When I first saw this album in stores a few years back, I gave a heavy sigh. I had gotten burned out on music in general by spending a couple of years as a music reviewer and toward the end, I had felt like I was *forced* to listen to the stuff. And here one of the few artists I could still stand had apparently finally sold out. I believed that TBII was just titled thusly because the original TB was the only thing he appears to be known for in the U.S. Still, I bought it, hoping Oldfield wouldn't let me down. And he didn't! Almost singlehandedly, Oldfield revived my love for music and restored my faith in the fact that some recording artists remain *artists*! TBII follows the structure and revisits some of the same themes found on TBI, even if sometimes they are merely faint echoes. However, where the majority of TBI is in minor keys and thus feels brooding, most of TBII is upbeat, almost joyous in its feeling. It lifted my spirits the first time I listened to the album, and it continues to do so when I play it now. Standout segments--I'm loathe to call most of them tracks, as the album flows in two large blocks as the original TB--are the "overture" 'Sentinal' (where Oldfield draws the listner in with a quoting of the TB theme that serves as an underpinning for the first half of the album), 'Blue Saloon' (a tense section played mostly on guitars and which spotlights his still clever use of these instruments), 'The Bell' (which follows the original TB model of a Master of Ceremonies introducing the instruments from the first part of the album, but which holds my attention throughout where the original bored me slightly), 'Weightless,' (a beautiful segment that introduces a South American musical theme), and 'Tattoo' (bagpipes a-go-go!). I've occassionally complained that Oldfield sometimes drives a theme for just a bit too long. At no point does he make this mistake on TBII. This is truly one of his finer efforts and it is a worthy follow-up that builds on and surpasses the original TB. It's a worthwhile purchase for anyone who enjoys his music and a fine introduction for those who aren't familiar with his brilliant work.