Platinum is the fifth studio album by English multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Mike Oldfield, released on 23 November 1979 on Virgin Records.
The first side contains the 19-minute title track that is divided into four parts: "Airborne", "Platinum", "Charleston", and "North Star/Platinum Finale".
The first two sections rely on melody played mostly with electric guitar; the first is slow in tempo and has many changes, while the second introduces a simple groove rhythm and a more repetitive song structure.
[1] "Charleston" is a humorous piece with a simple rhythm and swinging melody that features a horn section.
[2] Shortly after the album's release, "Sally" was replaced with a different track, "Into Wonderland", sung by Wendy Roberts.
[2] The earliest pressings of the LP and cassette still show "Sally" in the track listing on the label and the sleeve even when the record had the new song.
[citation needed] "I Got Rhythm" is a cover version of the song by George and Ira Gershwin, featuring Oldfield's arrangement from the jaunty original into a Broadway-style ballad with harmonised vocals from Roberts and orchestration, mostly performed on keyboards.
[citation needed] The Globe and Mail called the songs "a logical extension of the Tubular Bells-type material, generally a consecutive layering of synthesizers, guitars and percussive effects, but taken at a quicker clip than one might have expected.
It is identical except that "Woodhenge" is replaced by "Guilty", a fast-paced live track based on a theme from Incantations.
[citation needed] The artwork depicts a triangular shape formed from sections of tubular bell overlaid on a landscape of what appears to be a coastline and mountain range.
[citation needed] The album was recorded at Electric Lady and Blue Rock in the United States, and in Througham, Denham, and The Manor in the UK.