Tubular Bells III is the 18th album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 by Mike Oldfield

Mike Oldfield

Michael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...

, released in 1998

1998 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1998.-Events:*January 28 – "Weird Al" Yankovic gets LASIK surgery to cure his myopia...

. A sequel to Oldfield's 1973 Tubular Bells

Tubular Bells

Tubular Bells is the debut record album of English musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1973. It was the first album released by Virgin Records and an early cornerstone of the company's success...

and his 1992 Tubular Bells II

Tubular Bells II

Tubular Bells II is the 15th music album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1992. The album - the first for his new record label, Warner Bros. Records, following an acrimonious departure from Virgin Records after twenty years - was conceived as a sequel to Oldfield's 1973 Tubular Bells...

albums, it was released on the 25th anniversary of the first Tubular Bells album.

At the time of creating Tubular Bells III Oldfield had been living in Ibiza

Ibiza

Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...

, and thus certain elements of the album reflect the moods of the island.

Track listing

All tracks by Mike Oldfield

Mike Oldfield

Michael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...

.

1. "The Source of Secrets" – 5:35
2. "The Watchful Eye" – 2:09
3. "Jewel in the Crown" – 5:45
4. "Outcast" – 3:49
5. "Serpent Dream" – 2:53
6. "The Inner Child" – 4:41
7. "Man in the Rain
   Man in the Rain
   "Man in the Rain" is a pop song written and performed by by English multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield. It was included on the album Tubular Bells III and released as a single in October 1998. The vocals were performed by Cara Dillon.- History :...
   
   " – 4:03
8. "The Top of the Morning" – 4:26
9. "Moonwatch" – 4:25
10. "Secrets" – 3:20
11. "Far Above the Clouds
    Far Above the Clouds
    "Far Above the Clouds" is a single by musician Mike Oldfield, released in April 1999 . The single is the final track from the album Tubular Bells III...
    
    " – 5:30

Early versions

Oldfield has stated that he initially recorded over 70 minutes of music for Tubular Bells III but trimmed it down to the current 46 minutes and 38 seconds. An early version of "Man in the Rain

Man in the Rain

"Man in the Rain" is a pop song written and performed by by English multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield. It was included on the album Tubular Bells III and released as a single in October 1998. The vocals were performed by Cara Dillon.- History :...

" was written shortly after 1983's "Moonlight Shadow

Moonlight Shadow

"Moonlight Shadow" is a pop song written and performed by English multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield, released as a single in May 1983 and included in the album Crises of the same year. The vocals were performed by Scottish vocalist Maggie Reilly, who had joined Mike Oldfield in 1980...

", and is similar in style to the song. An early version of "The Source of Secrets" appears on the compilation Mike Oldfield XXV

XXV: The Essential

XXV: The Essential is a compilation album written and mostly performed by Mike Oldfield and released in 1997. The Roman numerals XXV are to represent that this is a compilation pieces of the first 25 years of Oldfield's work.- Background :...

.

Premiere concert

On September 4, 1998, six years to the day after the premiere of Tubular Bells II at Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear...

, Oldfield held a premiere concert for Tubular Bells III at Horse Guards Parade

Horse Guards Parade

Horse Guards Parade is a large parade ground off Whitehall in central London, at grid reference . It is the site of the annual ceremonies of Trooping the Colour, which commemorates the monarch's official birthday, and Beating Retreat.-History:...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. The live version of the complete album from the premiere concert is available on the double DVD Tubular Bells II/Tubular Bells III (see Tubular Bells II Live

Tubular Bells II Live

Tubular Bells II, The Performance Live at Edinburgh Castle is a live concert video by Mike Oldfield released in 1992.- Background :The video is a full faithful performance from the premiere concert of the Tubular Bells II album at Edinburgh Castle...

and Tubular Bells III Live

Tubular Bells III Live

Tubular Bells III, The Premiere Performance is a live concert video by Mike Oldfield released in 1998.It was released on VHS and Laserdisc in 1998, and later packaged with Tubular Bells II Live on DVD.- The Concert :...

).

The Live Then & Now 1999

Live Then & Now 1999

The Live Then & Now 1999 was a concert tour by the British multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield.- Background :Then & Now was Oldfield's second tour of the 1990s, and was Oldfield's last full tour to date. It promoted both the Guitars and Tubular Bells III albums...

 tour was in promotion of this album and his following album, Guitars

Guitars (Mike Oldfield album)

Guitars is a record album written and performed by Mike Oldfield, released in 1999 . The concept of the album was to only perform it using guitar-like instruments.- Background :...

.

Critical reaction

Tubular Bells III is the least successful of the three main Tubular Bells albums, only attaining #4 on the UK chart

UK Albums Chart

The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...

