Marc Hollis/David Sylvian Comparison

[Stephenf]

I hear Marc Hollis being lauded at times for such the great talent he was/is and whilst i respect the man greatly for his musical nous/talent i could never understand the comparison in relation to David Sylvian. Especially in regards to thoughts on spirituality or musical sensibility and the conceptual feel of a work. I mean that both of them are truly abstract in nature but surely poles apart in descriptive ethics and moral aesthetics .
Both through the years have been tortured individuals but yet so different in their approach musically in conquering their demons whether through spiritual or moral values in which i respect them both greatly.
Any thoughts other than mine?

[Adrian]

the only comparison I can think of is that many people who like Sylvian's work also seem to like Mark Hollis' solo album - at times I feel it is my desert island disc. And then sometimes not, but it's in my top 5 of all time. As is Manafon. And three others...

[Foales Arishes]

Yeah, they are poles apart really, both stylistically and in terms of vocal sound, though there are times when the jazz influence comes across in both artists work, though in different ways. The Mark Hollis solo and Manafon do share a sparseness but they are chalk and cheese otherwise…

Sylvain's work is always far tighter, with a more closely constructed feel, despite the freeform element brought to the table by his collaborators, Hollis's solo was scored, but all later Talk Talk material was built from hours of improvisation, and is very loose... so there are commonalities in them that clearly draws people to both, also [maybe] both artists reticence and seriousness has a common appeal, both started as pop stars but quickly became very different beasts, so they do share that too.

I personally like artists that are serious about their work, and make stuff that’s removed from the time it’s created in, taking chances and being defiantly different – listen to ‘Colour of Spring’ and ‘Spirit of Eden’ and it’s hard to imagine these albums were created in the 80’s. ‘Blemish’ and ‘Manafon’ are equally out of their time and unique.

[Tin Bird]

Well, I'm sure that this will get some folks attention, but I've kind've always thought that the RainTree Crow record was a bit of a ripoff of Spirit of Eden. Love it, but think Talk Talk did it first.