Islands (Mike Oldfield album)

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Islands
Mike Oldfield - Islands.jpg
Studio album by
Mike Oldfield
Released7 September 1987 (1987-09-07)
Recorded1986–1987 in Megève, France [1]
Genre Progressive rock, pop, rock
Length48:11
Label Virgin
Producer Michael Cretu
Geoffrey Downes
Tom Newman
Mike Oldfield
Simon Phillips
Alan Shacklock
Mike Oldfield chronology
The Killing Fields
(1984)		Islands
(1987)		 Earth Moving
(1989)
Alternative cover
Mike oldfield islands album cover.jpg
Original United States cover

Personnel

Singles

Four singles were released from the album, two of which were released in 1987, "Islands" (as Mike & Bonnie) and "The Time Has Come", and two in 1988, "Flying Start" and "Magic Touch".

"Flying Start"

"Flying Start"
Flying Start (Mike Oldfield).jpg
Single by Mike Oldfield with Kevin Ayers
from the album Islands
Released1 February 1988 (1988-02-01) [21]
Genre Progressive rock, pop rock
Label Virgin
Songwriter(s) Mike Oldfield
Producer(s) Mike Oldfield
Simon Phillips (co-producer on B-side)
Mike Oldfieldsingles chronology
"Magic Touch"
(1988)		"Flying Start"
(1988)		"Earth Moving"
(1989)

"Flying Start" was released as the third single from Islands on 1 February 1988. [21] It features Kevin Ayers on vocals who had collaborated with Oldfield in his band, the Whole World, even prior to Oldfield's debut album, Tubular Bells . [22] Oldfield used a Danelectro Coral sitar on this song, an instrument that does not feature on many of Oldfield's releases. [23] The music video features various computer generated elements.

Unusually for an Oldfield 12-inch at that time, the extended duration was achieved simply by a short introductory instrumental that bears no musical relation to the rest of the song and is separated from it by a short pause; the song itself is identical to the album and 7-inch versions. Prior to this, Oldfield had usually extended his songs for their 12-inch versions by incorporating an extra verse and/or instrumental section within the main body of the track. The 12-inch version has since appeared on the 2006 compilation album, The Platinum Collection .

A different version of the song produced by Colin Fairley was also released on Kevin Ayers' own album Falling Up in February 1988. [21]

Track listing

7-inch
  1. "Flying Start" – 3:37
  2. "The Wind Chimes" (Excerpt from part 2) – 3:58
12 inch
  1. "Flying Start" (Extended version) – 4:50
  2. "The Wind Chimes" (Excerpt from part 2) – 3:58

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References

  1. ↑ Oldfield 2008, p. 238.
  2. ↑ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 35.
  3. ↑ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 18.
  4. ↑ Strong, Martin Charles (12 March 1995). The Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 603. ISBN   978-0-86241-541-9.
  5. ↑ Islands review at AllMusic. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  6. ↑ "British album certifications – Mike Oldfield – Islands". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  7. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Mike Oldfield – Islands" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  8. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Mike Oldfield – Islands" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  9. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Mike Oldfield – Islands" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  10. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Mike Oldfield – Islands". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  11. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (2015). Sólo éxitos 1959–2012 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN   978-84-8048-866-2.
  12. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Mike Oldfield – Islands". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  13. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Mike Oldfield – Islands". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  14. ↑ October 1987/7502/ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  15. ↑ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  16. ↑ "French album certifications – Mike Oldfield – Islands" (in French). InfoDisc.Select MIKE OLDFIELD and click OK. 
  17. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Mike Oldfield; 'Islands')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie . Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  18. ↑ Sólo Éxitos 1959–2002 Año A Año: Certificados 1979–1990 (in Spanish), Iberautor Promociones Culturales, 2005, ISBN   8480486392 , retrieved 3 May 2019
  19. ↑ "Gold & Platinum Awards 1987" (PDF). Music and Media . American Radio History Archive. 26 December 1987. p. 46. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  20. ↑ "British album certifications – Mike Oldfield – Islands". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  21. 1 2 3 Lemieux, Patrick (April 2014). The Mike Oldfield Chronology. Across The Board Books. ISBN   9780991984060 . Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  22. ↑ "Mike Oldfield – Islands Press Kit". Tubular.net. 24 September 1987. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  23. ↑ "Islands – Mike Oldfield Discography". Tubular.net. Retrieved 22 August 2015.

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