, unlike its two chart topping predecessors. Critical reaction was mixed. The very distinct similarity of "Man in the Rain

Man in the Rain

"Man in the Rain" is a pop song written and performed by by English multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield. It was included on the album Tubular Bells III and released as a single in October 1998. The vocals were performed by Cara Dillon.- History :...

" to the hit "Moonlight Shadow

Moonlight Shadow

"Moonlight Shadow" is a pop song written and performed by English multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield, released as a single in May 1983 and included in the album Crises of the same year. The vocals were performed by Scottish vocalist Maggie Reilly, who had joined Mike Oldfield in 1980...

" was sometimes interpreted as Oldfield trying to retread old ground.

Vocalists

The tracks "The Source of Secrets", "Jewel in the Crown", and "Secrets" feature Amar

Amar (singer)

Amar is a British Indiansinger signed to the independent label Sunset Entertainment Group. She is also the daughter of Mangal Singh . She is a singer and songwriter who writes her own material...

 as a vocalist. Oldfield can be heard on "Outcast". "The Inner Child" features Luar Na Lubre

Luar na Lubre

-Etymology:Luar is Galician for moonlight; lubre is a magical forest in which the Celtic druids cast their spells.-Biography:During its career, this musical group has spread Galician music and culture. The band became famous worldwide after Mike Oldfield took interest in their music...

 vocalist Rosa Cedrón and "Man in the Rain" was sung by Cara Dillon

Cara Dillon

Cara Dillon is an Irish folk singer. In 2001, she launched her career as a solo artist in the UK with the eponymous Cara Dillon album...

 (of Polar Star), with additional vocals by Heather Burnett. "Far Above the Clouds" features Clodagh Simonds

Clodagh Simonds

Clodagh Simonds Clodagh; , is an Irish musician, songwriter and singer. She was born in Banbridge, Co. Down, Northern Ireland, UK and raised and educated in Killiney, Co...

 and Francesca Robertson.

Instruments

Some of the instruments which appear on the album are a Roland

Roland Corporation

is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on April 18, 1972, with ¥33 million in capital. In 2005 Roland's headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. Today it has factories in Japan,...

 D-550, JD-990

Roland JD-990

The Roland JD-990 is a module version of Roland JD-800 synthesizer with expanded capabilities. JD-990 is a multitimbral synthesizer utilizing wave-table synthesis technology. It is equipped with 6 Mb of ROM containing wave-table, four sets of stereo outputs that are assignable to individual,...

, JV1080, Clavia

Clavia

Clavia Digital Musical Instruments is a Swedish manufacturer of virtual analog synthesizers, virtual electromechanical pianos and stage pianos, founded in Stockholm, Sweden in 1983 by Hans Nordelius and Mikael Carlsson.-The Company:...

 Nord Lead, and Korg

Korg

is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners...

 Trinity

Korg Trinity

Korg Trinity is a commercially successful synthesizer music workstation released by Korg in 1996. It was also the first workstation to offer modular expansion for not only sounds, but also studio-grade feature such as SCSI, ADAT, various sound engine processors, audio recording capability, and more...

 synthesisers. The Roland VG8 Guitar synthesiser is used on tracks such "Man in the Rain

Man in the Rain

"Man in the Rain" is a pop song written and performed by by English multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield. It was included on the album Tubular Bells III and released as a single in October 1998. The vocals were performed by Cara Dillon.- History :...

".

Oldfield also used sampled drums from his Crises

Crises

Crises is the eighth record album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1983. Oldfield's well known hit "Moonlight Shadow" appears on the album.- Album analysis :...

and Ommadawn

Ommadawn

Ommadawn is the third record album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1975 on Virgin Records. The cover photograph was by David Bailey. It peaked at #4 on the UK Albums Chart. The album was reissued in June 2010 with additional content.- Album history :...

album on certain tracks. "Man in the Rain" features sampled drums from "Moonlight Shadow

Moonlight Shadow

"Moonlight Shadow" is a pop song written and performed by English multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield, released as a single in May 1983 and included in the album Crises of the same year. The vocals were performed by Scottish vocalist Maggie Reilly, who had joined Mike Oldfield in 1980...

", "Outcast" features sampled drums from "Shadow on the Wall

Shadow on the Wall

"Shadow on the Wall" is a single by musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1983. It is taken from Oldfield's album Crises. English rock singer Roger Chapman performs vocals on "Shadow on the Wall".- B-side :...

" and "Far Above the Clouds

Far Above the Clouds

"Far Above the Clouds" is a single by musician Mike Oldfield, released in April 1999 . The single is the final track from the album Tubular Bells III...

" features sampled drums from the end of "Ommadawn part 1".

External links

• Mike Oldfield Discography - Tubular Bells III at Tubular.net