It's official: "Tubular Bells: The Re Recording" will be SACD (1 Viewer)

[Alan_Horner]

From Tubular.net:

The Album will be called Tubular Bells, It will have new artwork(the same but clearer and calmer than the wonderful original) The CD version will include a free DVD featuring excerpts of the 5.1 mix, a video of the single, and all the information, pics, etc. The 5.1 will be available as a separate Super Audio DVD. The release will be on MAY 16th 2003.

Emphasis added.

 

[Justin Lane]

Super Audio DVD.

Are they trying to say a Super Audio CD, or a DVD-A or something entirely different? Super Audio DVD is a new one for me.
J

 

[Michael St. Clair]

I'm all for Super Audio DVD. A new format to settle this mess for once and for all!

 

[Joe Cole]

Well Super Audio DVD would actually be a more acurate name for SACD, since they are using a DVD and not a CD.

 

[Anthony Monaco]

Now that will be interesting! According to Mike Oldfield's site - he has not only finished recording it but sent out both the stereo & 5.1 mix to Warner Music!

http://www.tubular.net/

 

[TomCW]

Too late for me, I purchased the LP, CD, and the quad mix SACD which I really enjoy. I believe I'll wait til I can find this used somewhere. Don't laugh, it could happen. I got The Police - EBYT SACD used for $2.99 a week after it came out... the droid at the used store had no idea what is was.
Tom
NP Bonnie Raitt - No Business

 

[Alan_Horner]

Keep in mind that this is a new recording by Mike Oldfield of his original album for its 30th anniversary; it's not simply a remastering or a remixing of Tubular Bells.

As noted in the quote above from Mike's site, everything about the album is apparently finished and a release date of 05/16 has been set.

I'm not really surprised by the apparent typo of "Super Audio DVD." There's been a trend in England (just starting here, though I don't think it will last) of including a DVD disc as an extra with regular CD releases. That's apparently what's going to happen here, with the DVD bonus disc offering a look at the 5.1 mix as a promo for the separate SACD release. I think Mike just continued the thought when he meant to say Super Audio CD.

Unfortunately for us folks in the U.S. who will be buying the import version, I think the DVD bonus disc will be in the PAL format and of no use to those of us without multi-regional players. Sigh.

 

[TomCW]

Alan Said:

Keep in mind that this is a new recording by Mike Oldfield of his original album for its 30th anniversary; it's not simply a remastering or a remixing of Tubular Bells.

OH!!! My Bad!
Guess I should keep my mouth shut and read more!
Thanks, this changes everything...
Tom

 

[Justin Lane]

Now that will be interesting! According to Mike Oldfield's site - he has not only finished recording it but sent out both the stereo & 5.1 mix to Warner Music!

I read that as well on his site.

http://www.mikeoldfield.org/

If he is doing it for Warner, I guess this will indeed be a DVD-A. Maybe the thread header should be changed.

J

 

[Alan_Horner]

Looks like the "Super Audio DVD" statement wasn't the only typo in Oldfield's post.

The release date is actually May 26, 2003 and not the 16th of May as originally stated.

 

[Alan_Horner]

Latest update on the new recording of Tubular Bells for its 30th anniversary:

An official web site has been set up (a very cool one, at that): http://www.mikeoldfield-tubularbells.com

The official title will be Tubular Bells 2003 and will be a stand-alone disc of just the new recording of Oldfield's first (and many say best) recording. The site has a shot of the new cover (also very cool) and a brief sound sample from the first track from the new recording. The press release states that the album will be available worldwide on May 27th (a Tuesday), but no mention yet of a specific U.S. release.

Also announced is a four-disc box set The Complete Tubular Bells, which will include TB 2003, TBII, TBIII, and a fourth DVD with a short video and several mixes of the 2003 recording in 5.1 Dolby Digital. No word on whether TBII has been remastered (which is long overdue), but I would hazard a guess that it has. Also, no inclusion of the original TB recording (but maybe they figure everyone already has it!).

Not officially announced yet (but expected soon) is the 5.1 m/c version of TB 2003. Still no word on the format, but it looks like the prevailing opinion is that it will be a SACD release.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

TBII and TBIII are on Warner, Original TB is on Virgin. I suggest they could not work out a deal between Virgin and Warner to include the original in the box.

I think TB2003 will be DVD-A, not SACD. For the obvious reason.

