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TheInfection Group: Members Posts: 23 Joined: Dec. 2001 Posted: Feb. 28 2002, 06:21 Peace On Earth Wonderful track. Very peaceful. Christmas comes in mind, but not too clearly - otherwise it would be cheesy. 4/5 Pacha Mama It starts with a simple piano theme, that could easily be another version from The Sentinel. This is another peacuful track, but those "sexy woman" -chants are annoying, but perhaps they actually mean something in inca language. The final climax that begins at 3:30 is very cool. 4/5 Santa Maria Vangelis' 1492 comes to mind, but that's easy to explain. They both are trying to transfer the music of that era into a modern style. The solo vocalist has a great voice. 4/5 Sunlight Shining Through Cloud The first appearance of the technoish drum beat. And Pepsi! I really, really hate her voice, but here I can bear her. Otherwise average track. 2/5 The Doge's Palace Nice track. Little cheesy. The choir can take some time to get used to. But that goes along with the time period pretty well. 3/5 Lake Constance After two tracks accompanied by simple drum patterns, comes this one and brings back the peacuful style. Very nice track. Romantic, even. 3/5 Mastermind Actually the guitars doesn't remind me of the famous secret agent. Repeatance of the name of the track is annoying. There is some potential, but no good luck this time. 2/5 Broad Sunlit Uplands Air sirens would have been a great addition. Calm but depressing - I guess that's the idea. After all the subject is World War 2. 2/5 Liberation I haven't read Diary of Anne Frank yet. Should I? The choir is again great but somehow repeats the style of Amarok/TB2, but I don't mind. 3/5 Amber Light Cheerful. Positive. Happy. Hopeful. I can imagine how this track could fit in the cold winter evening when snow is falling from the sky (like Inner Child). 4/5 The Millenium Bell Hmmm, techno/dance-style again. That's something many of you would loath, but I don't know. I for some weird reason like this track. It isn't nearly as perfect as (heaven forbid!) Far Above The Clouds or The Source Of Secrets, but it's okay. 3/5 This isn't nearly as perfect album than I should be, but it's okay. The name is poorly selected, but admit it, Mike means more with it than Backstreet Boys or some other crappy boyband. And I think that this easily transport you through the last 2000 years - if you have some imagination and some romantic views about the past. And why didn't Mike himself write those sleeve notes? I think it would have been much better that way. Regards, TheInfection Back to top

Korgscrew Group: Super Admins Posts: 3511 Joined: Dec. 1999 Posted: Feb. 28 2002, 07:26 Actually, you got me thinking about the sleeve notes a bit... The way it's written seems to assume that the music isn't going to be able to speak for itself. It talks of "the incredible power of the choral sections". If they really have incredible power, the listener shouldn't need to be told about it - that incredible power will already have leapt out of the speakers and nailed them to the wall. This goes on - we're told how Santa Maria is "atmospheric", Mastermind has a "sinister underground ambience" and so on...It feels, to me, like it's written assuming the reader isn't going to have heard the album - like a review or press release (ok, so maybe people read the sleeve notes before they play the album, but if they have the album in their hands, they're going to play it soon, so I'd think it was quite safe to assume that the reader was able to hear the music). But, I wonder...is it written like this because they feel listeners aren't going to be able to make their own conclusions about the music, or is it because someone felt that perhaps the music doesn't come across as it was meant to? Is Santa Maria really a 'stirring composition' or was it just supposed to be one? Just something to think about... On a different tack, there actually is an air raid siren on Broad Sunlit Uplands, just it's incredibly quiet (it's also a british air raid siren, so you may not have immediately recognised it as one)...it comes in at around 1:01. It is just the smallest hint of a siren, but I find the subtlety quite effective... Back to top

Inkanta Group: Admins Posts: 1453 Joined: Feb. 2000 Posted: Feb. 28 2002, 10:34 Re: "Pacha Mama": Yes, the lyrics do have meaning in Quechua (the language of the Inkas, which is still spoken today): http://www.tubular.net/lyrics/TheMillenniumBell.shtml#1 There is also an ancient discussion about the lyrics over at Language & Lyrics, under Pacha Mama. I get irritated by the "sexy woman" chant, though possibly for a different reason. As I recall, the singers were told that "saqsaywaman" sounds like "sexy woman"; however, properly pronounced it sounds a bit different, though realistically, to someone passing by your window and listening in, I'm sure s/he would hear "sexy woman" even if it were being sung in perfect Quechua. Re: "Liberation": You also asked if you should read the Diary of Anne Frank. As a librarian and member of the human species, I would strongly recommend it. My biggest regret about TMB is that I didn't listen to it "cold." I wish that I hadn't known the intent of each piece of music beforehand. Would I have come to the same conclusions? Probably in many cases. For example, the liner notes never altered my thinking of "Santa Maria" as sinister and seductive (e.g., no matter how beautiful the voices, they still sing about a voyage that resulted in the murder, genocide, death by disease, and enslavement of two continents of people.). At any rate, though I like TMB conceptually and musically, I often find listening to it traumatic. -------------- "No such thing as destiny; only choices exist." From:  Moongarden's "Solaris." Back to top

Thomas Andersson Group: Members Posts: 53 Joined: Feb. 2001 Posted: Feb. 28 2002, 15:59 Interesting mr Infection, your opinions are nearly the exact opposit to mine Back to top

TheInfection Group: Members Posts: 23 Joined: Dec. 2001 Posted: Mar. 01 2002, 03:24 Thank you. Well, yes, I suppose I am a weird person. I can easily listen the bell albums, Heaven's Open, Tangerine Dream, Jean Michel Jarre, Pink Floyd (the earlier albums), Jethro Tull, Black Sabbat, Blue Öyster Cult and movie composers like Hans Zimmer and Danny Elfman without feeling sick and liking them all. Regards, TheInfection Back to top

raven4x4x Group: Members Posts: 1535 Joined: Jan. 2002 Posted: July 20 2002, 23:38 Finally, a topic where this albums is actually takes seriously! I suppose that when I first heard The Millennium Bell, it had potential, but it wasn't quite there, if you get what I mean. So when I first heard that we were getting the DVD, I would have prefered another album. When I actually listened to the DVD, I started to really like the album. It isn't one of my favourites, but it is very nice. The moral of the story is: with an artist like Mike, first impressions do not always count (think of Amarok). If you don't immediately like the album, take a break from it then listen to it again, you might be pleasently surprised. -------------- Thank-you for helping us help you help us all. Back to top

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