Vixen: "Tubular Bells (1973) is multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield’s first solo album.
Comprising two long instrumental pieces by Mike Oldfield, a one-man band of just 19-year-old! Tubular Bells is not only one of the greatest debut albums of all time, but also one of progressive rock’s greatest success stories!"
"The first half of Tubular Bells begins with a seemingly simple (but with a 15/8 time signature that adds a charming strangeness) piano pattern that is a clear nod to Terry Riley’s repetitive minimalism. Oldfield, however, does not remain a prisoner of minimalism for long, but gradually builds the music in a grander direction, adding and changing instruments and radically altering the mood!."