With 1984's Discovery, Mike Oldfield seems to be back on track, utilizing the vocal power of Maggie Reilly and the drum playing of Simon Phillips to create some rather appealing selections.
"The Lake" is a simply gorgeous instrumental inspired by Switzerland's Lake Geneva, the location in which the album was recorded, while "To France" is a powerful pop/rock tune based on the life of Mary, Queen of Scots.
Both Reilly and Barry Palmer share the vocal duties throughout the tracks, signifying Oldfield's subtle emergence into a more pop-infused atmosphere.
"Tricks of the Light" is a wonderful instrumental that relies on the keyboard to give it energy, while even so-so efforts like the title track and "Poison Arrows" come off as upbeat and inspired.
Discovery peaked at number 15 in the U.K., and even though it didn't garner much attention elsewhere, it serves as one of Mike Oldfield's most entertaining releases from the decade.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | To FranceMike Oldfield | Mike Oldfield | Play | 04:37 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 2 | Poison Arrows | Mike Oldfield | Play | 03:58 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 3 | Crystal Gazing | Mike Oldfield | Play | 03:02 | 6 MB | 18 MB |
| 4 | Tricks of the LightMike Oldfield | Mike Oldfield | Play | 03:52 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 5 | DiscoveryDavid Arkenstone | Mike Oldfield | Play | 04:34 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 6 | Talk About Your Life | Mike Oldfield | Play | 04:24 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 7 | Saved by a Bell | Mike Oldfield | Play | 04:39 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 8 | The Lake (Instrumental) | Mike Oldfield | Play | 12:11 | 27 MB | 72 MB |
| 41 mins | 94 MB | |||||
| 41 mins | 257 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adam Ant | Guitar, Keyboards |
| 2 | David Arkenstone | Composer |
| 3 | Dan Kramer | Cover Photo |
| 4 | Mike Oldfield | Bass, Composer, Engineer, Guitar, Keyboards, Multi Instruments, Percussion, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 5 | Barry Palmer | Vocals |
| 6 | Simon Phillips | Drums, Engineer, Producer |
| 7 | Maggie Reilly | Vocals |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |