Jon Anderson – Olias Of Sunhillow (MoFi, 50th Anniversary Edition)

Jon Anderson's Olias Of Sunhillow arrived in 1976 as the Yes singer's solo debut, but it hardly feels like a side project. Built as a full concept album, it tells of four tribes fleeing the doomed planet Sunhillow, with Anderson shaping the record as the soundtrack to that mythic journey. The scale matters: he wrote and performed virtually the entire album himself, turning a break in Yes activity into something far more personal and self-contained.

What makes Olias Of Sunhillow endure is how thoroughly Anderson commits to its world. Acoustic guitar, keyboards, harp, synths and an unusually broad percussion palette all serve the story, while his unmistakable voice keeps the album airy and human rather than merely fantastical. Sources note that he even created distinct musical motifs for the different tribes and taught himself a host of instruments to realise the music, layering more than 100 tracks in the process. That ambition gives pieces like “Ocean Song,” “Sound Out the Galleon” and “Solid Space” their sense of movement and ritual.

This 50th-anniversary Mobile Fidelity edition also speaks to the album's unusual afterlife. Long prized as a cult favourite, it is presented here as the first audiophile vinyl edition and only the second domestic vinyl pressing since the original release. Just as important, the elaborate presentation has been preserved: the gatefold design, embossed textures and David Fairbrother-Roe's detailed artwork all suit a record that was always meant to feel like a complete fantasy object, not just a collection of songs.

Features

• 180g, Mobile Fidelity, Black Vinyl, 50th Anniversary Limited Numbered Edition
• Strictly limited to 2,000 numbered copies
• 1/4" 15 ips Dolby A analog master to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe
• Stoughton-made deluxe gatefold replica with inner hinged panel and embossed textures

Reviews

• Anderson fills the record with enough magical moments to delight fans of Yes' mystic side. - AllMusic.com