MAN ON THE ROCKS

I must say I was somewhat skeptical when learning of this release late 2013 but when I heard the sampler of the studio work, saw Leland Sklar in the background and Luke Spiller on vocals, I knew that this could be potentially a refreshing new release.

Mike Oldfield has always managed to cross between long epic instrumental passages with short crossover pop/prog songs. In fact he even went totally pop on the studio album Earth Moving. So what am I driving at? Albums like side two off Crises, side two off Islands, side one off Heaven's Open, Discovery and Earth Moving always had a wealth of shorter, vocally driven songs. Exclude short tracks off more definitive works like Five Miles Out or QE2. So this is Oldfield in his comfort zone, mixing a good dose of rock and crossover which results in mostly a highly enjoyable album. Cleverly composed songs with a perfect blend of Oldfield's ubiquitous guitar solo's and led with Luke Spiller's vocals. I will go one further and say that in terms of choosing a male vocalist to guest on his albums, this is by far Oldfield's shrewdest choice yet.

So what about the songs. I am thrilled to say there are no throw away tracks at all. The combination of musicianship, choruses, vocals, work a treat and flow seamlessly. Spiller is so good he allows Oldfield space to belt out his music without any pressure. There are eleven tracks on Man on the Rocks, the highlights would be Nuclear. Listen to the chorus, Spiller sounds like Greg Lake on Epitaph.......yeah that good! Moonshine and Dreaming In The Wind are excellent also as is Irene. This last track really does sound like a hurricane building to a relentless and oppressive climax. Castaway has some solid drumming by John Robinson. Leland Sklar never disappoints on bass throughout the album either. So I stick my neck out and unashamedly say this the most enjoyable studio release since TBIII. A deserved four stars and great to see Oldfield back and enjoying himself. His guitars really shine.