Mike Oldfield
Man on the Rocks
Virgin Records
2014
Thank God, for not having another “Tubular Bells” no1000! A bit bitter joke but I wouldn’t bear another “Tubular Bells” album! This is Mike’s 25th studio work, almost 6 years after “Music of the Spheres”.
On this album Mike is cooperating with two renowned musicians, the bassist Leland Sklar (Phil Collins, Crosby, Stills & Nash, James Taylor) and the drummer John Robinson (Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Daft Punk). Along come Matt Rollings (Lyle Lovett, Mark Knopfler) on piano & Hammond, Michael Thompson (Michael Thompson Band) on guitars, Stephen Lipson (producer) on guitars, Davy Spillane (Moving Hearts, Andy Irvine) on whistles on “Moonshine” & Paul Dooley on violin on “Moonshine”. The big surprise here is Mike’s choice for the singer. He didn’t go for a well-known vocalist but rather for a young and gifted one; Luke Spiller from The Struts. He does have a great voice but his image comes straight from late70s/early80s kitsch-era!
Musically, Mike does what he knows. He plays safe. Every song has its different influences. You will hear rock, acoustic, pop-rock, folk and so on. For instance, “Sailing” could have been a different version of “Moonlight Shadow”. The best tracks here are the easy-going mellow “Man on the Rocks”, the easy-going rockin’ “Dreaming in the Wind” with the wonderful ala Mark Knopfler guitar leads & my favorite gloomy and atmospheric “Nuclear”, which evoked memories from certain 70s prog anthems. Can you see what’s wrong here? Three (3) tracks out of eleven (11) are too few for any fan out there. Unfortunately, the other tracks are too generic & overdone.
Mike is one of the top songwriters/musicians of the 70s & the 80s. His contribution to (rock) music will always be a point of reference. Personally, I was expecting much more from Mike… and I know that lots of people like me had been hoping for something better. Anyway, the rating is only for the specific album and in no way does it showcase any kind of insolence concerning Mike’s overall impact on music.
On this album Mike is cooperating with two renowned musicians, the bassist Leland Sklar (Phil Collins, Crosby, Stills & Nash, James Taylor) and the drummer John Robinson (Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Daft Punk). Along come Matt Rollings (Lyle Lovett, Mark Knopfler) on piano & Hammond, Michael Thompson (Michael Thompson Band) on guitars, Stephen Lipson (producer) on guitars, Davy Spillane (Moving Hearts, Andy Irvine) on whistles on “Moonshine” & Paul Dooley on violin on “Moonshine”. The big surprise here is Mike’s choice for the singer. He didn’t go for a well-known vocalist but rather for a young and gifted one; Luke Spiller from The Struts. He does have a great voice but his image comes straight from late70s/early80s kitsch-era!
Musically, Mike does what he knows. He plays safe. Every song has its different influences. You will hear rock, acoustic, pop-rock, folk and so on. For instance, “Sailing” could have been a different version of “Moonlight Shadow”. The best tracks here are the easy-going mellow “Man on the Rocks”, the easy-going rockin’ “Dreaming in the Wind” with the wonderful ala Mark Knopfler guitar leads & my favorite gloomy and atmospheric “Nuclear”, which evoked memories from certain 70s prog anthems. Can you see what’s wrong here? Three (3) tracks out of eleven (11) are too few for any fan out there. Unfortunately, the other tracks are too generic & overdone.
Mike is one of the top songwriters/musicians of the 70s & the 80s. His contribution to (rock) music will always be a point of reference. Personally, I was expecting much more from Mike… and I know that lots of people like me had been hoping for something better. Anyway, the rating is only for the specific album and in no way does it showcase any kind of insolence concerning Mike’s overall impact on music.