Standing Stones of Callanish

Jon Mark | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 23, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Kuckuck Schallplatten
• ASIN: B0000018X9
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #163,251 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist

In the 1960s, Jon Mark was a session guitarist for such notables as The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Yardbirds, and Jeff Beck. He also produced Marianne Faithfull's first five albums. In 1970, he founded the renowned Mark-Almond Band with reedman John Almond. They produced such hits as The City, The Ghetto, One Way Sunday, and What Am I Living For? Those familiar with the songs of the Mark-Almond Band will notice similar qualities in the music on The Standing Stones of Callanish. Jon Mark identifies those qualities as "gentle, soft, introspective, smooth, and somewhat sentimental and melancholy at times."

Born in Cornwall, England, Jon Mark has always been drawn to Celtic music and mythology. His upbringing took place near the actual site of The Standing Stones of Callanish. He continues to compose vocal music and points out that this all-instrumental release is not meant to be new age, old age, or any age, but is a natural extension of who he is. It attests, in fact, to his creative spirit and his willingness to give life to all the music that is within him.

His other recordings for Kuckuck Schallplatten include Land of Merlin and Alhambra, and for Black Sun Music, The Best of Mark-Almond with Johnny Almond.

Product Description

Off the northwest coast of Scotland on the Isle of Lewis, rise the Standing Stones of Callanish. The main ring of these stones is often called the Scottish Stonehenge. The importance and purpose of the stones is not known. Theories suggests possibilities such as a transducer for healing energy, an astronomical observatory, a place of sun-moon worship, or an entryway to places that exist in Celtic myth.

Jon Mark's The Standing Stones of Callanish conveys the mystery and otherworldly quality of these stones. The melodies have a gentle Celtic quality and repeating themes drift dreamily through various harmonic backgrounds. The music is intelligently constructed and deeply inspired. Using synthesizers, Jon Mark creates a delicate and rich orchestral sound that seems to arise directly from the misty Isle of Lewis, the hallowed site of the Standing Stones of Callanish.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mesmerising, January 28, 2003

By 

Second Attention (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Standing Stones of Callanish (Audio CD)

Ignore the new age ....
Jon Mark has a unique sonic signature in the world of new age music. 'His' sound is realised, beautifully, on this CD. Unfortunately he has milked it for all it's worth on many projects after and this sound has worn thin, very much like Enya's music.
That aside, The Standing Stones of Callanish is a very unique and haunting work. The whole piece is produced using synthesizers to create an ethereal drone of simple melodies and deep atmosphere that captures the imagination and transports the listener to ancient times. It's the subtle use of sounds and textures coupled with beautiful melodies that really makes this CD stand out from the majority of new age dross.
The track 'Coming of the North Wind' in particular is utterly spellbinding in its hypnotic force and movement. The music really does conjur up a feeling of distant times and romantic scenery.

In 1989 I travelled to the Lake District (England) for the first time and looked over Ullswater in the late afternoon as the steel grey clouds gathered in an early autumn sky.
The lake reflected the distant mountains and the moving clouds. A light, chill breeze blew over the water.
At that moment the music from this album entered my mind and the whole scene connected. Everytime I listen to this CD I think of those days and that particular memory.
I appreciate that this is a personal thought but I feel it is relevant in illustrating the emotional and atmospheric feel of Jon Mark's work.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonerdul Solitary Music, May 26, 2000

By 

Richard C. Osborn (Minneapolis, Minnesota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Standing Stones of Callanish (Audio CD)

This recording is a wonderful piece to listen to while enjoying a fire in the fireplace on a dark and stormy night with you and nothing but a glass of port. It transforms your spirit into joy and solitude. I have all of Jon Mark's recordings. He is outstanding.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moody, somber and haunting!, August 28, 2004

By 

Distant Voyageur "Nicholas Computer" (Io) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Standing Stones of Callanish (Audio CD)

This 1988 debut album from New Age guru Jon Mark is a haunting tribute to the distant Ancient past and is a vivid musical portrayal of the Standing Stones of Callanish in the British Isles. The music is dark, melancholy, and ambient. "Chloe's Day" is my favorite song on this album having a celtic tone to it and a gray cloudy-evening atmosphere to it. Not all of this album is dark. "A Journey Across the Crystal Sea" is a very pleasant song with a much sunnier mood than the rest of this album. The last song "Remembering" is a tear-jerking closer with an eerie mood. This is one of the best New Age electrnoic albums of the 1980s and is highly recommended.