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Crises reached No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart and became Oldfield's most successful record of the 1980s following the release of the single "Moonlight Shadow", which went to number one in nine countries and sold in excess of a million units.
Side one
The title track of the album is a twenty-minute-long piece, featuring a small amount of vocals, sung by Oldfield. The beginning and end of the track are driven by a synthesised lead passage, stylistically similar to the opening theme to Oldfield's Tubular Bells. Oldfield rated "Crises" as one of the best tracks he had done since "Tubular Bells".
Side two
"Moonlight Shadow" features Oldfield's touring vocalist Maggie Reilly, who had also sung on his previous albums. Oldfield had singer Hazel O'Connor sing on an early version of the track, which was then titled "Moment of Passion", but it failed to produce sufficient results. He then booked Reilly for a studio session, for which he prepared by drinking wine and writing a set of lyrics using a rhyming dictionary. Reilly sang the lyrics in a rock style at first, which prompted Oldfield to suggest a softer tone and "in the manner of a lullaby". The idea worked, despite recording the song in small sections and using multiple drop-ins which took some time to finalise and piece together.
"In High Places" was written by Oldfield with lyrics by himself and Yes vocalist Jon Anderson, who sings on the track. The pair had worked on several occasions prior to recording Crises, and Oldfield had enjoyed Anderson's vocal style and how easy it was working with him. Anderson was living in Barbados at the time of writing, so Oldfield phoned him from England and sung the song's tune to him, after which Anderson went away and wrote lyrics to it. The two later met and finished the song in Oldfield's studio. The track features Pierre Moerlen, who had toured with Oldfield and played on his albums, on vibraphone.
"Foreign Affair" features Reilly on vocals, who co-wrote the lyrics with Oldfield.
"Taurus 3", a short fast-paced guitar piece unlike the previous two long multi-themed "Taurus" tracks featured on QE2 and Five Miles Out respectively.
- Mike Oldfield – guitars (Ovation Adamus electroacoustic, Ramirez Spanish guitar, Manson acoustic guitar, electric and acoustic bass guitar), keyboards (Fairlight CMI, Roland string synthesiser, Oberheim OB-Xa synthesiser, Farfisa organ, piano, Prophet 5 synthesiser), harp, mandolin, banjo, bells, tambourine, shaker, Simmons electronic drums, Oberheim DMX drum machine, Oberheim DSX digital polyphonic sequencer, vocals on "Crises"
Additional musicians
- Maggie Reilly – vocals on "Moonlight Shadow", "Foreign Affair", and "Mistake"
- Jon Anderson – vocals on "In High Places"
- Roger Chapman – vocals on "Shadow on the Wall"
- Simon Phillips – acoustic Tama drums, co-production, special effects; shaker on "Foreign Affair" and "Taurus 3"; finger-snaps, bells, tambourine, and boots on "Taurus 3"
- Ant (Ant Glynne) – guitars on "Crises" and "Shadow on the Wall"
- Rick Fenn – guitar on "Crises"
- Phil Spalding – bass guitar on "Crises" and "Moonlight Shadow"
- Pierre Moerlen – vibraphone on "In High Places"
- Ginny Clee - synthesizers on "Mistake"
- Tim Renwick - guitars on "Mistake"
- Morris Pert - drums on "Mistake"
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