Mike Oldfield - Man On The Rocks

Label: Mercury Records / Virgin EMI Records
Producers: Mike Oldfield, Stephen Lipson
Genre: Rock, Progressive, Art-Rock, Pop Rock
Source: CDDA
Format: MP3 (tracks)
Encoder: LAME 3.99
Quality: CBR 320 / 44.1 kHz / Joint Stereo
Total Time: 00:59:42


Man on the Rocks is the twenty-fifth studio album by British musician Mike Oldfield, due to be released on 3 March 2014 on the Virgin EMI label.

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 working title for the album had been Rock. 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". Luke Spiller is the singer of another of Virgin EMI's British artists, The Struts.

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.

Man on the Rocks is due to be released on 3 March 2014, after initially being announced that it would have been released on 27 January. The album is to be released on single CD, double CD, 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 will be 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 will also include a 16-page CD size booklet, four art cards and a certificate of authenticity.

Michael Gordon "Mike" Oldfield (born 15 May 1953) is an English musician and composer whose work blends progressive rock with world, folk, classical, electronic, ambient, New Age. It is often elaborate and complex in nature. He is best known for his 1973 album Tubular Bells – which launched Virgin Records and became a hit after its opening was used as the theme for the film The Exorcist – and for his 1983 hit single "Moonlight Shadow". He is also known for his hit rendition of the Christmas piece "In Dulci Jubilo".


Tracklist
01. Sailing (4:46)
02. Moonshine (5:50)
03. Man On The Rocks (6:11)
04. Castaway (6:35)
05. Minutes (4:52)
06. Dreaming In The Wind (5:29)
07. Nuclear (5:04)
08. Chariots (4:39)
09. Following The Angels (7:05)
10. Irene (4:00)
11. I Give Myself Away (5:11)