The album was the last in the original three album deal which Oldfield had signed with Warner after leaving Virgin, starting with Tubular Bells II. Oldfield would stay with Warner until 2003, where his final album for the label was Tubular Bells 2003. In an interview from the time, Oldfield claimed that the album was one of his quickest to create, only taking a month and a half to record, also claiming that he composed and recorded some songs in one morning.
The music on this album is the most overtly Celtic music Mike Oldfield has produced. The album was originally recorded using only acoustic hand-played instruments. After the daughter of a Warner Music exec said it sounded boring, Oldfield added synthesizers and more instruments to the album. "The Hero" is a Scottish piece originally written by James Scott Skinner in 1903, as "Hector the Hero". "She Moves Through the Fair" is a traditional Irish song, the melody of which had been used by Simple Minds for "Belfast Child" in 1989. "Women of Ireland", although credited as a traditional song, is not: the main theme is a melody written by Irish composer Seán Ó Riada as a musical setting of the poem "Mná na hÉireann", written by Peadar Ó Doirnín; Oldfield's rendition also includes an interpolation of the fourth movement of George Frideric Handel's Keyboard suite in D minor, popularised by its use by Stanley Kubrick in his 1975 filmBarry Lyndon, where Ó Riada's tune also appears. "Dark Island" is a Scottish instrumental and song; the original music was written by Iain Maclachlan as Dr. Mackay's Farewell to Creagorry in 1958. Later used as the theme to a 1962 BBC TV series and re-titled for the series. A set of words were later written by David Silver in 1963. Another well known set of words were also set to a variation of the tune in 1963, by Stewart Ross. "Flowers of the Forest" is a traditional Scottish song, a lament for the defeat at Flodden in 1513. "The Song of the Sun" is composed by Bieito Romero from Celtic band Luar na Lubre. Its original title is "O son do ar". "Mont Saint-Michel", a piece on the album composed by Oldfield, refers to a tidal island in France.
Singles
Promotional singles for "The Voyager" and "The Song of the Sun", in Germany and Spain respectively, were released in 1996. Mike Oldfield's rendition of "Women of Ireland" was released as a single in 1997.
Other artists samples
The song "Celtic Rain" was sampled in 2008 by Snoop Dogg, in the song "Why Did You Leave Me" of the album Ego Trippin'. The song was produced by Polow da Don.
Track listing
"The Song of the Sun" – 4:32
"Celtic Rain" – 4:41
"The Hero" – 5:03
"Women of Ireland" – 6:29
"The Voyager" – 4:26
"She Moves Through the Fair" – 4:06
"Dark Island" – 5:43
"Wild Goose Flaps Its Wings" – 5:04
"Flowers of the Forest" – 6:03
"Mont St Michel" – 12:18
Charts
The album charted highest in Hungary at number 1, but also charted around Europe.
