In 1973, Mike Oldfield burst onto the British music scene with his debut album Tubular Bells, two long instrumental suites in which Oldfield stitched together a series of melodies into a grandly scaled work in which he played the many instruments himself. The album was an audacious beginning to a career than saw him become one of the most respected artists in progressive rock, as well as a successful film composer. The Complete Mike Oldfield is a collection released in 1985 which features selections from his first ten solo albums, as well as highlights from his score for the film The Killing Fields.

A few years back Gonzo released the original soundtrack for Tony Palmer's "The Space Movie" 1979 documentary by Mike Oldfield. It consisted of consists of the un-edited sountrack (movie commentaries and all) which includes pieces from Oldfield's released "Tubular Bells", "Hergest Ridge", "Ommadawn" and "Portsmouth" and also excerpts from what was Oldfield's then-new album, "Incantations". The film also made use of the orchestral arrangements of Oldfield's first two albums, "The Orchestral Tubular Bells" and notably "The Orchestral Hergest Ridge" (with the Royal Philarmonic Orchestra), which has never been released before. And now… The demos.

In 1973, Mike Oldfield burst onto the British music scene with his debut album Tubular Bells, two long instrumental suites in which Oldfield stitched together a series of melodies into a grandly scaled work in which he played the many instruments himself. The album was an audacious beginning to a career than saw him become one of the most respected artists in progressive rock, as well as a successful film composer. The Complete Mike Oldfield is a collection released in 1985 which features selections from his first ten solo albums, as well as highlights from his score for the film The Killing Fields.

Mike Oldfield’s iconic “Tubular Bells” took the world by storm when it launched in 1973, and nearly 50 years later continues to sell over 100,000 albums per year, with a total of 17.5 million copies sold worldwide and 18 million streams. In honor of the 50th anniversary of this ground-breaking album, Cleopatra Records will be releasing a new studio album entitled Tubular Bells - 50th Anniversary Celebration.

Voyager fits nicely into the mix of Oldfield’s discography. There is a strong Celtic influence and feel to this album, which finds Oldfield in what appears to be a very relaxed mood. It’s decidedly more oblique than his usual material, with 6 of the 10 tracks reworked traditional Irish/Celt folk arrangements. Oldfield is surrounded by classical orchestra (LSO), choir and a slew of famed Irish musicians (Davy Spillane and Matt Molloy, among others). From a prog perspective, this album is not particularly strong. From a more general point of view, it is an enjoyable, easy to listen to diversion.

For Islands, Mike Oldfield gathered a host of musicians to further his run of more mainstream-sounding albums. The album includes vocals by Bonnie Tyler, Kevin Ayers, and Max Bacon, as well as saxophonist Raphael Ravenscroft (famous for his work on Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street"), along with the album's producer and former Yes member Geoffrey Downes. Even with such talent, Oldfield only garners sporadic instances of entertaining music, and the bulk of Islands comes off as quite pedestrian-sounding. Bonnie Tyler's passionate voice lifts the title track higher than any other cut, while "The Wind Chimes, Pt. 1 and 2" serves as the second-best song, instilling some of Oldfield's instrumental originality and adroitness in order to drum up its enchanting air…

Tubular Bells II is the update and/or sequel to Mike Oldfield's landmark 1973 new age recording Tubular Bells, which will resonate forever as the haunting theme to The Exorcist. Here, Oldfield repeats his multi-instrumental performance, playing guitar, banjo, organ, percussion, mandolin, and the titular tubular bells, although in a nod to modernism, the latter instruments often appear as samples through Oldfield's Kurzweil synth rig. It's the piece's captivating main theme that again takes center stage here. The eight-minute opening track "Sentinel" plays it off of whining guitars and breathy female vocals. The latter element is a nice touch. The genre that the original Bells helped establish has come quite a ways in 20 years, and this fact isn't lost on Oldfield…

Mike Oldfield, one of the legendary figures of British progressive rock, returned with this ambitious two-disc set. 2005's Light + Shade is divided into two parts: the "Light" portion featuring upbeat and melodic tunes, and the "Shade" disc leans to moodier and more atmospheric compositions. As is his custom, Oldfield plays all the instruments on Light + Shade, as well as handling most of the recording himself; several of the selections from the album became part of the score for the virtual reality games Maestro and Tres Lunas.