Elements – The Best of Mike Oldfield
1993 greatest hits album by Mike Oldfield
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Elements – The Best of Mike Oldfield is a compilation album by English musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1993 by Virgin Records.
| Elements – The Best of Mike Oldfield | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Greatest hits album by | ||||
| Released | 13 September 1993[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1972–1992 | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock | |||
| Length | 63:22 | |||
| Label | Virgin | |||
| Producers | ||||
| Mike Oldfield chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Elements – The Best of Mike Oldfield | ||||
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The compilation was first released as a single CD album, which is the most commonly available form today. It was later released with Oldfield's original Tubular Bells album (1973), as a double CD. Other related releases include a 4-CD box set and a video album.
Elements was released by Virgin after Oldfield had left the label, but includes "Sentinel" from Tubular Bells II (1992) courtesy of the Warner label.
Two of Oldfield's previous hits, "In Dulci Jubilo" and "Moonlight Shadow", were reissued as singles alongside the album. The latter reissue reached number 52 in the UK singles chart.[4]
Track listing
All tracks written by Mike Oldfield, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Origin | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Tubular Bells (Opening theme)" | Tubular Bells (1973) | 4:19 | |
| 2. | "Family Man" (featuring Maggie Reilly) |
| Five Miles Out (1982) | 3:45 |
| 3. | "Moonlight Shadow" (featuring Maggie Reilly) | Crises (1983) | 3:36 | |
| 4. | "Heaven's Open" | Heaven's Open (1991) | 4:27 | |
| 5. | "Five Miles Out" | Five Miles Out | 4:15 | |
| 6. | "To France" (featuring Maggie Reilly) | Discovery (1984) | 4:43 | |
| 7. | "Foreign Affair" (featuring Maggie Reilly) |
| Crises | 3:54 |
| 8. | "In Dulci Jubilo" | trad. | non-album single (1975) | 2:50 |
| 9. | "Shadow on the Wall" (12" version; featuring Roger Chapman) | Crises | 5:07 | |
| 10. | "Islands" (featuring Bonnie Tyler) | Islands (1987) | 4:17 | |
| 11. | "Etude" | Francisco Tárrega | The Killing Fields soundtrack (1984) | 3:07 |
| 12. | "Sentinel" (Single version) | Tubular Bells II (1992) | 3:56 | |
| 13. | "Ommadawn (Excerpt)" | Ommadawn (1975) | 3:38 | |
| 14. | "Incantations part four (Excerpt)" | Incantations (1978) | 4:39 | |
| 15. | "Amarok (Excerpt)" | Amarok (1990) | 4:43 | |
| 16. | "Portsmouth" | trad. | non-album single (1976) | 2:00 |
Personnel
Adapted from the album's liner notes.[5]
Producers
- Mike Oldfield (tracks 1–3, 5–14, 16)
- Tom Newman (tracks 1, 4, 5, 10, 12, 15)
- Simon Heyworth (track 1)
- Simon Phillips (tracks 3, 6, 7, 9)
- Alan Shacklock (track 10)
- Trevor Horn (track 12)
Additional personnel
- Remastered by Chris Blair at Abbey Road (London, England)
- Design & art direction: Bill Smith Studio
- Photography: Lewis Mulatero
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| France (SNEP)[15] | Gold | 100,000* |
| Germany (BVMI)[16] | Gold | 250,000^ |
| Spain (Promusicae)[17] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[18] | Gold | 25,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[19] | Gold | 100,000^ |
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* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Musical scores
- Oldfield, Mike (1994). Elements. The Best of Mike Oldfield. Piano/Vocal/Guitar. IMP International Music Publications Limited. ISBN 1-85909-157-1.
Other Elements albums
- Elements – The Best of Mike Oldfield (video), video/DVD edition
- Elements Box, by Mike Oldfield, four CD edition