I don't recall ever running or seeing a Talk Talk thread at oldboard. Anyway, summer nights with the lights off and the windows open is the best time to take in Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock (The Colour of Spring is definitely daytime; the other two albums whenever), two albums that I'm pretty sure everyone here has or should have since they pretty much set the stage for alienating-era Radiohead and twentysome-and-counting years of meandering crescendo-riding post-rock.
While there's tons to be said for Spirit of Eden/Laughing Stock, I feel The Colour of Spring is uniquely fascinating because of its transitional nature, as I've alluded to before in some thread or another. You have stuff like "April 5th" and "Chameleon Day" that starts to hint at the hallmarks of the next two albums, with instruments sparsely chiming in over ambience, clearer vestiges of New Wave in "Life's What You Make It," and the rest is a weird mix of organics and synthetics.
Somewhat like Why? and the Fiery Furnaces, this is one of those bands whose work is to be compartmentalized as collections of fragments rather than songs. A couple of my favorite Talk Talk musical moments:
- "Living in Another World," the break from about 3.30 to 4.30. Over a soundscape of congas, sequencers, and an organ, Mark Hollis lets loose with this crazy bluegrass-style harmonica solo. Though the rhythm is fairly relaxed, the organ drives it in such a way that it feels very anxious and restless. Exceedingly cool stuff.
- "Life's What You Make It," opening bars. The guitar coming in over the drum machine and piano sounds like nothing so much as Tarzan swinging through the jungle on a vine. Corny, but I don't know how else to describe it. It's lush and dense and suddenly that just slashes right through.
- "It's My Life," pre-chorus and chorus. Granted, this is a full song and not as fragmented as later stuff, but the way Hollis's vocals sound so tortured and strained against the synthesizers, building up to the big drum fill, has always hit me hard. Superb buildup.
- transition between "Ascension Day" and "After the Flood." What a relief.
- "Inheritance," around 2.50. The song shifts to a little Stravinskyan woodwind ensemble section (I believe I hear oboes, clarinets, bassoon, possibly an English horn?), but the microphone positioning here is right up close, a shift from the ambience we're used to, which is what makes it so special.
Does anyone else have Talk Talk thoughts?
While there's tons to be said for Spirit of Eden/Laughing Stock, I feel The Colour of Spring is uniquely fascinating because of its transitional nature, as I've alluded to before in some thread or another. You have stuff like "April 5th" and "Chameleon Day" that starts to hint at the hallmarks of the next two albums, with instruments sparsely chiming in over ambience, clearer vestiges of New Wave in "Life's What You Make It," and the rest is a weird mix of organics and synthetics.
Somewhat like Why? and the Fiery Furnaces, this is one of those bands whose work is to be compartmentalized as collections of fragments rather than songs. A couple of my favorite Talk Talk musical moments:
- "Living in Another World," the break from about 3.30 to 4.30. Over a soundscape of congas, sequencers, and an organ, Mark Hollis lets loose with this crazy bluegrass-style harmonica solo. Though the rhythm is fairly relaxed, the organ drives it in such a way that it feels very anxious and restless. Exceedingly cool stuff.
- "Life's What You Make It," opening bars. The guitar coming in over the drum machine and piano sounds like nothing so much as Tarzan swinging through the jungle on a vine. Corny, but I don't know how else to describe it. It's lush and dense and suddenly that just slashes right through.
- "It's My Life," pre-chorus and chorus. Granted, this is a full song and not as fragmented as later stuff, but the way Hollis's vocals sound so tortured and strained against the synthesizers, building up to the big drum fill, has always hit me hard. Superb buildup.
- transition between "Ascension Day" and "After the Flood." What a relief.
- "Inheritance," around 2.50. The song shifts to a little Stravinskyan woodwind ensemble section (I believe I hear oboes, clarinets, bassoon, possibly an English horn?), but the microphone positioning here is right up close, a shift from the ambience we're used to, which is what makes it so special.
Does anyone else have Talk Talk thoughts?
