Mark Hollis

Description

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 Talks 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 albums epic centrepiece refers to Roland Leighton (18951915), 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 songThat was someone born before the turn of the centuryand dying within one year of the First World War at a young age. It was based on Vera Brittains boyfriend. Its the expectation that must have been in existence at the turn of the century, the patriotism that mustve existed at the start of the war and the disillusionment that mustve come immediately afterwards. Its 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.

A sound whose ambience is as natural as breathing Melody Maker
This genuine lost classic is now available again on heavyweight vinyl, with original artwork printed inner sleeve with lyrics and credits. Remastered at Abbey Road