The Hour of Two Lights

The Hour of Two Lights is a one-off collaborative album between British solo-artist Terry Hall, formerly of the 2 Tone and ska revival band the Specials, and Mushtaq, a member of British-based multi-ethnic hip-hopethno-technoworld fusion music group Fun-Da-Mental.

The Hour of Two Lights
Studio album by
Released12 August 2003 (2003-08-12)
GenreElectronic
Length57:13
LabelHonest Jon's, EMI (Europe), Astralwerks (US)
Producer
Terry Hall chronology
Laugh
(1997)
The Hour of Two Lights
(2003)
Mushtaq chronology
The Hour of Two Lights
(2003)

Composition and release

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The album was written and produced by the duo, with the exception of "Ten Eleven" which was written with Oujdi and Hall's regular collaborator and label-boss of Honest Jon's, Damon Albarn. Receiving good reviews, the album was released on CD and double-LP by Albarn's Honest Jon's label in Europe (distributed by EMI) and the US (distributed by Astralwerks) in August 2003.[1]

It was Hall's last release of new material, after which he rejoined the Specials as a regular member for live performances, until the release of the Specials' album Encore in 2019.

Critical response

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     
BBC Music(Positive)
The Guardian     
PopMatters(Positive)
Uncut     

Robin Denselow of The Guardian rated it 4/5 and said of The Hour of Two Lights, "Two of the pioneers of multicultural British pop are back with a daring, thoughtful set..."[2] Ollie Davies of BBC Music said, "It's a political and musical recording of racial minorities and cultures by two of today's pioneers of modern popular music."[3] Sean Westergaard of AllMusic rated One and One Is One 3/5 and thought "Terry Hall took quite a chance on this one, doing something unlike anything in his catalog and pulling it off without a hitch. Well done."[4]

Jeff Brown of CMJ New Music Monthly called it "...a fantastic mélange of East and West, traditional and modernmusic."[5] Uncut rated it 4/5 and called it "...a fantastic record of banging global grooves..."[6] PopMatters of Will Harris thought "The Hour of Two Lights can expand one's musical horizons considerably."[1]

Track listing

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All lyrics are written by Terry Hall and Mushtaq except where indicated; all music is composed by Terry Hall and Mushtaq except where indicated

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Grow" 5:53
2."A Gathering Storm" 5:05
3."Ten Eleven"Damon Albarn, Mushtaq, Oujdi, Hall4:59
4."Sticks and Stones" 4:13
5."The Silent Wail" 7:08
6."A Tale of Woe" 4:22
7."The Hour of Two Lights" 5:55
8."This and That" 4:34
9."They Gotta Quit Kicking My Dog Around" 5:06
10."Stand Together" 4:46
11."Epilogue" 5:10

Personnel

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References

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  1. ^ a b Harris, Will (8 January 2004). "Terry Hall & Mushtaq: The Hour of Two Lights". PopMatters. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  2. ^ Denselow, Robin (18 July 2003). "Terry Hall and Mushtaq: The Hour of Two Lights". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  3. ^ Davies, Ollie (21 July 2003). "Terry Hall and Mushtaq The Hour Of Two Lights Review". BBC Music. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  4. ^ Westergaard, Sean. "AllMusic Review by Sean Westergaard". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  5. ^ Brown, Jeff (September 2003). "Terry Hall & Mushtaq". CMJ New Music Monthly. p. 50.
  6. ^ "Terry Hall & Mushtaq – The Hour Of Two Lights". Uncut. 1 September 2003. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
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