Fifty years on, Jon Anderson’s solo debut still sounds like nothing else ever made. Mobile Fidelity is marking the occasion with a strictly limited 180-gram reissue of ‘Olias of Sunhillow,’ pressed to just 2,000 numbered copies and representing only the second domestic vinyl release of the record since its original 1976 Atlantic Records pressing. It’s the first time this album has received the full audiophile treatment, and given the complexity of what Anderson created, that matters enormously.
The backstory remains astonishing. Following Yes’s 1975 Relayer tour, Anderson brought a mobile recording unit to his Buckinghamshire home and played every single instrument himself, from koto and ethnic flutes to harp, percussion, and modern electronic keyboards, assisted only by Yes sound engineer Mike Dunne. The album debuted at number 8 on the UK charts and number 47 on the Billboard 200, and its ambient landscapes, new-age synthesizers, and Anderson’s signature vocals have only grown in stature since. “The dream of Olias was to spend time learning how to play the numerous instruments I had collected,” Anderson says. “The evolution of the idea took me on an everlasting mission, driving me a bit crazy but nonetheless a satisfying experience which has stood the test of time.”
The Mobile Fidelity reissue replicates the original gatefold jacket with an inner hinged panel and embossed textures, with artwork by David Fairbrother-Roe, who stepped in when longtime Yes artist Roger Dean was unavailable. The vinyl is sourced from a quarter-inch/15 IPS Dolby A analog master to DSD 256 to analog console to lathe. The reissue arrives this July. With only 2,000 copies pressed, this one moves fast.