Mike Oldfield | FIVE MILES OUT | CD

Personnel: Mike Oldfield (vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass); Maggie Reilly (vocals); Paddy Moloney (Uileann pipes); Morris Pert (keyboards, percussion); Rick Fenn, Tim Cross (keyboards); Graham Broad (drums); Carl Palmer, Mike Frye (percussion).
Engineers: Mike Oldfield, Tom Newman, Richard Mainwaring.
All tracks have been digitally remastered.
Though some consider Mike Oldfield--who hit pay dirt with his 1973 recording "Tubular Bells"--to be a one-hit wonder, the artist continued to release intriguing albums all through the '80s, '90s, and 2000s. 1982's FIVE MILES OUT was one of Oldfield's best recordings from that decade, and found the composer getting more adventurous with his long pieces and even delving a bit into pop structure with the song "Family Man" (which later became a radio hit for Hall & Oates). The opener, "Taurus II," is a 25-minute odyssey heavy on guitar and thudding drums that demonstrates Oldfield's penchant for the epic sweep--likewise the trancey and evocative "Orabidoo." And guests like vocalist Maggie Reilly and drummer Carl Palmer (of Emerson, Lake, & Palmer) help to further expand the stylistic range of the album.

• Format: CD
• Genre: Pop
• Released: 09/10/2013