For Islands, Mike Oldfield gathered a host of musicians to further his run of more mainstream-sounding albums.
The album includes vocals by Bonnie Tyler, Kevin Ayers, and Max Bacon, as well as saxophonist Raphael Ravenscroft (famous for his work on Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street"), along with the album's producer and former Yes member Geoffrey Downes.
Even with such talent, Oldfield only garners sporadic instances of entertaining music, and the bulk of Islands comes off as quite pedestrian-sounding.
Bonnie Tyler's passionate voice lifts the title track higher than any other cut, while "The Wind Chimes, Pt.
1 and 2" serves as the second-best song, instilling some of Oldfield's instrumental originality and adroitness in order to drum up its enchanting air.
Unfortunately, tracks such as "When the Night's on Fire," "Flying Start," and "Magic Touch" lack any allurement or defined character, supporting accusations from critics that Oldfield has finally run out of ideas.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magic TouchMike Oldfield | Mike Oldfield | Play | 04:15 | 9 MB | 29 MB |
| 2 | The Time Has ComeMike Oldfield | Mike Oldfield | Play | 03:55 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 3 | North PointMike Oldfield | Mike Oldfield | Play | 03:33 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 4 | Flying StartMike Oldfield | Mike Oldfield | Play | 03:37 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 5 | IslandsMike Oldfield | Mike Oldfield | Play | 04:19 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 6 | The Wind Chimes | Mike Oldfield | Play | 21:49 | 49 MB | 122 MB |
| 7 | When the Night's On Fire | Mike Oldfield | Play | 06:42 | 15 MB | 43 MB |
| 48 mins | 110 MB | |||||
| 48 mins | 299 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kevin Ayers | Guest Artist, Vocals |
| 2 | Max Bacon | Musician, Vocals |
| 3 | Richard Barrie | Assistant Engineer, Technical Assistance |
| 4 | Tony Beard | Musician |
| 5 | Andrew Catlin | Paintings, Portraits |
| 6 | Michael Crétu | Producer |
| 7 | Geoffrey Downes | Producer |
| 8 | Simon Draper | A&R |
| 9 | Rick Fenn | Musician |
| 10 | Greg Fulginiti | Mastering |
| 11 | Anita Hegerland | Chant, Vocals |
| 12 | Simon Heyworth | Remastering |
| 13 | Andy Mackay | Guest Artist, Musician |
| 14 | Douglas Brian Martin | Desaccordee, Design |
| 15 | Benoit Moerlen | Musician |
| 16 | Pierre Moerlen | Musician |
| 17 | Micky Moody | Musician |
| 18 | Tom Newman | Producer |
| 19 | Mike Oldfield | Composer, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 20 | Jeremy Parker | Assistant |
| 21 | Simon Phillips | Drums, Guest Artist, Producer |
| 22 | Raphael Ravenscroft | Musician |
| 23 | Alan Shacklock | Producer |
| 24 | Mickey Simmonds | Musician |
| 25 | Phil Spalding | Musician |
| 26 | Mervyn Spence | Musician |
| 27 | Bonnie Tyler | Guest Artist, Vocals |
| 28 | Jerry Uelsmann | Photography |
| 29 | John Wooler | A&R |
| 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). |