MAN ON THE ROCKS

Clearly hurting from the ending of a recent relationship, Mike here writes a number of poignant songs very different from his usual instrumentals, and gets Luke Spiller (of the band The Struts) to sing them. And some are excellent, up there with the best of his shorter songs, indeed up there with the best of pop music in general. The two best songs are "Castaway" and "Nuclear". Very emotional and direct, but not sappy at all, they come across as very authentic musical and personal statements. In "Nuclear", Oldfield employs the hardest self-criticism, while "Castaway" is about his real (and emotional) isolation in the face of the relationship end. Amazing, excellent, real. Spiller's vocals have been compared to Greg Lake, and there are indeed some similarities there, including the power with which he delivers the vocals on the two best tunes. The other tunes I enjoy on this album include "Moonshine", "Minutes" and "Dreaming in the Wind". Saying this, the album is mixed, and some of the other tunes are less engaging. So, the album as a whole does not rise about 3 PA stars. But it is worth getting if only for "Nuclear" and "Castaway". I give this album 6.8 out of 10 on my 10-point scale, which translates to 3 PA stars.

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