― , Friday, 1 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
like how instruments fade in before their bit,the voice, the intimacy, i believe in you is one of my alltime faves - remember Mark Goodier's interview with Catherine Wheel when they want to listen to 'Desire' and i go out and buy 'black metallic' coz i thought 'what great taste'.
i love the early singles too
― geordie racer, Friday, 1 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 1 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Janne Vanhanen, Friday, 1 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Hey, if you hadn't made a faovrable comparison between them and fried potatoes, no need to ask what you thought, eh? ;)
Genius, full stop
Yeah, that sums it up nicely,
― scott p., Friday, 1 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
So Talk Talk -- classic all the way. Laughing Stock is my personal favorite. Also love how other bands have picked up on them, from Bark Psychosis to some of Catherine Wheel's better moments. Ever hear the latter's "Thunderbird"? Completely lifts the drum pattern of "After the Flood," which means it's obviously one of the best things they've done. Then UNKLE sampled "New Grass" for the "Rabbit in the Headlights" single, which -- ta da -- brings us full circle due to Thom Yorke's vocal contribution to the same song.
Too bad Mark Hollis has decided to "retire". That solo record of his is brilliant.
― Andy, Friday, 1 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Mike Hanley, Friday, 1 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― alex in nyc, Friday, 1 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
I think my favourite Talk Talk album is "Spirit of Eden". "Laughing Stock" has greater highs ("Taphead", "New Grass" etc.) but it takes a while to get going and doesn't flow quite as well. "Spirit of Eden" on the other hand is stunning from the get-go - the trilogy never ceases to amaze me, and by the time the choirs on "I Believe In You" come on I feel like I'm floating in a sea of morphine.
However I feel it's necessary to state that the album prior to those two, "The Colour of Spring", is definitely necessary if you like "Spirit of Eden" and "Laughing Stock". It's more pop-friendly and has a greater reliance on song structures, but the songs are mad fun and the ambition and attention to detail had already begun to manifest. Songs such as "April 5th" and "Chameleon Day" wouldn't be too out of place on "Spirit of Eden".
― Tim, Friday, 1 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― tarden, Saturday, 2 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Patrick, Saturday, 2 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― sundar subramanian, Saturday, 2 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Anyone else notice the way Hollis references other songs? "Does Caroline Know" ("Caroline, No"), Laughing Stock and "The Daily Planet" (Love), "Inside Looking Out" and "It's My Life" (Animals), "Mirror Man" (Beefheart)... I know there are more.
― Andy, Saturday, 2 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
That's why they're so great. The Colour of Spring is one of my favorite records.
― Otis Wheeler, Sunday, 3 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Tim, I'm rather curious about the connection you see between Bark Psychosis and Radiohead. I'm a big BP fan but I've never really sensed their influence in Radiohead's stuff.
― Richard Tunnicliffe, Monday, 4 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Dr. C, Monday, 4 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
And, maybe just the fact that Bark Psychosis and Radiohead seem to still bear some allegiance to post-punk, which to my mind is totally non-existent in Talk Talk (in all three a matter of residual evidence of past incarnations).
― Tim, Monday, 4 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Clarke B., Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
Re. Radiohead and Bark Psychosis. Yes, they do have elements in common, the paranoia being the most obvious one, but they seem to have taken them in different directions. Late-period Radiohead is much more claustrophobic than Bark Psychosis; there's an feeling of the whole world weighing down on you, and the music tries to encompass that world. Whereas BP's stuff has much more light and space about it and seems to contain an acknowledgement that there is a world outside that isn't touched by the paranoia and that it is escapable to. Even after Kid A and Amnesiac, I can't imagine Radiohead putting out anything like Hex (the song) with it's huge wall of static that abruptly gives way to the gentlest shimmer.
I suppose that what I'm arguing is that they do share elements, but these are more likely to be derived from a common root rather than BP acting as a mediator from Talk Talk to Radiohead.
― Richard Tunnicliffe, Tuesday, 5 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
The O.Rang guys made this weird dice game called Go-Rang. It came with all sorts of tiny gadgets and some rather detailed instructions in the form of a dinky scroll. If anyone should happen to have BP's "Clawhammer" flexi or the release that has "Reserve Shot Gunman," I'd be more than happy to part with my extra Go-Rang.
