Man on the Rocks is the twenty-fifth studio album by British musician Mike Oldfield, released on 3 March 2014 on the Virgin EMI label. The album is Oldfield's second full album of songs with no long instrumental pieces; the first was 1989's
Earth Moving.
Recording and production
Man on the Rocks was produced by Stephen Lipson together with Oldfield. 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.
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.
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".
Oldfield has used the title "Moonshine" once before for the final piece on 1992's
Tubular Bells II. The working title for the album had been Rock.
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.
"Sailing" single 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. 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. 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.
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.
Track listing
Disc 1
All tracks written by Mike Oldfield, except where noted.
01. "Sailing" - 4:46
02. "Moonshine" - 5:49
03. "Man on the Rocks" - 6:10
04. "Castaway" - 6:34
05. "Minutes" - 4:51
06. "Dreaming in the Wind" - 5:28
07. "Nuclear" - 5:03
08. "Chariots" - 4:38
09. "Following the Angels" - 7:04
10. "Irene" - 3:59
11. "I Give Myself Away" (William McDowell) - 5:10
Disc 2 - Deluxe Edition
01. "Sailing" (Instrumental)
02. "Moonshine" (Instrumental)
03. "Man on the Rocks" (Instrumental)
04. "Castaway" (Instrumental)
05. "Minutes" (Instrumental)
06. "Dreaming in the Wind" (Instrumental)
07. "Nuclear" (Instrumental)
08. "Chariots" (Instrumental)
09. "Following the Angels" (Instrumental)
10. "Irene" (Instrumental)
11. "I Give Myself Away" (Instrumental)
Disc 3 - Deluxe box set only
01. "Sailing" (Demo)
02. "Moonshine" (Demo)
03. "Man on the Rocks" (Demo)
04. "Castaway" (Demo)
05. "Minutes" (Demo)
06. "Dreaming in the Wind" (Demo)
07. "Nuclear" (Demo)
08. "Chariots" (Demo)
09. "Following the Angels" (Demo)
10. "Irene" (Demo)
11. "I Give Myself Away" (Demo)
12. "Sailing" (Alternate Mix)
13. "Dreaming in the Wind" (Alternate Mix)
14. "Following the Angels" (Alternate Mix)
15. "I Give Myself Away" (Alternate Mix)
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