Since I am a big fan of Tears for Fears (who IMO were geniuses at combining synthpop and "darkness"), it seems I will also have to add "The Party's Over" to my collection
Yes, love Tears for Fears! I would note, though, that Talk Talk's The Party's Over does not necessarily sound as airy as The Hurting or Songs from the Big Chair. And Tears for Fears has a more varied sonic textures on those two albums than Talk Talk does on their debut - although Talk Talk definitely caught up on their 2nd album.
I guess the negative point (for me) is that Talk Talk didn't have any guitars at the beginning. Then again, there are TFF songs without guitars (like the current single) that I like. When I think about it, both bands have gone through a similar transformation/metamorphosis process. "Standing on the Corner of the Third World" is not a million miles away from Spirit of Eden. Difference of course - one band still exists, the other...
Talk Talk were the best 80's group. Psychedelic Furs and Prefab Sprout are too close to call in 2nd place.
Is this one generally known? I just picked it up from another music forum. If it's a genuine recording, Mark Hollis was already ''plotting'' the sound of Talk Talk in the late '70s!
Have heard it a few times now and downloaded to my phone! I love it, and listen to it more than the first album.
An incredible band ! Musically very elegant, something unusual in those days. I like all their albums, especially the first three and the live album "London 1986". For some it is practically an unknown band, what could be called a cult band. Maybe time has gone by leaving them forgotten for some audiences. In my case they are at the top of their time.
I just picked up The Very Best of Talk Talk - not the Natural History comp where "The Very Best of Talk Talk" is the subtitle, but rather this one: Talk Talk - The Very Best Of Talk Talk It was released in 1997, and I believe it uses the 1997 remastering, which is generally very good. I think it's a really interesting collection. It's got a good number of tracks - 16. Five them are single versions, which is interesting. It also has the "original version" of "Such a Shame," which I'd never heard before, plus "For What It's Worth" and "John Cope," two of the great non-album gems on Asides Besides. And it has an edited version of "Eden" that to my ears is a somewhat different edit than the one I'm used to hearing (but I could be wrong about that - I haven't listened to the Eden edit very much). I A/B'd some of it with Asides Besides and I definitely think this Very Best Of sounds better. It's also nice and dynamic: Album details - Dynamic Range Database Album DR is 12, and every track except one is DR10 or higher, with several DR13 and 14 tracks. It doesn't have anything from Laughing Stock, alas. But the track listing does give similar weight to each of the first four albums: 3 each from The Party's Over, It's My Life, and Spirit of Eden, and 5 from The Colour of Spring (plus the two non-album tracks). It's not ideal for a moderate fan of the band who's looking specifically for a best-of compilation that has only album versions of the tracks. But for everyone else - those looking for a good-sounding single-disc intro to the band, and established fans who already have the album versions - I'd recommend this one over Natural History and Asides Besides (although the latter is of course also essential for the serious fan, since Disc 2 contains their other 3-4 important non-album tracks).
4:27 Also, just because I hadn't heard this "original version" of the track before (or at least didn't recall having heard it) is by no means evidence that it's in any way rare. I've been a big fan of Talk Talk since the early '80s, but I'm not especially knowledgeable about their alt. versions, remixes, etc.
Thanks. I was curious when it stated 'Original Version' Not as bad as Duran Duran but close Not sure what version that one is. Album clocks in at about 5:43, US single mix about 3:55, Maybe a UK edit?
I think you're on the right track. I did a quick search and it appears to be the 1st B-side track on a 1984 EU 12" 45rpm max-single: Talk Talk - Such A Shame The one on the Very Best of comp is definitely not sourced from vinyl, though - it sounds like it came from a master tape, and it also runs a few seconds longer than the vinyl version, I believe because it has a slightly longer fade-out section at the end. Yes - it opens with "It's My Life" and closes with "Time It's Time" - both, I think, are excellent choices for a single-disc Talk Talk compilation.
Oh, and @c-eling - the more common 7" single (with the same cover art as the 12" single) has the 3:55 version you referred to above.
Cool, found it on the tube (from your comp) The US single version has a different intro and doesn't have the album version outro, it just fades out, no repeat outro. I haven't grabbed the UK 12 inch yet, I just have the US Steve Thompson promo 12 inch, excellent dub! I love this song I even enjoy the Gary Miller mix found on the 'revisited-remixes' 1991
There's a needledrop of a 1990 reissue 7" single of this version of the track, and it too fades out without a repeat outro. It's about 15 seconds shorter than the one on the Very Best of comp - and strangely, about 15 seconds shorter than the run-time printed on the single's label itself: Just found the US single on YouTube (and you know where I found it there! ) - man what a weird intro that version has. And yeah, it fades out much earlier than the other versions.
I forgot I upped it! Think the US made the intro a little less scary, hearing the UK intro if not used to it could probably be a little jolting Just found a UK Swindon cd (It's My Life) for dirt cheap on the bay, looks like the peaks are different than my old US JAX which I found a tad bright for my liking.
Natural History closes with a fantastic goosebump inducing live version of "Tomorrow's Started" though!
