released versions. The main and most hearable differences are as follows:
1) Right at the beginning of the excerpt (which starts at what the Amarok Player Tracklist calls Eventide --> Red Dawn in TB2, and finishes by fading out on the choir, shortly before the final arpeggio), an electric guitar is heard on the left channel, playing some notes which make up a countermelody to the acoustic guitar. This countermelody is not heard in ANY other version of TB.
2) At the third repetition of the "Bell" ostinato riff, in the "common" TB an organ is heard. On my TC album there's no organ, the overall volume of the riff is noticeably lower and there are no crescendos.
3) The Reed and Pipe Organ sounds VERY different from what we are used to hear. On the version I have, it sounds blurred, indistinct, and even the melody is kind-of confused, swelled up in this blurred sound...it sounds more like a toy Bontempi organ smile than the Farfisa listed on the cover. On the "common" TB, this Reed & Pipe Organ part is much clearer and the melody is very distinguishable from the surrounding sound. This does not happen on my LP version.
4) The Glockenspiel starts on the right-hand channel and stays there all the way through.
5) The Girlie Chorus enters together with the bells and not afterwards, i.e. as soon as Mike bangs out the first E on his TB, Mundy and Sally sing "oooooooooooohhhhhh" under that note...it's a funny effect. smile
6) Even the TB part in itself is different. There are several added chimes, lower in volume than the main notes on the melody. These chimings are mostly higher E's.

So, what I'd like to ask to all of you is:
1) Are these differences heard on other versions of The Complete LP, or do I own a rare item? wink
2) Why would the guys at Virgin place a different version of TB on the vinyl album, then "forgetting" to put it also on the CD?
3) Where the heck does this version come from??? smile Not from Boxed, I think... I know that the Boxed mix is different from the original TB, but Simon Heyworth just does not seem the kind of guy who'd dare to replace a good recording with a blurred-sounding one (I'm always talking about the Reed & Pipe Organ), just to make the mix "different" from the original.

Take your time to answer...I can wait. smile

P.S.: The Hergest Ridge excerpt featured on my LP is clearly taken from the ORIGINAL mix of HR and not from Mike's Boxed remix. So... do I really own a rarity or not? smile


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Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian
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Spinne Offline




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Posted: May 17 2003, 06:21

Could you pass an mp3 file just to compare with ours?
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Holger Offline




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Posted: May 17 2003, 06:49

I've got The Complete on LP. As you said, I'll take some time to check that :p
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Blue Dolphin Offline




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Posted: May 17 2003, 07:19

Well, I noticed this long ago too... especially the pipe and reed organ sound. I discussed this with Korgscrew and we came to the conclusion that it is the version from the Boxed set... i.e. the quadrophonic mixes.

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Blue Dolphin Offline




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Posted: May 17 2003, 07:22

Oops, I replied to quick... you said before that it is not from Boxed... hm... strange, I noticed the different organ on the Complete cd version too... I do own CD as well as LP version.

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-The mark of a good musician is to play one note and mean it-

Mike Oldfield - 1980
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Korgscrew Offline




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Posted: May 24 2003, 19:41

As far as I remember, when I discussed this with Ugo elsewhere, we came to the conclusion that it was the Boxed mix (that was after I played him the relevant sections from my copy of Boxed, which he identified as being the same as on his Complete LP) - the reason for replacing the reed and pipe organ was because it mysteriously disappeared from the tape, rather than just to make it sound different; it was done under the direction of Phil Newell rather than Simon Heyworth.
The counter melody Ugo mentions in point 1 is there in the original mix, just it's a lot quieter.

My CD version of The Complete has the regular mix of Tubular Bells.
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Blue Dolphin Offline




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Posted: May 24 2003, 21:31

So there are two cd versions.. one with the original tubular bells mix, and the other (which I have) with the tubular bells boxed mix.

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-The mark of a good musician is to play one note and mean it-

Mike Oldfield - 1980
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familyjules Offline




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Posted: May 27 2004, 09:44

Quote (Ugo @ June 08 2001, 20:09)
P.S.: The Hergest Ridge excerpt featured on my LP is clearly taken from the ORIGINAL mix of HR and not from Mike's Boxed remix. So... do I really own a rarity or not?  :smile:

Does the CD version have an exerpt of the original mix of HR, or the remix.  If it is the original mix, I'm guessing it would be the only CD release of any part of the original mix.......?

Jules


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Ugo Offline




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Posted: May 27 2004, 16:38

Quote (familyjules @ May 27 2004, 15:44)
Does the CD version have an exerpt of the original mix of HR, or the remix.  If it is the original mix, I'm guessing it would be the only CD release of any part of the original mix.......?

I've got four copies of The Complete on CD. One of them, which is packed in an old-fashioned 2-CD box (i.e. 2 separate CDs) features the original LP mix. The other three, packed in the newer two-in-one boxes, all feature the Boxed mix. Oh well. :) :)


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familyjules Offline




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Posted: May 28 2004, 05:00

Quote (Ugo @ May 27 2004, 16:38)
Quote (familyjules @ May 27 2004, 15:44)
Does the CD version have an exerpt of the original mix of HR, or the remix.  If it is the original mix, I'm guessing it would be the only CD release of any part of the original mix.......?

I've got four copies of The Complete on CD. One of them, which is packed in an old-fashioned 2-CD box (i.e. 2 separate CDs) features the original LP mix. The other three, packed in the newer two-in-one boxes, all feature the Boxed mix. Oh well. :) :)

Thanks for that, Ugo - I'm on the look out for an old second hand of Complete then......

Jules


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familyjules Offline




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Posted: June 02 2004, 05:31

Quote (familyjules @ May 28 2004, 05:00)
Thanks for that, Ugo - I'm on the look out for an old second hand of Complete then......

I've just won an ebay auction for an original 1985 pressing of the Complete CDs.  Here's hoping it has the excerpt of the original mix of HR.  I'll let you know when it gets here.

I'm also looking forward to hearing the live version of Platinum and having Cuckoo Song and William Tell in crackle-free quality.

Yay!

Jules


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familyjules Offline




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Posted: June 09 2004, 04:42

My elderly copy of Complete on CD arrived yesterday.  The except from HR is indeed the original mix, although it's not a passage that screams DIFFERENT MIX at you loud and clear, but there are a few extra instruments that's for sure.

Then I played the live version of Platinum and thought "Ah! Now I remember how it goes!"  I must see if my old vinyl copy is still lurking at my Dad's house.  I believe it has the original Sally on it.

I also played the TB excerpt and couldn't decide if it was the Boxed mix or not.  I'll have to have another listen.

Then I put on disc 1 and sang along while cooking a really nice pasta dish.  Mike goes well with cooking pasta.  Heh.

Jules


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