As a composer, producer and player of more than 30 instruments, Mike Oldfield's versatility is difficult to dispute, as is the impact his progressive opus Tubular Bells made on its release in 1973. Like the latter, Millennium Bell is a concept album. The only problem is that the concept in question is a fairly unwieldy one, namely the evolution of music from to 1 AD to the present day. It soon becomes evident that Oldfield's ambition has this time outstripped his talent, as he switches his inspirational focus from the Peruvian Incas to medieval Venice to prohibition era America. Where his epic dynamics were once exciting, they now seem hopelessly pompous, and his attempt to combine classical, choral, rock and dance music ends up sounding like the product of an ill-fated alliance between Nigel Kennedy, Aled Jones, Sash! and several members of Status Quo. --Ed Potton