― Andy, Wednesday, 6 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― Dave, Tuesday, 19 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link
― mitch lastnamewithheld (mitchlnw), Saturday, 7 June 2003 12:52 (twenty years ago) link
― mitch lastnamewithheld (mitchlnw), Saturday, 7 June 2003 12:59 (twenty years ago) link
― anthony kyle monday (akmonday), Saturday, 7 June 2003 16:05 (twenty years ago) link
― mitch lastnamewithheld (mitchlnw), Saturday, 7 June 2003 16:11 (twenty years ago) link
― fields of salmon (fieldsofsalmon), Saturday, 7 June 2003 17:20 (twenty years ago) link
― fields of salmon (fieldsofsalmon), Saturday, 7 June 2003 17:21 (twenty years ago) link
I have not actually listened to orang, which practically is talk talk w/out vocals...has anyone else? how does it measure up?
― anthony kyle monday (akmonday), Saturday, 7 June 2003 18:13 (twenty years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 7 June 2003 21:42 (twenty years ago) link
and i am pretty sure lee harris is drumming on it, as well as it featuring the old dude who played vibes on hex.
How did you find out about this?
― Evan (Evan), Sunday, 8 June 2003 04:40 (twenty years ago) link
What kind of record deal are they looking for? (being serious here. feel free to email me)
― Chris Barrus (Chris Barrus), Sunday, 8 June 2003 08:18 (twenty years ago) link
― anthony kyle monday (akmonday), Sunday, 8 June 2003 16:38 (twenty years ago) link
― Andy K (Andy K), Sunday, 8 June 2003 20:11 (twenty years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 8 June 2003 20:14 (twenty years ago) link
― Andy K (Andy K), Sunday, 8 June 2003 20:20 (twenty years ago) link
just to tie things together (and keep this post OT), Sutton contributed ("guitar") to both O.rang albums. he also provided a great Boymerang 12" remix of "p53" on Echo(UK)/Hit it!(US). i don't believe this track was ever anthologized on CD. hmm. a disc compiling all the Boymerang remixes would be such a nice thing. though i've hunted and collected them devotedly.
new Bark Psychosis. oh, glory!
― summerslastsound, Monday, 9 June 2003 19:28 (twenty years ago) link
― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 9 June 2003 20:35 (twenty years ago) link
― mitch lastnamewithheld (mitchlnw), Monday, 9 June 2003 20:50 (twenty years ago) link
― mitch lastnamewithheld (mitchlnw), Monday, 9 June 2003 20:53 (twenty years ago) link
― anthony kyle monday (akmonday), Monday, 9 June 2003 21:08 (twenty years ago) link
― mitch lastnamewithheld (mitchlnw), Monday, 9 June 2003 21:19 (twenty years ago) link
the bark psychosis album may be released through the web!
― fields of salmon (fieldsofsalmon), Monday, 9 June 2003 21:34 (twenty years ago) link
Mitch you probably don't want to hear this but I reckon you should have started with Spirit of Eden instead - it's a more deliberately beautiful record so it makes it easier to get a handle of what Talk Talk are doing that is good.
― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Monday, 9 June 2003 23:24 (twenty years ago) link
― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Monday, 9 June 2003 23:29 (twenty years ago) link
Yes you did. This has nothing to do with the fact that I regard the Sea and Cake with at most a shrug, of course. *hides from Josh* (More seriously, Tim's advice to Mitch is sound, Jaymc -- and Anthony is right in that the early stuff is equally genius in a different world; heard "It's My Life" out at brunch yesterday and remembered again how great it is. However, there is no album actually called Talk Talk, that's a mistake from MST3K. ;-))
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, 10 June 2003 01:39 (twenty years ago) link
he writes his lyrics like he sings them
― fbclid=fhAZ3l (f. hazel), Friday, 29 January 2021 20:51 (three years ago) link
The cassette had typed lyrics!
― Halfway there but for you, Friday, 29 January 2021 20:55 (three years ago) link
Left handed?
