This album's break came with the use of its theme on the soundtrack for The Exorcist. "Tubular Bells" has since gone on to become a hit single, helping to change a popular album into a smash. Oldfield has yet to tour the United States, but his instrumental one-man show (he plays everything through overdubbing) has caught on as a clever novelty — it's progressive program rock. Light, rather...

The technological expertise Mike Oldfield invests in his music is its most singular and redeeming quality. Building great clustered cathedrals of sound from instrumental solos is a difficult process, requiring much patience and a firm grasp of one's ultimate goals. But there are pitfalls inherent in being one's own orchestra, which Oldfield has yet to overcome. His contrapuntal tapestries often...