Man on the Rocks

"Man on the Rocks" is the twenty-fifth studio album by British musician Mike Oldfield, released on March 3, 2014 through Virgin EMI. The album is Oldfield's second full album of exclusively songs with no long or instrumental pieces, and is therefore his first pop album since 1989's "Earth Moving". "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; Oldfield participated through Skype.

The album is notably the first collaboration between Oldfield and singer Luke Spiller from "The Struts". The songs tackle various themes such as nuclear war, family relations, loss and mourning, as well as general observations of the human condition. The album comes across as deeply personal, with Oldfield himself noting that he drew inspiration from various challenges of his own life. The title track, "Man on the Rocks", speaks of someone forging ahead against obstacles life throws their way. It received mixed to positive reviews from critics; many praised its effective use of melody and mature themes while others felt it did not fully capitalize on Oldfield's capabilities as a multi-instrumentalist. The single "Sailing" was released as a digital download and a limited edition vinyl on 3 March 2014.