Man On The Rocks Mike Oldfield

• 1 Sailing 04:46
• 2 Moonshine 05:50
• 3 Man On The Rocks 06:11
• 4 Castaway 06:35
• 5 Minutes 04:52
• 6 Dreaming In The Wind 05:29
• 7 Nuclear 05:04
• 8 Chariots 04:39
• 9 Following The Angels 07:05
• 10 Irene 04:00
• 11 I Give Myself Away 05:11
• Total Runtime 59:42

Info for Man On The Rocks

Virgin EMI are delighted to announce Mike Oldfield's first album of new material since 2008. Featuring 11 brand new tracks, MAN ON THE ROCKS is a deeply personal song-based album that reflects many of Mike's different influences. Recorded in the Bahamas, Mike's 25th studio album has been produced by Mike with legendary British producer Stephen Lipson (Jeff Beck, Paul McCartney, Annie Lennox).

Man On The Rocks features players such as legendary bassist Leland Sklar (Phil Collins, Crosby, Stills & Nash, James Taylor) and drummer John Robinson (Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Daft Punk). Although Oldfield has worked with some of the world's most famous vocalists in the past, here he has found an incredible young talent to interpret his words, Luke Spiller from the Struts.

Its working title, 'Rock' emphasises the album's directness, heard especially on the guitar-driven 'Irene', inspired by the category 3 hurricane that hit the Bahamas in 2011. However, it is – as you would expect from the man who gave the world Tubular Bells and so much more besides – an album of great variance and contrast; from the commercial punch of opening track, ‘Sailing’, to the beautiful folk-influenced ‘Dreaming In The Wind’ to the emotional gravitas of its closer, a cover of William McDowell’s gospel song, ‘I Give Myself Away’.

Last seen performing at the personal request of Danny Boyle to a global audience of 900 million at the London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony, Man On The Rocks underlines Mike Oldfield's status as one of the most singular talents to ever emerge from the UK. The recent 2013 BBC 4 Documentary . . . plus Tubular Bells – the story of Mike and iconic album – further enforces that fact.

' It has been a pleasure making Man On The Rocks with such a dedicated team of performers,' says Oldfield. “For a long period, I felt that I wasn’t going to record any new music again. But, after the elation of the Olympics and the explorations of my catalogue, I felt the time was right to return with this, one of my favourite albums to date.”

Mike Oldfield, guitars, keyboards
Leland Sklar, bass
John Robinson, drums
Luke Spiller, vocals (the Struts)

Mike Oldfield
is an artist like no other. Over the last 37 years he has produced timeless, unique and inspirational music that has enthralled listeners the world over.

In terms of overnight success stories, Mike Oldfield's is astounding. After a short stint playing bass in Kevin Ayers' backing band, he was taken under the guiding wing of a 22-year-old Richard Branson and Tubular Bells was born. Thrillingly enigmatic music that sounds like nothing before or since, a critical and commercial success, and, to cap it all, the coveted Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition after an excerpt was used in the film The Exorcist.

A blessing and a curse, the magnitude of Mike's sudden success could easily have stalled him and yet he returned almost immediately with another two-movement pastoral masterwork Hergest Ridge and a year later issued the groundbreaking world music suite Ommadawn. Mike Oldfield is that rare beast, the intuitive artist, a confident and creative multi-instrumentalist, not bound by rule or convention and content to follow his own path: "All I want to express with my music is my feelings. I think it's the purpose. To show images, landscapes, love, hate, fury."

Mike Oldfield -"Everything on Tubular Bells was done on the first take - it was lovely, so spontaneous. I had such a long time to prepare it, and I had just one little chance to do it, and now I listen to it and it has a lovely spontaneous energy. It's got mistakes, and I could easily have cut them out, but I left them on."

Mike Oldfield - "I'd like to see somebody come and play differently from everybody else, not using the Blues scale, not turning into jazz, but making something new out of nothing."

Mike Oldfield -"I don't listen to my old albums. I'm too afraid. I'm always thinking about the next album. There comes a point when I finish an album, and I say: 'That's that.'"

John Peel - "Without borrowing anything from established classics or descending into the discords, squeals and burps of the determinedly avant-garde, Mike Oldfield has produced music which combines logic with surprise, sunshine with rain."

This album contains no booklet.