 

[Justin Lane]

At http://www.mikeoldfield.org/ the following is posted:

Tubular Bells is finished and delivered to Warner Music who are very happy with it, they described the sound as amazing.

We are updating the studio to 5.1 format and I will start the 5.1 mix this week


Mike

Sounds like a DVD-A to me, especially since he is working for Warner.

 

[Alan_Horner]

I don't think anyone (short of the lawyers) is really able to step up to the plate at the moment and say whether Tubular Bells 2003 will be a DVD-A or SACD. Yes, Oldfield is signed to Warner Music in Europe. I don't think that company has the same level of commitment to DVD-A as the U.S. Warner Bros. does. It would seem that the two would share the same design plan, but we can't automatically assume that. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure that Oldfield is even signed to a U.S. label at this point; his last several albums were never released in the U.S.

The same confusion applies for the title being released as a SACD. Oldfield's own comment that the disc would be released as a "Super Audio DVD" have led a lot of people to assume that he meant to say "Super Audio CD" and just got confused because a regular DVD is being included in The Complete Tubular Bells collection with several 5.1 mixes from the 2003 recording on it. And the use of a phrase like "Super Audio" is a pretty specific reference, not something you might just inadvertently toss into a phrase. It's still not a given, however. And the fact that Virgin released the original m/c Tubular Bells as a SACD doesn't really factor into whether the 2003 recording will also be SACD because it is, as mentioned, on a different label.

I don't care which format the new title is released on, thanks to owning a universal DVD-A/SACD player! But I check the various mail order web sites every day and will keep track of when Tubular Bells 2003 becomes available for pre-order.

 

[Alan_Horner]

Tubular Bells 2003 (the re-recording) was recently made available for pre-ordering on Amazon's German web site for 17.99 Euros and a 05/26 release date (which should be 05/27). This is just the single disc of the new album; no mention (that I could find) of the multi-disc The Complete Tubular Bells.

No listing of the release on the U.K. Amazon site, but I expect it'll be only a few days before it appears. Also, no listing on the U.S. Amazon, but I'll be pleasantly surprised if the title is released here.

 

[Lewis Besze]

Alan,
what others saying is that if there will be US release of the MC version,than it will be DVD-A.
Is Warner UK releasing SACDs over there?
I would found that almost "amusing".

 

[Michael St. Clair]

The only Warner SACDs released have been in Asia, of Asian acts. It looks like the plug may have even been pulled on those.

 

[Alan_Horner]

Well, I suppose there's always the chance that Warner Music won't release a U.S. DVD-A of Tubular Bells 2003 simply because they deem the disc to be "not viable." None of the artist's past few albums were released in the U.S., despite having been Warner Music properties.

I'm sure there will be a m/c version released somewhere in the world and, thanks to the Internet, I'll most likely be able to get hold of a copy somehow. Warner Music obviously ponied up the money for Oldfield to create a m/c mix, and I doubt they would do that without the intention of releasing it.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

I presume that this will have the instrumental Sailor's Hornpipe...I know, I'm weird but I still prefer the drunken version...."and look here, a 17th century masterpiece. And if I can scrape a little of it off...."

 

[Alan_Horner]

Less than two weeks to go before the release of Tubular Bells 2003 and still no sign of a U.S. announcement or pre-order availability. Not terribly surprising, though it somewhat diminishes that "worldwide release" claim in the press release.

Here's the track listing:

Part One
1. Introduction 05:51
2. Fast Guitars 01:04
3. Basses 00:46
4. Latin 02:18
5. A Minor Tune 01:21
6. Blues 02:40
7. Thrash 00:44
8. Jazz 00:48
9. Ghost Bells 00:30
10. Russian 00:44
11. Finale 08:36

Part Two
12. Harmonics 05:21
13. Peace 03:22
14. Bagpipe Guitars 03:07
15. Caveman 04:33
16. Ambient Guitars 05:09
17. Hornpipe 01:39

The Complete Tubular Bells collection will include Tubular Bells 2003, Tubular Bells II, (still no word if it's been remastered, though I'm assuming it has been), and Tubular Bells III. This box set will also include a DVD (no idea if it's PAL-only) with the following tracks:

1. Introduction (5.1 Mix) 05:51
2. Fast Guitars (5.1 Mix) 01:04
3. Basses (5.1 Mix) 00:46
4. Introduction 2003 "The Video" (in stereo and 5.1) 03:41