Tubular Bells is an absolutely iconic record. It’s a staple in almost any collection. It is also a hokey, sprawling mess.
However, it’s also one of the first records of its scope to have been recorded largely by a single person using overdubs. This isn’t quite an impressive feat anymore—there are legions of solo artists making ambitious music on their laptops (I’ve even done so myself), and a lot of them are more listenable than this.
But there is a charm in Oldfield’s initial opus, burdened as it is by ambition and lack of focus. After all, he was only nineteen when he released it.