The Millennium Bell

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Millennium Bell
Studio album by Mike Oldfield
Released	November 26, 1999 (1999-11-26)
Recorded	Roughwood Studios, Abbey Road Studios 1999
Genre	Progressive rock, New Age
Length	45:03
Label	Warner
Producer	Mike Oldfield
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link
Mike Oldfield chronology
Guitars (1999) The Millennium Bell (1999) Tres Lunas (2002)

The Millennium Bell is a record album written and mostly performed by Mike Oldfield, released in 1999 (see 1999 in music). The theme of the album is a reflection of different periods of Human history. The album borrows its name from the dawning of the third (Christian) millennium and Oldfield's Tubular Bells series of albums.

[edit] Release

It was Oldfield's third album within one year, after Tubular Bells III in late 1998 and Guitars earlier in 1999. It was also the first Mike Oldfield album available on the MiniDisc format.

[edit] Millennium concert

A free live performance of the latter half of the album plus some older tracks was given in Berlin, Germany on New Year's Eve 1999, with an estimated audience of 500,000 people.^[1] This concert was released on a DVD with the title The Art in Heaven Concert.

[edit] Album analysis

The spoken word on "Liberation" is an excerpt from The Diary of Anne Frank, spoken by Mike Oldfield's daughter, Greta. The verse from "Sunlight Shining Through Cloud" was written by Anglican clergyman John Newton.

[edit] Track listing

1. "Peace on Earth" – 4:10
2. "Pacha Mama" – 4:05
3. "Santa Maria" – 2:44
4. "Sunlight Shining Through Cloud" – 4:33
5. "The Doge's Palace" – 3:07
6. "Lake Constance" – 5:16
7. "Mastermind" – 3:03
8. "Broad Sunlit Uplands" – 4:03
9. "Liberation" – 2:38
10. "Amber Light" – 3:42
11. "The Millennium Bell" – 7:37

[edit] Personnel

• Mike Oldfield - Producer, performer and writer
• Ben Darlow - Engineer
• Robyn Smith - Conductor, Arranger
• London Session Orchestra
• The London Händel Choir
• The Grant Gospel Choir
• Nicola Emmanuel - Vocals
• David Serame - Vocals
• Miriam Stockley - Vocals
• Camilla Darlow - Vocals
• Andrew Johnson - Vocals
• Gota Yashiki - Drums

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Mike Oldfield Discography - The Millennium Bell at Tubular.net

This 1990s rock album-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This progressive rock album-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.