''Isles of Wonder'' is the official soundtrack album of the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony. It became available as a download at midnight on 28 July 2012 and as a two-disc CD on 2 August 2012. The soundtrack is mostly pre-recorded and does not include live elements of the performance such as the drumming from

Evelyn Glennie Dame Evelyn Elizabeth Ann Glennie, (born 19 July 1965) is a Scottish percussionist. She was selected as one of the two laureates for the Polar Music Prize of 2015. Early life Glennie was born in Methlick, Aberdeenshire in Scotland. The in ...

, but the two

Arctic Monkeys Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, ...

songs are actually credited in the album sleeve as being recorded during the rehearsal at the stadium on 23 July. Although listed as "

Tubular Bells Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the percussion family. Their sound resembles that of church bells, carillon, or a bell tower; the original tubular bells were made to duplicate the sound of church bells within a ...

" / "

In Dulci Jubilo "In dulci jubilo" (Latin for "In sweet rejoicing") is a traditional Christmas carol. In its original setting, the carol is a macaronic text of German and Latin dating from the Middle Ages. Subsequent translations into English, such as J. M. N ...

Mike Oldfield Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

's track starts with the introduction piece to ''Tubular Bells'' in its normal arrangement, followed by a rearranged version of the same theme that during interviews Oldfield called "swingular bells". The piece that was used when the children's literature villains appeared features two arrangements of "

Far Above the Clouds "Far Above the Clouds" is a single by musician Mike Oldfield, released on 12 April 1999. The single is the final track from the album '' Tubular Bells III''. "Far Above the Clouds" similarly features tubular bells in fashion with the part-one-fi ...

" (from '' Tubular Bells III''), and finally there is a rendition of "

" followed by a short coda. The cover of the CD is a graphic representation of the 'petals' of Thomas Heatherwick's

2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics cauldron The 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics cauldron was used for the Olympic flame during the 2012 Summer Olympics, Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Paralympics, Paralympics of London 2012. The Olympic flame#Cauldron, cauldron was designed by Thomas ...

Reception and reviews

The ''

London Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' gave the album four stars, commenting "As both a souvenir of one of the great events of our era and a rip-roaring collection, it’s hard to fault." Within two days of release the download album had topped the iTunes album charts in Britain, France, Belgium, The Netherlands and Spain, and reached no. 5 in the United States, as well as reaching no. 5 in the overall British official album charts.

Track listing

References

2012 soundtrack albums 2012 Summer Olympics Decca Records soundtracks Pop compilation albums Olympic albums {{2010s-pop-album-stub

Reception and reviews

Track listing

See also

References