NewsMike Oldfield / Five Miles Out reissue and Crises 5-disc box set
September 2013 sees the 30th anniversary (ish) reissues of two Mike Oldfield albums.
1982’s Five Miles Out, which features the single Family Man (covered with great commercial success by Hall and Oates) will be issued as a three disc 2CD+DVD edition, with the DVD featuring a 5.1 surround sound mix.
Oldfield’s follow-up to Five Miles Out was Crises, released little over a year later in May 1983. That album was responsible for another bit hit, this time Moonlight Shadow, which was a top ten hit in many countries around the world and in the UK is well known for being featured on the first of the long running Now That’s What I Call Music series.
Amazon are listing a 5-disc Crises box set, with a release date of 2 September, the same day as Five Miles Out. At this stage there is no official confirmation of exactly what will be on each disc, but the track listings are available on Amazon and Oldfield confirmed to his personal Facebook group earlier this year that Crises will be mixed for 5.1 surround sound. Here’s some of his message from Mike:
“Here is a screenshot of my studio Mac with “Crises” long instrumental all labelled and ready to mix.
I have started putting some automation down and it’s so great to work in 5.1 as there is so much more room for all the sounds in that lovely big space. I was working on Moonlight Shadow 5.1 last night and that’s easy to mix and everything is sounding amazing. The folks at the archiving company are having a bit of trouble finding the old masters of Taurus 3 and Foreign Affair but they have 2 mysterious big reels of Ampex tape in the oven so hopefully those tracks will be found. Shadow on the Wall will be the long version.”
In a later message he added:
“Have had a quick look at Moonlight Shadow and it’s magic you just push the faders up and it sounds fantastic. Found an extra Maggie Reilly vocal take so will have a good look at that.”
All in all exciting news for Mike Oldfield fans! Track listings for both releases are below, although with no official confirmation it may take some educated guessing to establish whether tracks are live versions, demos, 5.1 etc.
Crises 5-disc box set
Five Miles Out 2CD+DVD
Full track listings:
Five Miles Out track listing
Disc: 1
- 1. Taurus II
- 2. Family Man
- 3. Orabidoo
- 4. Mount Teidi
- 5. Five Miles Out
- 6. Waldberg (The Peak)
- 7. Five Miles Out
Disc: 2
- 1. Tubular Bells Part One
- 2. Sheba
- 3. Mirage
- 4. Family Man
- 5. Taurus II
- 6. Mount Teidi
- 7. Five Miles Out
- 8. Guilty
Disc: 3 (DVD – 5.1)
- 1. Taurus II
- 2. Family Man
- 3. Orabidoo
- 4. Mount Teidi
- 5. Five Miles Out
- 6. Five Miles Out – Mike Oldfield, Maggie Reilly
Crises track listing
Disc: 1
- 1. Crises
- 2. Moonlight Shadow
- 3. In High Places
- 4. Foreign Affair
- 5. Taurus 3
- 6. Shadow On The Wall
- 7. Moonlight Shadow
- 8. Shadow On The Wall
- 9. Mistake
- 10. Crime Of Passion
- 11. Jungle Gardenia
- 12. Moonlight Shadow
- 13. Shadow On The Wall
Disc: 2
- 1. Woodhenge/ Incantations Part Three
- 2. Sheba
- 3. Ommadawn Part One
- 4. Mount Teidi
- 5. Five Miles Out
- 6. Tubular Bells Part One
Disc: 3
- 1. Taurus I
- 2. Taurus II
- 3. Crises
- 4. Moonlight Shadow
- 5. Shadow On The Wall
- 6. Family Man
Disc: 4
- 1. Crises
- 2. Tubular Bells Part One
- 3. Moonlight Shadow – Mike Oldfield, Maggie Reilly
- 4. Shadow On The Wall
- 5. Moonlight Shadow – Mike Oldfield, Maggie Reilly
- 6. Crime Of Passion – Mike Oldfield, Barry Palmer
Disc: 5 (DVD 5.1)
- 1. Crises
- 2. Moonlight Shadow
- 3. In High Places
- 4. Foreign Affair
- 5. Taurus 3
- 6. Shadow On The Wall
Crises 5-disc box set
Five Miles Out 2CD+DVD
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Apparently the 5-disc set has sold out on pre-orders but Universal are re-manufacturing a second run which will become available later. Phew!
Crises was landmark in many ways. Not the least because it is POSSIBLY the first time Mike let someone else really come into his work: the mighty Simon Phillips, who, lets be honest, virtually “owns” the final section of the title track with his awe-inspiring drumming. I remember the first time I heard it, I could not believe it, so I played again – straight away!
It has ‘weak spots’ – “In High Places” – as much I love Jon Anderson, this is a little frail and “Foreign Affair”; also a bit limp.
BUT – a fantastic album none-the-less. Closing nicely with the growling, guttural – “Shadow On The Wall” – great stuff.
