Earth Moving was one of the last installments in Mike Oldfield's series of pop experiments, and the record does sound as if the musician was running out of patience with the genre.
Many listeners have written off this period, but there were interesting moments that passionate fans still appreciate.
Oldfield commits completely to the pop/rock format on Earth Moving by excluding the kind of long intro piece that he often used to kick off other '80s recordings.
Instead, the composer puts a sprawling but focused (by Oldfield standards) eight-minute number, "Nothing But/Bridge to Paradise," at the end of this 1989 release.
The musician/composer displays a more deft pop hand throughout this offering, which probably isn't such a good thing.
The quirkiness of discs like Crisis is exactly what makes them interesting.
Unfortunately, songs like "Hostage" are so conventional, they sound unimaginative: almost -- no, exactly -- like bad '80s soundtrack numbers.
Not just casual fans, but even Oldfield loyalists will have trouble with Earth Moving, one of the artist's lesser albums.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HolyMike Oldfield | Mike Oldfield | Play | 04:37 | 0 MB | 29 MB |
| 2 | HostageMike Oldfield | Mike Oldfield | Play | 04:09 | 0 MB | 26 MB |
| 3 | Far CountryMike Oldfield | Mike Oldfield | Play | 04:25 | 0 MB | 21 MB |
| 4 | InnocentMike Oldfield | Mike Oldfield | Play | 03:30 | 0 MB | 22 MB |
| 5 | Runaway SonMike Oldfield | Mike Oldfield | Play | 04:07 | 0 MB | 26 MB |
| 6 | See the LightMike Oldfield | Mike Oldfield | Play | 03:59 | 0 MB | 26 MB |
| 7 | Earth MovingMike Oldfield | Mike Oldfield | Play | 04:04 | 0 MB | 26 MB |
| 8 | Blue NightMike Oldfield | Mike Oldfield | Play | 03:48 | 0 MB | 23 MB |
| 9 | Nothing But/Bridge to ParadiseMike Oldfield | Mike Oldfield | Play | 08:40 | 0 MB | 55 MB |
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| 41 mins | 257 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Bacon | Vocals |
| 2 | Tom Baker | Mastering |
| 3 | Richard Barrie | Technical Advisor |
| 4 | Adrian Belew | Guest Artist, Guitar, Soloist, Vocals |
| 5 | Nikkie "B" Bentley | Vocals |
| 6 | Denis Blackham | Casting, Casting Consultant, Engineer |
| 7 | Jackie Challenor | Vocals (Background) |
| 8 | Simon Clarke | Horn, Horn Section, Kick Horns, Vocals (Background) |
| 9 | Lance Ellington | Vocals (Background) |
| 10 | Simon Gardner | Horn, Horn Section, Kick Horns |
| 11 | Anita Hegerland | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 12 | Carol Kenyon | Vocal Ad-Libs, Vocals, Voices |
| 13 | Daniel Lazerus | Clarinet, Clavinet, Harmonia, Harmonica, Harp, Horn Arrangements, Producer, Tambourine, Vocals (Background) |
| 14 | Paul Lee | Vocals |
| 15 | Roddy Lorimer | Horn, Horn Section, Kick Horns |
| 16 | Sonia Jones Morgan | Vocals (Background) |
| 17 | Keith Murrell | Vocals (Background) |
| 18 | Mike Oldfield | Bass, Composer, Engineer, Guitar, Horn Arrangements, Keyboards, Percussion, Primary Artist, Producer, Programming, Soloist, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 19 | Jeremy Parker | Assistant, Personal Assistant |
| 20 | Raphael Ravenscroft | Saxophone |
| 21 | Maggie Reilly | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 22 | Maggie Ryder | Vocals (Background) |
| 23 | Tim Sanders | Horn, Horn Section, Kick Horns |
| 24 | Phil Spalding | Fretless Bass, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 25 | Chris Thompson | Vocals |
| 26 | Bobby Valentine | Violin |
| 27 | Bobby Valentino | Violin |
| 28 | Carl Wayne | Vocals (Background) |
| 29 | Mark Williamson | 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). |