Man on the Rocks#Singles and promotion

Man on the Rocks was produced by Stephen Lipson together with Oldfield.{{cite web |url=http://www.mikeoldfieldofficial.com/news.php?item=15 |title=Mike's new album is on its way! |publisher=Mike Oldfield Official |date=11 October 2013 |access-date=11 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012060218/http://www.mikeoldfieldofficial.com/news.php?item=15 |archive-date=12 October 2013 }} 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.{{cite web |title=Skype conversation with Mike Oldfield |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn6yIUNDxlk |date=6 July 2013 |publisher=YouTube (Tubular Bells 40th Anniversary celebrations)}} Oldfield's electric guitar sound on the album is primarily a Fender Telecaster combined with the Avid Eleven software plug-in.{{cite web |url=http://www.innerviews.org/inner/oldfield.html |title=Interview with Mike Oldfield discussing the making of Man on the Rocks |publisher=Innerviews |access-date=31 January 2015}}

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 The Struts, another of Virgin EMI's British artists.{{cite web |url=http://www.thestruts.com/ |title=The Struts |access-date=12 October 2013}}

The album deals with topics ranging from Oldfield's experiences with mental health to his Christian faith 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.

The song "Nuclear" deals with his grandfather's experiences during World War I. When interviewed by the Daily Telegraph, he tells the background to writing the song. “I never knew him,” he says, “So I hired a company to find out about him. It turned out he was a great character before the war but came home a very different man. My mum was one of ten or eleven kids and all the children born after the war had problems like hers. I wanted to see if I could spread my senses in the place he was. I travelled around Ypres and the battlefield museums and I saw the graves of his regiment: the Royal Munster Fusiliers. And I could feel it. Still there. It’s a blessing and a curse for those of us who have this extra sensitivity.”{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopfeatures/10676856/Pop.html |title=Mike Oldfield interview: 'I am a man of extremes' |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=7 March 2014 |access-date=2 December 2014}}

Man on the Rocks was released on 3 March 2014, after initially being planned for 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 alternative mixes of songs. The boxed set also includes a 16-page CD size booklet, four art cards and a certificate of authenticity.

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.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03ft7g8/Stuart_Maconies_Freak_Zone_Mike_Oldfield_chats_to_Stuart/ |title=Stuart Maconie's Freak Zone - Mike Oldfield chats to Stuart |publisher=BBC iPlayer Radio 6 Music |date=3 November 2013 |access-date=3 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.{{youTube|id=YgpS6dQVHbg|title=Mike Oldfield - "Sailing"}} The video shows 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.{{cite web |url=http://mikeoldfieldofficial.com/news.php?item=17 |title=New Video For "Sailing" |publisher=Mike Oldfield |date=2014-02-10 |access-date=2014-02-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222063954/http://mikeoldfieldofficial.com/news.php?item=17 |archive-date=2014-02-22 |url-status=dead }}

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 was "Moonshine"; a video was released for purchase on iTunes on 14 April.

"Nuclear" was featured in the E3 2014 trailer and soundtrack for the stealth action game Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.{{cite web |url=http://www.virgin.com/music/mike-oldfield-hits-no1-in-spotify-viral-chart |title=Mike Oldfield hits No.1 in Spotify Viral Chart |publisher=Virgin Group |date=24 June 2014 |access-date=4 July 2014}}

{{Album ratings

| MC = 51/100{{cite web|title=Man on the Rocks - Mike Oldfield|url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/man-on-the-rocks/mike-oldfield|website=Metacritic|access-date=20 October 2014}}

| rev1 = The Guardian

| rev1Score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/feb/27/mike-oldfield-man-on-the-rocks-review |title=Mike Oldfield: Man on the Rocks review – a not-so-new-age return |last1=Sullivan |first1=Caroline|date=27 February 2014 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=2 March 2014}}

| rev2 = So So Gay

| rev2Score = {{Rating|4|5|score=4.2/5 stars}}{{cite web |url=http://sosogay.co.uk/2014/album-review-mike-oldfield-man-rocks/ |title=Album Review: Mike Oldfield – Man on the Rocks |publisher=So So Gay |date=7 March 2014 |access-date=9 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309214130/http://sosogay.co.uk/2014/album-review-mike-oldfield-man-rocks/ |archive-date=9 March 2014 |url-status=dead }}

| rev3 = Shields Gazette

| rev3Score = {{Rating|5|10}}{{cite web |url=http://www.shieldsgazette.com/what-s-on/music/album-review-mike-oldfield-man-on-the-rocks-1-6485391 |title=Album review: Mike Oldfield - Man On The Rocks |publisher=Shields Gazette |date=7 March 2014 |access-date=9 March 2014}}

| rev4 = musicOMH

| rev4Score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite magazine |url=http://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/mike-oldfield-man-rocks |title=Mike Oldfield – Man On The Rocks |magazine=musicOMH |date=25 February 2014 |access-date=9 March 2014}}

| rev5 = AllMusic

| rev5Score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/man-on-the-rocks-mw0002600687|title=Mike Oldfield – Man On The Rocks |website=AllMusic |access-date=20 October 2014}}

| rev6 = Record Collector

| rev6Score = {{Rating|1|5}}{{cite web|last1=Shirley|first1=Ian|title=Man On the Rocks|url=http://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/man-on-the-rocks|website=Record Collector|publisher=Diamond Publishing Ltd|access-date=20 October 2014}}

}}

Critical reception of the album has been mixed. 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.

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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

1. "Sailing" (Instrumental) - 4:44
2. "Moonshine" (Instrumental) - 5:47
3. "Man on the Rocks" (Instrumental) - 6:09
4. "Castaway" (Instrumental) - 6:36
5. "Minutes" (Instrumental) - 4:50
6. "Dreaming in the Wind" (Instrumental) - 5:31
7. "Nuclear" (Instrumental) - 5:02
8. "Chariots" (Instrumental) - 4:24
9. "Following the Angels" (Instrumental) - 7:04
10. "Irene" (Instrumental) - 3:57
11. "I Give Myself Away" (Instrumental) (William McDowell) - 5:06

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1. "Sailing" (Demo) - 4:14
2. "Moonshine" (Demo) - 5:25
3. "Man on the Rocks" (Demo) - 5:41
4. "Castaway" (Demo) - 6:25
5. "Minutes" (Demo) - 4:29
6. "Dreaming in the Wind" (Demo) - 5:28
7. "Nuclear" (Demo) - 4:55
8. "Chariots" (Demo) - 3:54
9. "Following the Angels" (Demo) - 6:25
10. "Irene" (Demo) - 3:59
11. "I Give Myself Away" (Demo) (William McDowell) - 5:09
12. "Sailing" (Alternative mix) - 4:46
13. "Dreaming in the Wind" (Alternative mix) - 5:29
14. "Following the Angels" (Alternative mix) - 7:05
15. "I Give Myself Away" (Alternative mix) (William McDowell) - 5:09

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

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• Mike Oldfield – Electric & 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 & acoustic guitars
• Stephen Lipson – Electric & acoustic guitars
• Davy Spillane – Whistles on "Moonshine"
• Paul Dooley – Violin on "Moonshine"
• Backing vocalists – Bill Champlin, 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

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [http://www.mikeoldfieldofficial.com Mike Oldfield]
• [http://tubular.net/discography/ManOnTheRocks Mike Oldfield Discography – Man on the Rocks] at Tubular.net

{{Mike Oldfield}}

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Category:Mike Oldfield albums

Category:2014 albums

Category:Albums produced by Stephen Lipson

Category:Virgin EMI Records albums