Wednesday, April 25, 2007

๑ Mike Oldfield Crown Stereo Records



Edited:

This was taken from a Vinyl recorded in 1976 from Crown Records, these vinyl were cheaply made and labeled Crown Records meaning back at the time that it was a budget label. There is practicaly no information regarding this item, so it is very rare indeed. Oldfield fans have speculated that it is either; a demo version, a studio session, a live recording with audience 'noise' removed, or not Mike Oldfield at all


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Mike Oldfield Live Concerts & Rarities

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

what is this? it is different from every other recording of TB, especially the caveman.

I also can't find anything about it on Google, so... when is this recorded and is it really Mike?

Anonymous said...

Really nice quality recording!

Anonymous said...

Visit http://btt.oldfield.es/ Mike Oldfield Bittorrent Tracker. A lot of Flac quality recordings!

Anonymous said...

I think this is a reissue of a 1973 LP titled "Complete Recording:Tubular Bells" by the Royal Notes on the Music Trends label. Not Mike Oldfield at all. A bunch of session musicians copying the record. This was part of a series of LPs that recreated hit songs/LPs to sell to the public.

Goldngreen said...

I hate it! It lacks the care and attention to detail of the original. It is interesting though. I suspect the previous poster is right - it is probably a clone recording made in a hurry by session musicians to cash in on the trend.

Anonymous said...

Interesting, according to further research and sources that I have done on my own, such as Wikipedia, and a personal email interview with Mr. Oldfield himself, reveals that this Crown Stereo Records version of Tubular Bells/ Sailor's Hornpipe...is actually the demo version that was recorded in 1972 (prior to the 1973 title debut version). This rare recording was made with the help and expertise of sound engineers Tom Newman and Simon Heyworth. I'm pretty sure that this rare record is the demo version, which is really neat. In fact, this is the actual version I remembered listening to on 3WK Classic Underground radio station (back in 2001). I remembered because after listening to Tubular Bells on 3WK Underground Radio, I went out a month later to purchase the Tubular Bells album, thinking that it was the same album. I went home and listened to the piece, but I noticed there were subtle differences, such as the intro piano playing was a bit slower and more rigid, not as spontaneous as on the Crown version. I also notice the Farfisa organ in the background with the bassline…something I don’t ever recall on the version that I heard on 3WK years ago. I also don’t ever recall the MC introducing the instruments at the end. As the years went by I grew very suspicious about the Tubular Bells album I had been listening to, and one day I went on Rhapsody (music Download service) just recently (about 2007 or 2008-ish) and noticed that under the Mike Oldfield Singles and LPs section, lo-and-behold I see the rare Crown Stereo Records release of Tubular Bells. I then clicked on the album, pressed play, and I listened to the track. Right away I could tell the piano playing was a bit more haunting and dramatic as it progressed, just as I remembered. There was also a slight warble in the piano playing (probably from tape delay and some sort of synth filter, or heavy Spring reverb saturation effect)…this is another element that I remembered hearing on TB version on 3WK UG Radio. Either way, I think both versions (1972 Demo/Promo) and the 1973 (Final) recordings are really great. Some people mentioned earlier that the music work and playing is a bit sloppier. Well I hope so, it’s the Demo version, and usually (not always) demo versions of certain famous tracks will sound unrefined until a later, more finalised version has been recorded. A good example is The Velvet Underground’s “Venus in Furs”, there were both an acoustic demo version, and later the more rock-like, violin-driven version. So I help this information helps. If not, you can email and chat with Mr. Oldfield sometime, I'm sure he can elaborate further on the topic. This has been a great forum. Hope to speak with everyone sometime in the future. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Hi all - I am trying to get hold of the Crown Stereo version of TB but the link doesnt work. Any ideas where I can get it from?

Cheers

Sean