Five Miles Out
| Five Miles Out | ||||
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| Studio album by Mike Oldfield | ||||
| Released | 19 March 1982 | |||
| Recorded | Buckinghamshire, 1981–1982 | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock, pop rock | |||
| Length | 49:56 | |||
| Label |
Virgin/Epic Mercury (2013 reissue) |
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| Producer | Mike Oldfield | |||
| Mike Oldfield chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Five Miles Out | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| High Fidelity | (not rated) |
Five Miles Out is the seventh record album by Mike Oldfield, released in 1982, at a time when his music was moving away from large-scale symphonic pieces towards a more accessible pop style. It is one of the very few albums on which Oldfield sings lead vocals, as he is noted for not having any confidence in his voice's qualities. The album produced two singles.
The first track, "Taurus II", is a long-form piece with changing melodies and instrumental settings. It features many familiar sounds from his earlier albums, such as uilleann pipes and female chorus. During the vocal section (called "The Deep Deep Sound") the music quotes a theme from "Taurus I", a song from Oldfield's previous album, QE2. Immediately after the vocal section the main theme from "Taurus I" is also quoted. In 1981 Oldfield was commissioned to write and perform a piece for the Royal Wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer, titled "Royal Wedding Anthem"; the piece has similarities to "Taurus II" released the following year.
"Family Man" - with Maggie Reilly on vocals - was Oldfield's first real rock song. It was released as a single. Hall & Oates covered the song in 1982 for their album H2O, with their version reaching No. 6 on the US pop charts and No. 15 in the UK. It thus became one of the very few songs penned by Oldfield to chart in the United States.
"Orabidoo" is another long and changing tune. It features vocals sung by Oldfield and Reilly, both through a vocoder. At the end of the track, there is a song, "Ireland's Eye", sung by Reilly and accompanied by acoustic guitar. The beginning of the tune quotes "Conflict" from Oldfield's previous album, QE2. The song also features segments from "Taurus II" played in counterpoint and changing scales.
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