Mike Oldfield - Older but still productive

Age is not a reason for Mike Oldfield to release even better album than before. Man on the rock is his brand new album. Not only instrumental but with voice in 1 disc and 2nd disc is instrumental as usual.

His new album is have a succesfull in some countries.

Here is the description from Wikipedia :

Recording and production

Man on the Rocks was produced by Stephen Lipson together with Oldfield.^[4] The album features bassist Leland Sklar, drummer John Robinson, keyboardist Matt Rollings, guitarist Michael Thompson and singer Luke Spiller together with Oldfield himself on guitar. The backing tracks were recorded during June 2013 in Studio D of Village Studios, Los Angeles with producer Steve Lipson; Oldfield participated in these sessions via Skype. Oldfield has also recorded part of the album in his home studio in the Bahamas.^[5]
The album marks a return of Oldfield to a Virgin branded label since leaving Virgin Records in the 1990s, through the merger of Mercury Records UK and Virgin Records after Universal Music's purchase of EMI. Luke Spiller is the singer of another of Virgin EMI's British artists, The Struts.^[6]

Lyrical content

The album deals with topics ranging from Oldfield's experiences with mental health to a track inspired by the 2012 Summer Olympics. The piece "Irene" is inspired by Hurricane Irene which hit the Bahamas in 2011. The final track is a cover of William McDowell's gospel piece "I Give Myself Away". The working title for the album had been Rock.
Oldfield has used the title "Moonshine" once before for the final piece on 1992's Tubular Bells II. The song itself is a reworking of his 1994 instrumental "The Song of the Boat Men", which was featured as a B-side of the "Hibernaculum" single.

Release

Man on the Rocks was released on 3 March 2014, after initially being announced that it would have been released on 27 January. The album is available on single CD, double CD, double vinyl, coloured double vinyl, digital download and a box set.
The two CD Deluxe Edition contains the album and a second instrumental disc. In the UK the boxed set is available exclusively through mikeoldfieldofficial.com - this includes the content from the Deluxe Edition as well as Oldfield's demos of the songs and 4 alternate mixes of songs. The boxed set also includes a 16-page CD size booklet, four art cards and a certificate of authenticity.

Singles and promotion

The first public airing of the album was an excerpt of "Sailing" that was played on Stuart Maconie's radio show on BBC Radio 6 Music in November 2013.^[7] The first full play of "Sailing" was on BBC Radio 2 on 14 January 2014.
"Sailing" was a record of the week on BBC Radio 2 during the first week of February. The music video for "Sailing" was released on YouTube on 8 February.^[8] The video features Oldfield and Spiller in The Bahamas on a beach, a boat and in Oldfield's studio there. The song became available to buy on online retailers such as iTunes from 19 February.^[9]
Behind the scenes footage and acoustic versions of tracks from the album, including "Man on the Rocks" and "Chariots", were released online ahead of the album.
The second single will be "Moonshine".

Critical reception

This section requires expansion. (March 2014)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
The Guardian	[10]
So So Gay	[11]
Shields Gazette	[12]
musicOMH	[13]

Critical reception of the album has been mixed to positive. Music critics and journalists have noted its contrast from Oldfield's progressive rock works such as Tubular Bells, and the album's orientation to more standard rock music. The Guardian newspaper called the album "a curious but likable diversion from his multilayered new-age work." "Sailing" reached BBC Radio 2's "A List" rotation. Jeremy Williams of So So Gay noted "Man on the Rocks excels as it feels truly personal."

Weekly charts

Chart (2014)	Peak position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[14]	10
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[15]	50
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[16]	25
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[17]	2
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[18]	15
French Albums (SNEP)[19]	75
German Albums (Media Control)[20]	3
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[21]	33
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[22]	16
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[23]	7
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[24]	5
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[25]	48
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[26]	9
UK Albums (OCC)[27]	12

Track listing

Disc 1

All tracks written by Mike Oldfield, except where noted.

1. "Sailing" - 4:46
2. "Moonshine" - 5:49
3. "Man on the Rocks" - 6:10
4. "Castaway" - 6:34
5. "Minutes" - 4:51
6. "Dreaming in the Wind" - 5:28
7. "Nuclear" - 5:03
8. "Chariots" - 4:38
9. "Following the Angels" - 7:04
10. "Irene" - 3:59
11. "I Give Myself Away" (William McDowell) - 5:10

Disc 2 - Deluxe Edition

1. "Sailing" (Instrumental)
2. "Moonshine" (Instrumental)
3. "Man on the Rocks" (Instrumental)
4. "Castaway" (Instrumental)
5. "Minutes" (Instrumental)
6. "Dreaming in the Wind" (Instrumental)
7. "Nuclear" (Instrumental)
8. "Chariots" (Instrumental)
9. "Following the Angels" (Instrumental)
10. "Irene" (Instrumental)
11. "I Give Myself Away" (Instrumental)

Disc 3 - Bonus Disc (Super Deluxe Edition only)

1. "Sailing" (Demo)
2. "Moonshine" (Demo)
3. "Man on the Rocks" (Demo)
4. "Castaway" (Demo)
5. "Minutes" (Demo)
6. "Dreaming in the Wind" (Demo)
7. "Nuclear" (Demo)
8. "Chariots" (Demo)
9. "Following the Angels" (Demo)
10. "Irene" (Demo)
11. "I Give Myself Away" (Demo)
12. "Sailing" (Alternative Mix)
13. "Dreaming in the Wind" (Alternative Mix)
14. "Following the Angels" (Alternative Mix)
15. "I Give Myself Away" (Alternative Mix)

Disc 3 Tracks 1-11: All Instruments and Vocals by Mike Oldfield

Personnel

• Mike Oldfield – Electric guitars, Acoustic guitars, Bass guitar, Backing vocals, Keyboards
• Luke Spiller – Lead vocals
• John Robinson – Drums
• Leland Sklar – Bass guitar
• Matt Rollings – Piano & Hammond B-3
• Michael Thompson – Electric guitars & Acoustic guitars
• Stephen Lipson – Electric guitars & Acoustic guitars
• Davy Spillane – Whistles on "Moonshine"
• Paul Dooley – Violin on "Moonshine"
• Backing Vocalists – Bill Champlain, Alfie Silas Durio, Carmel Echols, Rochelle Gilliard, Judith Hill, Kirsten Joy, Jason Morales, Louis Price, Tiffany Smith
• Engineers – Mike Oldfield & Stephen Lipson (Battery Studios); Howard Willing with Chris Owens (The Village Studios); Steve MacMillan (engineer for drums on "Irene" & "Dreaming in the Wind" at Steak House Studio, LA)
• Produced by – Mike Oldfield and Stephen Lipson