I can't speak to any lack of coverage or poor reviews at the time, but it's also true that the measure of an album can't always be known immediately upon release. Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock have proved influential, with time.
Beautiful art on those, they look great! Where did you source the frames? Unfortunately my US 'It's A Shame' promo is not frame worthy
I was into Talk Talk from the beginning. They were like my own private band because their singles didn't chart initially and I felt like I was the only one who knew about them. Then gradually their popularity increased and that synth pop sound I loved gradually mutated and evolved into something else, something more mature. I took less interest then. I still love the early singles and I have the 12x12 Original Remixes CD, but the only album I bought was "The Party's Over" and that was fairly recently. For the music of theirs I like (the early stuff), they are definitely more of a singles and 12" singles band.
It's easy to sit back and say the later albums are the masterpieces today, and the earlier stuff is slight. I might disagree with that personally. What was more impressive (to me) at the time was the evolution of their music as it happened. That was truly amazing to experience.
Such a great video, too. I'd recorded this onto a VHS tape from a video show in 1984, and watched it several times a day. I loved watching all of Mark Hollis' "characters". Not common to see him so bubbly and fun.
Apropos of nothing, I was in a crappy high school band in London in '85-'86. Overly ambitious, we rented some time in a recording studio. It was a disaster, due in large part to my lack of ability on the drums, but we did get to listen to Talk Talk, who were recording Colour Of Spring in the next studio over.
That wasn't directed at you, more the armchair QB type reviewers who weren't there when Talk Talk was active (like the Pitchfork folks you mentioned).
very nice, i have a few framed covers also.... i did get the 'living in another world' print , framed properly.. will have to post a picture of it sometime. from the 1991 re-release: https://www.discogs.com/Talk-Talk-Living-In-Another-World/release/219677 later -1
for me, talk peaked artistically with the excellent 'it's my life' and the very good 'colour of spring', it was all downhill from there, disappearing into some kind of incohesive sound. i have all their albums, singles, remixes, solo projects, and greatest hits, but i think i've listened to their latter era albums, maybe a handful of times, i just can't take the change in sound. even the mark hollis solo album got a couple of plays before being shelved. i'm a huge fan of their early work, and i have many bootleg concerts, videos, and even a bootleg live record (from japan)... i bought the incredibly expensive talk talk book in hardcover when it was released. james marsh is one of my favorite artists. talk talk had a limited window of appeal, and they used it well. they intentionally decided to go away from making popular music to just being creative, which didn't work for me at all. later -1
Absolutely not. Reviews of Talk Talk albums were always mixed, right from the start, but the predominant view of all their albums since 1986 was a positive one. And many reviews were quite 'gushing' at the time. And if recent reviews remain very positive, that's purely down to these albums being so bloody good! The reason that Talk Talk didn't make more records has absolutely nothing to do with reviews and everything to do with Mark Hollis' desire to withdraw from the music business, and his view that he'd said everything he could possibly say. Full marks to him for sticking to his views and remaining in retirement.
Some kind of DVD Audio Extractor equivalent, I'm guessing? I'm not too au fait with Apple products other than my iPad and iTunes, I'm afraid. It's just arrived and it's one gorgeous slab of vinyl, possibly the best new album I've picked up in the last 5 years: flat, centred, not a pop, crackle or piece of undue surface noise to be heard. edit: Scrap that, DVD Audio Extractor is available for OSX!
True, but I think if reviewers listened to albums a half dozen times before writing their reviews, they'd have a better feel for what they're writing about. I'm not sure how most professional critics handle their reviews but I've seen a lot of people on this forum listen to an album once and declare it crap afterwards. IMO, very few albums can be absorbed in one listen, certainly not Laughing Stock.
