Price: £49.99
Format: Vinyl
Artist: Stephen Harris
CatNo: PLG006-D
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Stephen Harris Songs From The Mission Of Hope vinyl
Prior to the release of Songs From the Mission of Hope, Stephen Harris had a career as a sideman, contributing bass to Metal and Rock acts such as The Cult, Guns N' Roses, and Zodiac Mindwarp & the Love Reaction (all under the pseudonyms of Kid Chaos and Haggis). 
 
This deluxe edition includes:
 
- A heavyweight virgin-vinyl pressing of the original recordings. 
 
- Entirely different artwork from the original CD housed in a gatefold sleeve.
 
- A 36" X 24" hand-screened poster featuring architectural renderings of the long-demolished Mission of Hope building.
 
- A limited edition 7" single containing demo recordings of two songs left off the original album: Railway Station Girl (Recorded as Railway Station Boy by Dorie Jackson on her debut Aquarian Nation CD The Courting Ground) and Bicycle Bell. The single is wrapped in brown paper and string, and hand-embossed with the M.O.H. logo in wax. When opened, the wrapper reveals a silk-screened reproduction of the wallpaper pattern that decorated the walls of the original mission.
 
- The whole package is contained within a hand-sewn muslin bag that buttons shut at the front with the production credits silk-screened inside. The bag is also hand-stamped with the M.O.H. logo and tagged along one seam with an embroidered label identifying the LP as Plane Groovy release PLG006.
 
- As an additional feature, the poster contains a unique set of clues, giving the buyer a chance to uncover an entry code for later use on the M.O.H. website.
 
- Each element of the package is hand-numbered accordingly and signed by all the artists involved. 
 
 
'Songs from the Mission of Hope surprisingly takes a singer/songwriter-oriented bent and reveals a man whose thoughts and ideas dig far deeper than the bands with which he most frequently has been associated. 
 
However, this profound transformation didn't come without its cost. In order to get to where he is today, Harris suffered a severe bout of depression. At the suggestion of his doctor, he went in search of his birth mother, and after finding her, he discovered that she had been raised at The Mission of Hope orphanage in Croydon, England. It was this exploration of his familial history that served as the catalyst for pushing Harris back into the recording studio in order to lay down the ten tracks that became Songs from the Mission of Hope. While the album is conceptual in nature, it's not so much a straightforward storyline as it is a loosely-knit collection of snapshots and memories that touch upon the lives of Harris and his family. Indeed, without further insight, it's difficult to pinpoint exactly how all of the songs tie together, save for the overriding themes of lost love, pain, heartache, and the difficulty of coping with one's emotions.
 
Not that it really matters whether there is a story arc or not. Songs from the Mission of Hope is an absorbing endeavor, and its songs are stunningly beautiful, flowing together in a way that gives the album a warm and inviting glow. Its gentle folk-pop melodies recall the tranquil transcendence of John Wesley Harding's masterpiece Awake or The Who's FM-radio staple Behind Blue Eyes. Most interesting of all is the manner in which Harris reconstructs the songwriting style of XTC, turning the orchestrated pop of Mummer and Apple Venus, Volume 1 into something that is decidedly more roots-oriented. In other words, Songs from the Mission of Hope is not only an interesting twist in the career of Stephen Harris, it's also a welcome reminder that there is some truly tremendous music being made that lies far outside the realm of the major labels.'
 
- John Metzger,  http://www.musicbox-online.com
Side 1:
 
1. The Boy With The Gold Adidas 3:57
2. Lion Tamer, Chelsea Diner 5:30
3. A Letter From The Holy Land 4:04
4. Oh Marie 3:37
5. Velcro Madonna 5:20
 
Side 2:
 
1. Broken Shoes 3:15
2. There's Only One Woman 4:44
3. Back To The Sea 3:13
4. Angel & The Astronaut (Mission Of Hope) 4:26
5. Home To Me 2:02