Man on the Rocks is the twenty-fifth studio album by British musician Mike Oldfield, released on 3 March 2014 on the Virgin EMI label.^[3] The album is Oldfield's second full album of exclusively songs with no long or instrumental pieces, the first being 1989's Earth Moving.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]}

Man on the Rocks was produced by Stephen Lipson together with Oldfield.^[12] 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 with producer Steve Lipson; Oldfield participated in these sessions via Skype. Oldfield has also recorded part of the album in his home studio in the Bahamas.^[13] Oldfield's electric guitar sound on the album is primarily a Fender Telecaster combined with the Avid Eleven software plug-in.^[14]

The album marks a return of Oldfield to a Virgin branded label since leaving Virgin Records in the 1990s, through the merger of Mercury Records UK and Virgin Records after Universal Music's purchase of EMI. Luke Spiller is the singer of The Struts, another of Virgin EMI's British artists.^[15]

Man on the Rocks was released on 3 March 2014, after initially being planned for 27 January. The album is available on single CD, double CD, double vinyl, coloured double vinyl, digital download and a box set.

The two CD Deluxe Edition contains the album and a second instrumental disc. In the UK the boxed set is available exclusively through mikeoldfieldofficial.com - this includes the content from the Deluxe Edition as well as Oldfield's demos of the songs and 4 alternative mixes of songs. The boxed set also includes a 16-page CD size booklet, four art cards and a certificate of authenticity.

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Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	51/100[21]
Review scores
Source	Rating
The Guardian	[22]
So So Gay	[23]
Shields Gazette	[24]
musicOMH	[25]
AllMusic	[26]
Record Collector	[27]

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Critical reception of the album has been mixed. Music critics and journalists have noted its contrast from Oldfield's progressive rock works such as Tubular Bells, and the album's orientation to more standard rock music. The Guardian newspaper called the album "a curious but likable diversion from his multilayered new-age work." "Sailing" reached BBC Radio 2's "A List" rotation.

• Mike Oldfield – Electric & acoustic guitars, bass guitar, backing vocals, keyboards
• Luke Spiller – Lead vocals
• John Robinson – Drums
• Leland Sklar – Bass guitar
• Matt Rollings – Piano, Hammond B-3
• Michael Thompson – Electric & acoustic guitars
• Stephen Lipson – Electric & acoustic guitars
• Davy Spillane – Whistles on "Moonshine"
• Paul Dooley – Violin on "Moonshine"
• Backing vocalists – Bill Champlin, Alfie Silas Durio, Carmel Echols, Rochelle Gilliard, Judith Hill, Kirsten Joy, Jason Morales, Louis Price, Tiffany Smith
• Engineers – Mike Oldfield & Stephen Lipson (Battery Studios); Howard Willing with Chris Owens (The Village Studios); Steve MacMillan (engineer for drums on "Irene" & "Dreaming in the Wind" at Steak House Studio, LA)
• Produced by – Mike Oldfield and Stephen Lipson