• Anthony Reynolds

    A World of Colin Wilson

    Colin Henry Wilson (born 26 June 1931) is a prolific English writer who first came to prominence as a philosopher and novelist. Wilson has since written widely on true crime, mysticism and other topics. He prefers calling his philosophy new existentialism or phenomenological existentialism. His most famous book is probably ‘The Outsider’, published in 1956. It was then that Wilson became associated with the "Angry Young Men" of British literature, alongside Kingsley Amis and John Braine. He contributed to Declaration; an anthology of manifestos by writers associated with the movement, and wrote a popular paperback sampler, Protest: The Beat Generation and the Angry Young Men.

    He has had a particular impact upon musicians. David Bowie, Robert Fripp and Julian Cope have all acknowledged their interest in his work.

    Anthony Reynolds was born in South Wales in the early seventies. Between 1993 and 2004 he was founding member of the groups Jack and Jacques, releasing five albums. Since 2004 he has released three solo albums and also worked as a writer, publishing three biographies and two volumes of poetry.

    A world of Colin Wilson’ features Texts by Colin Wilson recorded by Anthony Reynolds at Colin’s home in St Austell in 2003/4. Music and noise was added later by A.R, Martin Carr and the Spanish group La Muneca De sal.

    On the making of ‘A World of Colin Wilson’ Anthony Reynolds said...

    'I’ve long enjoyed spoken word albums, in particular the old Caedmon and Argo labels. I always thought Colin Wilson should have made one, and although this album is far from just pure vocalised text, it has some of the spirit of those records'.

    'I think Colin Wilson is important because he appealed to non academic types...like myself…or auto didactic types like myself... Also, there was an aura of 'cool' around him, a rock and roll vibe almost.  He looked great too, at his peak.  Not unimportant. For me he embodied the belief that you could access magic and/or your potential from a sitting room in a terraced house in Salford on a rainy wet Wednesday....whatever the perceived failings of some of his books...Colin Wilson stands for something ultimately hopeful, joyous, positive - he allowed us access to heaven without needing to be on God's guest list...'

    ... from an interview by Colin Stanley, a Colin Wilson Scholar and head of the Colin Wilson Archives at Nottingham University. For full script please ask.

     

     

    Tracklisting

    1. Why Life Fails Us
    2. Just Gone Past Dusk (on the way)
    3. Why We Make it Difficult on Ourselves
    4. Surprised by Joy
    5. The Hill
    6. New York Ozone Memory
    7. Life is all there is
    8. Cornwall
    9. The Colour and Light Around Me
    10. Keats...Shelley...Eliot...

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