Pandora played the second part of "Tubular Bells" from this set yesterday. I had "Boxed" on LP when it first came out...oh, what was it? 30-35 years ago?For some reason I always give Part 2 short shrift. Maybe it's because I hate that "Sailor's Hornpipe" section at the end. But there's a completely different take on it here, with a prelude featuring an obviously drunk Vivian Stanshell. It is hilarious.
But the crowning glory of "Tubular Bells Part 2", IMHO, is the "Piltdown Man" section. I recall being totally freaked out on first hearing it, when TB first came out. You're about 45 minutes into a modern progressive symphony and then all of a sudden there's this bizarre bit of McCartney-esque pop but without the honey sweet vocals. Instead you've got what sounds like a cross between a caveman clearing his throat and that mumbling, grumbling scrooge who shows up at the tail end of the Beatles' "You Know My Name (Look Up My Number)". When the Piltdown Man starts howling like a werewolf on a full moon night you realize that Mike Oldfield had more up his sleeve than you might have expected up until that point.
One of the biggest disappointments in "Tubular Bells 2" was the revisiting of the Piltdown Man section. It turned a creepy, rollicking slice of weirdness into something just plain childish and stupid. I actually enjoy most of TB2, but I always make sure I've got remote in hand so I can kill that part.
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