Don’t want to worry anyone, but just tried to pre-order the 5-disc Crises box on Amazon – it’s not on there. Nor is it listed on the Universal shop page. Has it been shelved?
Still on the german amazon http://www.amazon.de/Crises-Anniversary-Limited-Super-Deluxe/dp/B00DGO8CN4/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1376570704&sr=1-1&keywords=mike+oldfield+crises
all you moaners should be grateful that mike is re releasing such a great album in super remix and 5.1 , so stop complaining and enjoy , oh and the rite of man is so bad its not worth putting on the reissues
Don’t know if any one has seen this yet but Amazon UK are showing both albums coming out on vinyl on 2nd Sep also!
No details regarding remaster, or 180gram as of yet. 10.52 UK pounds.
Cheers for the info, Simon.
Oh, and disc 1 of Crises includes both 12″ versions of MS and SOTW, and a new acoustic mix of both tracks as well.
Universal have now confirmed that disc 1 is the original album plus a couple of bonus tracks and new mixes; discs 2 and 3 are audio from Wembley 10th Anniversary; disc 4 is 50 minutes of video from Wembley and a couple of promo videos and disc 5 is the album in 5.1.
The standard deluxe edition includes discs 1 and 3; no DVDs.
Disc 1 of 5MO is the original album plus a few bonus tracks; disc 2 is excerpts from the Cologne concert, disc 3 is the album in 5.1 and some promo videos.
I would suspect Crises disc 4 contains the various 12″ versions/mixes. Btw, I’m very much looking forward to the 5.1 Five Miles Out.
Would probably agree with that, but for the fact that both Moonlight Shadow and Shadow on the Wall feature twice as bonus tracks on the main album disc – so I was assuming these bonus tracks would already include the 12″ mixes (which are great, by the way).
OK, so if disc 1 of the Crises box is the album proper, plus bonus tracks, and discs 2 and 3 are live recordings…what are those tracks on disc 4? Demos? Videos? Without knowing exactly what is on there, disc 4 seems a bit…empty.
Great that the price is now under £32, though :)
Now £32 on Amazon UK. :-)
Thanks for the ‘heads up’! :)
Errr – the TB10 concert has been released in this set, or at least the audio has – that’s what makes up discs 2 and 3. The video may not even exist any more, but be thankful we are finally getting an official (and hopefully high quality) release of the audio.
I am absolutely astounded that this release has not finally taken the opportunity to release the TB 10th Aniversary concert (Crises) from Wembley. The number of cameras that were at that gig I find it impossible to believe they could not release this! We know the sound wasn;t that bad (as was used as the reason for it not being released earlier) So finally when the time comes around for it to be a possibility… it’s not there!
Very disappointed!
See http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crises-Mike-Oldfield/dp/B00DOU0OI6/ – there is also a “standard” Deluxe Edition of Crises being released, in addition to this 5 disc box. As I suspected… ;-)
Get your Nectar points out. Sainsbury’s:
http://www.sainsburysentertainment.co.uk/en/Music/CD/Mike-Oldfield/Crises-Box-Set/product.html?product=E11257045
Coming down!
[…] Thursday we revealed that Mike Oldfield‘s 1983 album Crises will be reissued on 2 September as a 5-disc box set. […]
OK, I stand corrected! Amazon now have a picture of the Crises set on the relevant page, and it does appear to be a special package, not just a standard digipack – 5 discs in individual slipcases with the moon from the cover on each, a box that looks like it’s around the size of 3 or 4 DVD cases stacked up, and a hardback book.
In which case, I wonder, as above, if there will be a “standard” Deluxe Edition package as well – I suspect so.
Cheers Simon – I’ve posted that picture on the blog, which you’ve probably seen.
It’s going to depend on whether or not this is the only version of Crises released as a remaster. TB was released as the Ultimate set, a 3 disc Deluxe Edition set and a single disc. If Crises gets a separate release in a digipack with just 2 CDs (losing the 10th Anniversary concert) and a DVD, matching the other Deluxe Editions, as well as being released in this set, then this 5-disc set becomes something special, and people may (and I stress *may*) be prepared to pay over the odds, at least if it is packaged in a fashion resembling the TB Ultimate set.
But as I’ve said above, I think TB was a special case – it’s the one Oldfield album that non-Oldfield fans have heard of and bought; it’s generally regarded as a classic album. Crises isn’t in that category. (OK, it includes Moonlight Shadow, his best-known single, but you’d have to know a lot about MO to remember that this is the album with MS on, so I don’t think that helps much!)
So I don’t believe this is going to be a special, lavish box set – I think this is just the standard Deluxe Edition for Crises. As such, it’s not going to sell at £50+. Crises just doesn’t stand out enough in the MO catalogue to justify anything more than a standard Deluxe Edition set.
