Discovery (Mike Oldfield album)

Discovery is the ninth studio album by English multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Mike Oldfield, released on 25 June 1984 on Virgin Records. It comprises a number of pop songs, most notably the single "To France", as well as the instrumental "The Lake".

Discovery
Studio album by Mike Oldfield
Released	25 June 1984 (1984-06-25)
Recorded	January–June 1984 in Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland[1]
Genre	Progressive rock, pop rock
Length	40:57
Label	Virgin
Producer	Mike Oldfield Simon Phillips
Mike Oldfield chronology
Crises (1983) Discovery (1984) The Killing Fields (1984)
Singles from Discovery
"To France" Released: 18 June 1984[2] "Tricks of the Light" Released: 10 September 1984[3]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[4]

Background and recording

After his 1983 tour, Oldfield relocated to Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland for tax purposes and started work on a new album.^[1] The album was recorded from January to June 1984.^[5] Sessions typically ran from 10:30 a.m. to around 7 p.m. each day.^[5] While living in Villars, Oldfield also composed the soundtrack to The Killing Fields (1984). Selections from the two were released as The 1984 Suite, in 2016.

The album contains a number of pop songs, which Oldfield had been encouraged by Virgin Records to write, following the success of "Moonlight Shadow" from his previous album, Crises.

The first track of the album, "To France", with Maggie Reilly on vocals, seamlessly continues into the second track, "Poison Arrows", sung by Barry Palmer.

According to Oldfield, the instrumental "The Lake" was inspired by his time in Switzerland and around Lake Geneva.^[6]

During 1984 Oldfield and his band embarked on a Europe wide tour in promotion of the album.

2016 reissue

Discovery was re-released in a deluxe edition format on 29 January 2016,^[7] as per all previous albums which were originally released on the Virgin label.

The reissue comprises 2 CDs (Discovery and the 1984 Suite) and a DVD featuring 5.1 surround sound mixes. The 1984 Suite is a compilation album of Discovery and Oldfield's other 1984 album, The Killing Fields. It also includes two previously unreleased tracks: "The Royal Mile", a slight reworking of the 1984 track "Afghan", and "Zombies (Halloween Special)", a reworking of the song "Poison Arrows" with the original vocals replaced by a "Macintalk" voice named Fred and the lines "Somebody's out to get you" replaced with "Zombies are out to get you".

Track listing

All tracks by Mike Oldfield.

Original LP

Side one

1. "To France" – 4:37
2. "Poison Arrows" – 3:57
3. "Crystal Gazing" – 3:02
4. "Tricks of the Light" – 3:52
5. "Discovery" – 4:35

Side two

1. "Talk About Your Life" – 4:24
2. "Saved by a Bell" – 4:39
3. "The Lake" – 12:10

2016 Deluxe Edition

Disc 1 - Discovery Remastered "To France" "Poison Arrows" "Crystal Gazing" "Tricks of the Light" "Discovery" "Talk About Your Life" "Saved by a Bell" "The Lake" "To France" (Extended version) (bonus track) "In the Pool" (bonus track) "Bones" (bonus track) "Afghan" (bonus track) "Tricks of the Light" (Instrumental) (bonus track) Tracks 9–11 taken from the "To France" 12 inch single. Tracks 12–13 taken from B-side of "Tricks of the Light" single.

Disc 2 - The 1984 Suite CD "To France" "The Lake" "The Killing Fields (Main Theme)" "Étude" "The Royal Mile" (Re-discovered track) "Zombies (Halloween Special)" (Reworking of "Poison Arrows" with new vocal) "Discovery" Disc 3 - DVD The 1984 Suite in 5.1 Surround Sound Promotional videos "To France" "Tricks of the Light" "Étude"

Personnel

• Mike Oldfield – all instruments (except drums), producer
• Maggie Reilly – vocals (1, 3–4, 6)
• Barry Palmer – vocals (2, 4–5, 7)
• Simon Phillips – drums, producer
• Dan Kramer – cover photography

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Discovery Chart (1984) Peak position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[8] 3 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[9] 44 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[10] 2 European Albums (European Top 100 Albums)[11] 1 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[12] 1 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[13] 47 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[14] 3 Scottish Albums (OCC)[15] 68 Spain (PROMUSICAE)[16] 1 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[17] 3 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 1 UK Albums (OCC)[19] 15

Year-end charts 1984 year-end chart performance for Discovery Chart (1984) Position Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[20] 12 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [21] 33 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[22] 6 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 5 Certifications Sale certifications for Discovery Region Certification Certified units/sales France (SNEP)[24] Gold   Germany (BVMI)[25] Gold 250,000^ Spain (PROMUSICAE)[26] Platinum 100,000^ United Kingdom (BPI)[27] Gold 100,000^ ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Mike Oldfield Discography - Discovery". Tubular.net. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
2. "Oldfield singles".
3. "Music Week" (PDF). p. 18.
4. Discovery review at AllMusic
5. Oakes, Tim (September 1984). "Mike Oldfield". Unknown. Archived from the original on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019 – via JustOneMoreThing.com.
6. Mike Oldfield (2 August 2012), Two Sides Sleeve Notes, Mercury Records, retrieved 3 January 2015
7. Sinclair, Paul (30 October 2015). "Mike Oldfield revisits 1984 with reissues and new rarities set". Super Deluxe Edition. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
8. "Austriancharts.at – Mike Oldfield – Discovery" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2013-04-08.
9. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 8940". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
10. "Dutchcharts.nl – Mike Oldfield – Discovery" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2013-04-08.
11. "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 1, no. 23. 3 September 1984. p. 4. Retrieved 17 May 2022 – via World Radio History.
12. "Offiziellecharts.de – Mike Oldfield – Discovery" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
13. "Charts.nz – Mike Oldfield – Discovery". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2013-04-08.
14. "Norwegiancharts.com – Mike Oldfield – Discovery". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2013-04-08.
15. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
16. Salaverri, Fernando (2015). Sólo éxitos 1959–2012 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 978-84-8048-866-2.
17. "Swedishcharts.com – Mike Oldfield – Discovery". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2013-04-08.
18. "Swisscharts.com – Mike Oldfield – Discovery". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2013-04-08.
19. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
20. "Jahreshitparade Alben 1984". Austrian Charts (in German). Retrieved 17 May 2022.
21. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1984". Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Retrieved 17 May 2022.
22. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
23. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1984: Alben". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
24. "French album certifications – Mike Oldfield – Discovery" (in French). InfoDisc. Select MIKE OLDFIELD and click OK. 
25. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Mike Oldfield; 'Discovery')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
26. Sólo Éxitos 1959–2002 Año A Año: Certificados 1979–1990 (in Spanish), Iberautor Promociones Culturales, 2005, ISBN 8480486392, retrieved 2 May 2019
27. "British album certifications – Mike Oldfield – Discovery". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 12 May 2019.

External links

• Mike Oldfield Discography - Discovery at Tubular.net