MIKE OLDFIELD

Tubular Bells II (WEA/All formats)

Twenty years ago Oldfield's epic original 'Tubular Bells' was a teenage obsession of mine, a soundtrack to my fevered imagination, its sweeping vistas providing a place of escape. And young Michael himself, with his serene Jesus-esque looks, was the hippy pin-up par excellence. I played his record to death. Then I grew up.

'TB' was organic, low-fi, low budget and defined the then fledgling Virgin record label. This sequel has the benefit of 20 years of studio technology, the might of Warner Bros, and behind the scenes, the unholy alliance of producer Trevor Horn and record company bigwig Rob Dickins. Apart from that, nothing much has changed.

Echoes of those early themes and motifs weave in and out of 'II' like friendly ghosts, Oldfield again favouring mantra-like repetition, layer upon layer of instrumentation, building to a crescendo and giving way to acoustic guitar in a grand reprise of the original.

It goes into the red on the epic-o-meter, and is technically as ambitious as the original, but it's all too easy now and times aren't as innocent; the spirit of '72 is missing. This may have something to do with the fact that 'Tubular Bells' was a labour of love, and 'II' is a determined effort to reclaim past glories and make a wad. Hey - the guy wasn't a breadhead back then, right? My enduring affection for ye olde original triumphs over this calculated spectacular.