That's good to hear. I remember reading a couple of reviews of Talk Talk albums in US publications and they were pretty dismissive which was common of a lot of the British bands at the time. I wasn't suggesting that the band cared what the press thought of them. I was thinking more of the sales a positive review can generate. But, it sounds like they were done with music after Laughing Stock from what you are saying. I know they were very frustrated with the music industry in general and EMI in particular over the remix album. Anyway, I'm just a little frustrated because they're another band I picked up on early (thanks to MTV and the Today video) and followed them religiously. I thought each successive album would surely be their breakthrough but it never seemed to happen. I'm just thankful I went to see them open for the Furs around the time of It's My Life because they were amazing live.
I have known about Talk Talk for a while mainly from the songs "It's My Life" and "Talk Talk" but it wasn't until joining these forums I learned more about them so I decided to pick up their five studio albums, plus Asides Besides to scoop up the extras. People say Spirit Of Eden is one of the greatest albums of all time, and The Colour Of Spring and Laughing Stock are critically enjoyed too. Funny thing is I haven't even listened to those albums yet, but I've already been blown away by It's My Life and also really like their debut too. I know I'm in for a real treat with the next three albums. I always loved the song It's My Life but currently Such A Shame is my favorite. What a monster track. Some consider Mark Hollis one of the great songwriters of all time and it's a shame this band isn't more well known, especially in America (No Doubt's version of It's My Life was more successful here than Talk Talk's version.) Anyway, I already get the sense that this is a special band. I'm not an expert on this band but I know there are plenty on this forum. What else should I look into getting? Mark Hollis' solo album is supposedly favored too. I'd also like to get the B-sides from Laughing Stock because, unfortunately, they're not on Asides Besides. But I know there's other material (a lot of remixes, and I'm not a big remix guy so hopefully I'll enjoy the ones featured on Asides Besides.) Aside from that feel free to chime in and enlighten me, or just talk about how much you like this band!
You definitely will like "Colour", "Spirit" is surprisingly easy to listen to - given the amount of stuff written and theorised about it - and "Laughing Stock" takes a bit of time. All three are fantastic. Took me some time to get into "It's My Life" again. It was my introduction but then I started to ignore it for years. It's actually a great album too. What else do you need? Well... what else is there? Marks solo album definitely, also the Beth Gibbons (of Portishead) and Paul Webb collaboration "Out Of Season". O'Rang I never was the biggest fan of. To be honest I'd stop there. Maybe some 12-inches for the first three albums?
I am probably just reinforcing what has been said by Neonbeam, but yes you are in for a treat with the remaining albums. Colour is clearly the same band that made the earlier albums but it is a more mature album. And then there is Spirit of Eden which truly is one of the greatest albums of all time but be prepared for a complete change from the previous albums. I would also wholeheartedly recommend Mark's solo album which is in a similar vein to Eden and Laughing. It is just a shame that there was never more from this wonderful band. Enjoy the journey and do read the stuff on the other threads. There clearly are quite a few of us who are in on this "secret".
Cool, thanks for the info. I think most of the 12" mixes are on the Asides Besides comp anyway so that's probably all I need and then perhaps the CD singles from Laughing Stock for those b-sides. There's also the Missing Pieces comp but is apparently rare.
Saw them open once for Elvis Costello after their debut LP was released and thought they were very annoying. Then I stumbled onto The Colour of Spring in the late 90s and was totally knocked over. Went back and listened to everything and they have become one of my favorite bands. First impression was definitely wrong.
Terrific band indeed. The vinyl issues of Color & Spirit contain a DVD-audio 96kHz/24 bit LPCM stereo mix, a nice way to hear both of these amazing albums. Indeed, Missing Pieces is rare. I sold mine last year under the theory that I might as well cash in since everything is reissued eventually. I did the same many years ago with my Kate Bush "This Woman's Work" box and I'm still waiting. I'm guessing that Mark Hollis' apathy towards Talk Talk's legacy is even more legendary than Kate's towards her own. There happens to be a Missing Pieces on eBay now for $40, shipped. I have nothing to do with that listing, just pointing it out since you seem to be working on completing your Talk Talk collection.
Is it a good comp? Seems almost pointless with four tracks from Laughing Stock on it. After The Flood is listed as an outtake but is it really just an edit?
