Talk Talk: 'Spirit of Eden' vs. 'Laughing Stock'

the stereotypical "Adult contemporary song" supplied by my mind is either a big weepy cinematic ballad ("My Heart Will Go On"/"Unbreak My Heart"/"Iris"), or a Maroon-5-wave funky white turd -- not sure how broadly these observations can be applied

Train, too... that guy's hair = totally adult contemporary

thread has gotten really off-track

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adult_Contemporary_%28chart%29

To each their own and all that but, I can't imagine these records without Hollis's voice.

Lots of songs have made Billboard's A/C chart without qualifying as "consciously over-safe music pandering to 50+ demographic."

― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, March 1, 2015 1:46 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Well yeah, I guess my wording only applies to artists with that specific intent. But I think what it means to have an Adult Contemporary vibe is when any particular song conforms to a conservative, unoffensive and measured set of guidelines, again not far removed from those of what qualifies as muzak. Except unlike muzak, the genre is generally singer-songwriter/pop/rock oriented. It's the kind of stuff I hear on something like "coffee house radio" (whose main listenership is likely hovering around the 50 age range which is why I included that).

so it's indie rock, in other words

it's true hollis sings in an affected way that may not be to all tastes. i knew someone who couldn't stand early roxy music for similar reasons (by "avalon" ferry had toned it down significantly). thinking about it though most of my favorite male voices are affected in some way or another- brian wilson with his falsetto, robert wyatt with his muddy mouth, peter hammill with his precise diction... affectations are what give a voice personality.

Damn right. I know people who struggle with Wild Beasts because of the voices, but I love them.

yeah, i love ferry and hollis for these exact reasons.

I think unusual voices are something some people have to get used to. I didn't like unusual voices as a teenager, but I've got over myself.

we all hear things differently i suppose but i'm not sure i see hollis's voice as being at all affected. i think the timbre and the accent are very much in line with his natural speaking voice - in a way he's got quite a ordinary blokey voice, it's just he uses it with a great amount of control and delicacy.

I think I heard Life's what you make it before the last couple of albums and iirc it felt like his voice was evolving in parallel with the fairly different pared down arrangements. It all went so well together.

Annoying and ridiculous singing voices are the best voices

I love Bryan Ferry's early, middle, and late voices but had trouble with Hollis initially.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hop1tb-DR_k

that's a weird video for me. his voice sounds totally unlike what I would it to sound like, based on his appearance.

I miss Geir sometimes

Did anyone ever get a copy of the book Spirit Of Talk Talk? It goes for a small fortune these days when it pops up on Ebay
https://spiritoftalktalk.com/

I have it with some weird spongy cover, it's nice enough but not at all worth £143

nope, but it looks good!

timely revive, as this pair of albums has been in heavy rotation for me recently (along with hollis' S/T). the discussion from late Feb 2015 above is also fun to read, as i also struggled with the vocals for quite a while. which seems to be a concept that some people on this thread have a really hard time imagining! but ultimately, they grew on me quite a bit. and it was apparent from the very beginning that his voice forms the very core of these songs. still, i still feel a tinge of irrational embarrassment whenever someone catches me listening to late period talk talk, because if you're not familiar with them and don't have a full hour to listen at a loud volume on decent speakers, the subtlety of the music can be completely lost, and all that stands out is the "adult contemporary" voice.

I got it because I love James Marsh's artwork but don't feel like hunting down all the various 12" releases

(xp) Depressed goat surely?

funny, i bought all the 12"s because i'd rather see the artwork full size than in a book. The Talk Talk 12"s have been pretty cheap too. I guess they must have made millions of copies of each, so they're not hard to find.

Marsh sells nice prints of most of the Talk Talk artwork on his web site as well!

(it was mostly a matter of me having space on my bookshelves but none on my record shelves)

wow, you can also buy Laughing Stock toddler pajamas! I love the 21st century

i recently found an fm broadcast of a 1986 show in Belgium from later in 1986, like four months after the london show that was officially released. It's stunning, just as good as London but with interestingly different set list. Been playing it tons. I think if you search "talk talk belgium 1986 reliquary" you should find the blog i got it from.

The Salamanca, Spain concert is fab too, Belgium is a radio broadcast from the Werchter Festival iirc.

yes i also downloaded two versions of Salamanca, great show, both versions had different little audio glitches that were not enough to ruin it for me.

ooh, thanks, going to track down that Belgium show!

yes I have that book (the paperback). I didn't realize that was out of print also now.