Earth Moving
Studio album by
Mike Oldfield
Released10 July 1989 (1989-07-10)
Recorded1988–1989
GenrePop, rock[1]
Length40:50
LabelVirgin
ProducerDaniel Lazerus, Mike Oldfield
Mike Oldfield chronology
Islands
(1987) 		Earth Moving
(1989) 		Amarok
(1990)
Singles from Earth Moving
  1. "Earth Moving"
    Released: July 1989 (UK)[2]
  2. "Innocent"
    Released: July 1989 (EU)
  3. "(One Glance Is) Holy"
    Released: 30 October 1989 (EU)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

Earth Moving is the 12th record album by British musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1989. Unlike Oldfield's albums released prior to Earth Moving, the album contains no instrumental tracks.

Album analysis

Oldfield used several vocalists on the album, including his then girlfriend, Anita Hegerland. The album's music was performed mainly with synthesizers. It was the first time Oldfield recorded an album without an instrumental piece; each track being vocal-based pop and rock songs. Oldfield's only other album free of instrumentals to date is 2014's Man on the Rocks.

The final track, despite appearing to be a lengthier piece, consists of two short, apparently unconnected songs, combined into one track, with a noticeable pause in between. According to Oldfield, the album was made in full compliance with his recording company, Virgin Records, which demanded he create more commercially oriented material than his previous albums. After recording Earth Moving Oldfield wanted to move away from 'computerised music' and return to real musicians and instruments; this is evident in his next album, Amarok.[3]

Promotion

According to an interview Mike Oldfield and Anita Hegerland gave on the television programme Good Morning Britain, the song "Innocent" was inspired by their young daughter Greta, who appears in the song's music video. In the programme, Oldfield and Hegerland performed an acoustic version of the song, Hegerland singing and Oldfield playing the guitar.[4]

"Earth Moving", "Innocent" and "(One Glance Is) Holy" were released as singles.

Equipment

Earth Moving is the first album on which Oldfield used PRS guitars, having previously used Gibson guitars. Synthesizers on the album include a Fairlight Series III and various instruments made by Roland and Korg (including an M1). The album was recorded using an Atari 1040ST with C-Lab Notator software, a Harrison Series X console, a Studer A8800 tape deck with Dolby SR noise reduction, an Ampex Grand Master tape and ATC SCM200 monitors.

Track listing

All tracks written by Mike Oldfield.

Side one

  1. "Holy" – 4:37
  2. "Hostage" – 4:09
  3. "Far Country" – 4:25
  4. "Innocent" – 3:30
  5. "Runaway Son" – 4:05

Side two

  1. "See the Light" – 3:59
  2. "Earth Moving" – 4:03
  3. "Blue Night" – 3:47
  4. "Nothing But" / "Bridge to Paradise" – 8:40

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
France (SNEP)[14] Gold 100,000*
Germany (BVMI)[15] Gold 250,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[16] Gold 50,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[17] Gold 25,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ a b Earth Moving review at AllMusic
  2. ^ "The Great Rock Discography". p. 604.
  3. ^ "Mike Oldfield Turns the clock Back - Computers: Curse of Modern Music". Dick Speelpenning - Sym-info-Magazine No.91. October 1990. Retrieved 14 August 2008.
  4. ^ "TV-AM Interview". Tubular.net (Transcribed from Good Morning Britain). 11 July 1989. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
  5. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Mike Oldfield – Earth Moving" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  6. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Mike Oldfield – Earth Moving" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  7. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Mike Oldfield – Earth Moving" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  8. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (2015). Sólo éxitos 1959–2012 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 978-84-8048-866-2.
  9. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Mike Oldfield – Earth Moving". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  10. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Mike Oldfield – Earth Moving". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  11. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  12. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  13. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1989". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  14. ^ "French album certifications – Mike Oldfield – Earth Moving" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 12 November 2021. Select MIKE OLDFIELD and click OK. 
  15. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Mike Oldfield; 'Earth Moving')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  16. ^ "Sólo Éxitos 1959–2002 Año A Año: Certificados 1979–1990" (in Spanish). Iberautor Promociones Culturales. ISBN 8480486392.
  17. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Earth Moving')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 May 2019.

External links

Mike Oldfield
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