A genuine ‘lost classic’ is now available again on heavyweight vinyl, with original artwork – printed inner sleeve with lyrics and credits.
The only solo album by former Talk Talk frontman Mark Hollis, released January 1998. Despite being released as a solo album by Hollis, it was originally intended to be credited to Talk Talk, under the name ‘Mountains of the Moon’.
A beautiful and haunting work, this album picks up where he left off with Talk Talk’s’ Laughing Stock’ seven years before, re-emerging with a suite of music that encompassed jazz, ambient, and folk.
His inspiration came not from ‘pop’ but 20th-century classical music and jazz from the late fifties and sixties (there is a distinct flavour of Miles Davis – ‘In A Silent Way’ here) and is one of the quietest and most intimate records ever made – creating an exceptional atmosphere in which the listener can submerge.
A Life (1895 – 1915), which has been referred to as “the album’s epic centrepiece” refers to Roland Leighton (1895–1915), a British soldier and poet who was the fiancé of Vera Brittain at the time of his death in World War I. Hollis has stated about the song…“That was someone born before the turn of the century…and dying within one year of the First World War at a young age. It was based on Vera Brittain’s boyfriend. It’s the expectation that must have been in existence at the turn of the century, the patriotism that must’ve existed at the start of the war and the disillusionment that must’ve come immediately afterwards. It’s the very severe mood swings that fascinated me”.
The understated artistry and minimalist beauty of tracks like The Colour of Spring and Watershed makes ‘Mark Hollis’ a truly unique and indelible listening experience.
Mark Hollis Track Listing
Side A
1 The Colour Of Spring
2 Watershed
3 Inside Looking Out
4 The Gift
Side B
1 A Life (1895-1915)
2 Westward Bound
3 The Daily Planet
4 A New Jerusalem
