Jubilee Offer: Patriotic Classics for £2.50 |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
Track Listings
| Disc: 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Introduction | |||
| 2. Fast Guitars | |||
| 3. Basses | |||
| 4. Latin | |||
| 5. A minor tune | |||
| 6. Blues | |||
| 7. Thrash | |||
| 8. Jazz | |||
| 9. Ghost Bells | |||
| 10. Russian | |||
See all 17 tracks on this disc
| |||
| Disc: 2 | |||
| 1. Introduction | |||
| 2. Fast Guitars | |||
| 3. Basses | |||
| 4. Introduction | |||
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Although the production here is fatter and brighter, playing "spot the musical difference" between this and the one that continues to pay for Richard Branson's hot air balloons may require levels of diligence and dedication bordering on pottiness, which in a way is kind of a relief. There are minor distinctions--louder bass guitar, better sounding bagpipes, Sally Oldfield (presumably) joining Mike for a grunt on the always-amusing "Caveman" section and John Cleese playing Master of Ceremonies on "Finale" (saving his best "pining for the fjords" voice for the announcement of the arrival of the "double speed guitar")--but, by and large, the apple cart remains upstanding and no babies are thrown away with the bath water. --Kevin Maidment
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Just bought it today and it sounds fresh and alive. Anyone who liked the original fear not. The music is the same as original but Oldfield has used 90% (he said in an interview) of the original instruments he used on the original with the other 10% new, modern sounding effects. So what you have is the original updated with all the latest recording techniques. Only criticism is John Cleese as master of ceremonies sounded out of place. A bit odd. Is growing on me.
Buy this and you really won't be disappointed.
Like the original, 2003 is a guitar-dominated album and, while there is a smattering of synth, it's relegated to the backdrop to add warmth and atmosphere to the more prominent guitars, tracks like "Introduction", "A Minor Tune" and "Ambient Guitars". Heavier sections like "Fast Guitars", "Trash" and "Caveman" are made even heavier by adding more distorted electric guitar riffs (the latter featuring Sally Oldfield joining Mike in the cathartic wailing), while the more bass-heavy tracks like "Finale" are given a significant boost in the lower registers. On that track, John Cleese does a fantastic job replacing the late Vivian Stanshall as he injects more grandeur and humour into each introduction.
As a whole, 2003 is indeed a job well done and will rightfully sit next to the original on my CD rack. The ancient recording methods gave the original it's biggest 'labour of love' charm, but that has been turned into a warmer, confident and more polished sort of charm. Whatever you may think about it, under the surface it's still the same old "Tubular Bells" and warrants purchase on it's composition merits alone.
If you enjoy 2003, definitely give the original a listen but also try his previous album "Tr3s Lunas".
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
