On May 25, 1973, the first record by an almost unknown young man was released, on a label that had just been created.
The album is called “Tubular Bells”, it is by Mike Oldfield, who has just celebrated his 20th birthday, and his record company is called Virgin, run by a certain Richard Branson.
Half a century later, “Tubular Bells” has sold 15 million copies worldwide, and Mike Oldfield, after delivering several sequels and now living in the Bahamas, has retired.
His last visit to Paris dates back to 1999.
But his music lives on, through some of the musicians who collaborated with him in the past.
This is how Robin A. Smith, composer and pianist, unveiled his “Tubular Bells Reimagined” in 2022, a version of which he has since offered on stage, dubbed by Oldfied.
This one stopped off Thursday evening at the Salle Pleyel in Paris.
Accompanied by 7 other artists, including guitarists Jay Stapley, also a former employee of Oldfield, and Frenchman Maxime Obadia, Smith effectively delivered an interpretation that was both faithful to the original masterpiece, with a few small touches. personal.
But before that, the group first plays other compositions, all by Oldfield with the exception of a long instrumental piece, “The Gem”, very cinematic.
First to arrive on stage, Smith first takes to the piano, before Obadia arrives on acoustic guitar, Stapley on electric guitar, singer and bassist Lisa Featherston, and finally the rest of the troupe.
From Mike Oldfield's abundant discography, several titles are selected in quick succession, from an extract from "Tubular Bells II" to "To France", including bits of "Ommadawn", "Return To Ommadawn" or " Summit Day.”
The 1983 mega-hit, “Moonlight Shadow”, on the other hand, is entitled to a complete interpretation, before the lesser known “Family Man”, then “The Gem”.
All this turns out to be very nice, but a bit cushy, even if we feel that the two guitarists are under the pedal.
After 20 minutes of intermission, it is time to move on to what all spectators are waiting for: “Tubular Bells”.
And there, surprise, Robin A. Smith allows himself to add a little intro before delivering the few famous piano notes which open the 1973 disc, which appear in the soundtrack of the film “The Exorcist”.
A shiver begins to run through the audience, while the 8 musicians, including an excellent soprano singer, Daisy Bevan, reproduce the work with talent.
The permanent presence of a cellist, Kwesi Edman, provides a link, and the slow instrumental rise at the end of the first proves very successful, ending in apotheosis with the use of the famous tubular bells, in fact pipes which sit behind the two drummers.
Long power-up before a final deluge of electricity
But in fact, those who really shine, on both parts of the piece, are really the two guitarists, who also achieve a real feat by changing, with the help of a roadie, several times from instrument to one. flash.
Surprise, the section nicknamed “caveman”, where Oldfield grunted, here becomes a festival of manipulated voices, but the principle remains the same, a long power-up which leads to a final deluge of electricity.
Very applauded, the musicians return for a little encore, in fact a cover of a folk hymn dating from the 18th century, “The Sailor's Hornpipe”, which already closed “Tubular Bells”.
The opportunity for one last wild jig on stage, while the spectators clap their hands at an increasingly rapid pace.
The only downside of the evening was the management's requirement to control and validate the work of the photographers.
We, as every time we have been made such a request, refused, and therefore took a few photos from the ranks of the public, with our smartphone, like many spectators...