Where is Rite of Man, the b-side of the original. Moonlight Shadow single? How can you have a Super deluxe edition without it? Come on, Mike, “sing hey for the Rite of Man”.
It’s nearer to 30th anniversary than 25th ! Re The price of Crises- 5 discs for £50 is reasonable value I think.
The price of Crises is not in any way reasonable, and don’t for a second let Universal hear you think so! The 5MO set includes 2 CDs and a DVD, and is £12. The Crises set includes 4 CDs and a DVD, and is £55 – in what way is over £20 a disc for the two extra CDs “reasonable value”?
The price on the Crises set is going to drop before release; I’d be very surprised if it actually ends up retailing for any more than 5MO. At £50+, it’s not going to sell very many copies at all. The Ultimate edition of TB is currently selling for around that price, and that includes 3 CDs, a DVD, vinyl, a hardback book and a bunch of memorabilia. For an album as iconic as TB, that’s reasonable – but how many people outside of the Oldfield die-hards even remembers Crises? Don’t get me wrong, it’s one of my favorite albums, but it doesn’t justify a lavish box set any more than any of the other post-TB albums did, and none of them got one…
Simon – it was just an opinion. £55 for five discs seemed reasonable to me at £11 a disc. This price usually comes down anyway – driven by the market to a price where it will sell. At the end of the day it’s a business pure and simple so if they pitch the price wrong it wont sell. Either way, buy it if you want it and don’t if you don’t.It’s no good comparing the price with other box sets there is no set price for these things – Elton’s new CD is £116 and only has a CD, a DVD, vinyl and a book !
Hi Paul – thanks for pointing out the slip-up, of course these are 30th anniversary releases.
Until we know more about the box, it’s hard to to judge to be honest. As you say, compared to Elton’s set it’s outstanding value. Same with the “Made In California” Beach Boys set. On the other hand the forthcoming Nilsson box is 17CDs for less than £55.
Paul McCartney’s book deluxe sets (Band On The Run, McCartney and McCartney II) have all been MORE than £55 with maximum four discs, but because the presentation was so good the general perception is that they are reasonable value. If the five discs for Crises are in cardboard sleeves in a small box with a small booklet, then suddenly £55 won’t seem good value.
Great to see Crises (my fave Oldfield album) get the 5.1 treatment, but 50 odd quid for a super deluxe box set? Really?
Would like to see the 5.1 done on SACD, as well. Or Blu Ray. Or at the very least DVD-A.
As Steve T above says – ” make use of the hi res” !!!
Five Miles Out is on my top 10 list of favourate albums. Why not, in this day and age, put the 5.1 on blu ray? make use of the hi res. I just dont understand, most people have a Blu Ray player now dont they?
I used to have the 3″ inch Cd Single of Moonlight Shadow, but, It was lost, taken, stolen….who knows? …. So, I’m asking too : 5-disc box set and no “Rite of Man” ?!!!!!
PLEASE tell me we’re going to get a lossless option this time around for the 5.1 mixes, or at least not the lowest possible option – 448 Kbps Dolby Digital.
The recent 24-bit .flac download Bowers & Wilkins made available of the 2009 Tubular Bells 5.1 mix absolutely blows the DD 5.1 version from the DVD-Video of the CD+DVD edition out of the water.
Where ist the Song Rite of Man?!!!!!
Oh, and re the long version of SOTW – it was also on the single disc and 4 disc versions of the Elements compilation. It’s actually far more common on Oldfield’s releases than the short version!
I’d also add that, much as I love Crises, Amazon must be smoking something to think anyone is going to pay £50+ for the remaster!
what can i say….This two albums are the B.O.F of many years of my life…It’s a fantastic news to have again this great émotion with the bonus of excellent live versions from the tours of 82, 83, 84 Mike begin the recording of his new rock album, so it’s magnificient : fives miles out, crises…and the the new album, i’m so happy
Discs 2 and 3 of the Crises set look like the 10th Anniversary live performance from Wembley Arena – there are a lot of very good bootlegs of this, but it’ll be nice to have an official release.
Disc 2 of 5MO looks like a live show from the 5MO tour – it closely matches the setlist of that tour, albeit missing the bits of Platinum and Ommadawn that were played.
Oh, and Steve (above) – the long version of Shadow On The Wall has been available on CD for about 25 years; it’s on The Complete Mike Oldfield compilation; it was also on The Platinum Collection that was released a few years back. Both are deleted, but easy enough to find used.
Crises is easily my favourite Mike Oldfield album (along with the hard-to-find Discovery from the following year). This is fantastic news, as although the 2000 remasters had excellent audio quality, the packaging etc. was completely inadequate. Can’t wait to hear an alternative Maggie Reilly vocal on Moonlight Shadow (one of THE singles of the 80’s IMHO); not to mention the long version of Shadow On The Wall on CD finally! Look forward to the updates through to September…