― Mark G, Friday, 29 January 2021 21:02 (three years ago) link
"The cassette had typed lyrics!"
Made me laugh, not really sure why.
― djh, Friday, 29 January 2021 21:12 (three years ago) link
I guess it's an unexpected bonus of buying an inferior format.
― Halfway there but for you, Friday, 29 January 2021 21:14 (three years ago) link
Tonight at 8pm (U.K. time) pic.twitter.com/TcvRgaci0P— Tim's Listening Party (@LlSTENlNG_PARTY) February 25, 2021
― groovypanda, Thursday, 25 February 2021 12:49 (three years ago) link
I keep hearing boomer tracks that remind me of "The Colour of Spring"-era Talk Talk. The first one was this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpXG23PlvF4
Which I guess makes sense, given a) Winwood is kind of a ground zero vocal reference, from Gabriel to Hollis, and b) he actually plays on "The Colour of Spring." But the other was this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9Omu_QYb4Q
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 23 October 2021 22:58 (two years ago) link
The Winwood seems like it has more similarities to the It's My Life era, with the fretless bass and a funkier rhythm than they used on the next album. The biggest similarity with the Plant song is using the piano as bass, as in "Life's What You Make It"; I guess there is a general aura of sonic luxury and heavy studio expense to both.
― Halfway there but for you, Saturday, 23 October 2021 23:41 (two years ago) link
Spanish Dancer, from the same album as Night Train, is very Talk Talky, imo.
― fetter, Monday, 25 October 2021 10:50 (two years ago) link
i seem to recall reading in a british music mag around the early 2000s about just exactly how they got all that feedback for "after the flood."
(from what i remember)
it was some fringe japanese-engineered thing. the way it was described, it sounded more like a computer than a musical instrument. and apparently they had quite a time just getting the thing to the recording studio in the first place.
does anyone remember this? or know more specifics?
in any case, i remember it being a great subplot in the greater story.
― the beginning of the end of discourse. (Austin), Friday, 12 November 2021 20:07 (two years ago) link
i don't think there was mention of it in Phill Brown's book but I can go reread the laughingstock part
― covidsbundlertanze op. 6 (Jon not Jon), Friday, 12 November 2021 20:24 (two years ago) link
The story I've heard is that it was a breath controller for a synth which malfunctioned when they cued it up for a solo, but they left it recording and decided it was just what the track needed.
― assert (matttkkkk), Friday, 12 November 2021 20:47 (two years ago) link
(from another forum) Mojo, March 2006 interview with Tim Friese-Greene: Four minutes into the song After The Flood, a 75-second gap awaited a solo. Hollis reached for the Variophon, a German, breath-controlled synthesizer which made Talk Talk's distinctive brass-banshee/distressed-elephant sounds. "They were the most unreliable machines ever made," notes Tim. "Originally, Mark had a part for the solo which spanned the whole section and was just two notes. He played it through a very large amplifier and the Variophon was clearly malfunctioning, jumping between octaves randomly and producing all sorts of internal feedback. We listened back to it and thought, This is too much, and stripped it down to one note. That was the only possible solo that could go there. I was out in the studio tweaking the amplifier and I heard this one note roaring back through the amp and I remember thinking, This is the end. This is as far as we can go. After one note there's no notes. This will be the last album we make."
― assert (matttkkkk), Friday, 12 November 2021 20:49 (two years ago) link
Interesting that none of the records feature a credit for the Variophon, they might have wanted to keep it a secret as their own special sonic tool.
― Halfway there but for you, Friday, 12 November 2021 21:06 (two years ago) link
aahhh thank you, mattt!! seems i might have mixed it up with something else.
― the beginning of the end of discourse. (Austin), Friday, 12 November 2021 21:14 (two years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFgwQDtSmns
― Maresn3st, Saturday, 4 December 2021 23:41 (two years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpUaDOtknzs
― Maresn3st, Saturday, 11 December 2021 14:54 (two years ago) link
New Held By Trees album Solace is excellent and includes quite a few musicians from latter Talk Talk/Mark Hollis sessions
https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2022/03/held-by-trees-interview-david-joseph-new-album-solace.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeRWoLyizjc
― groovypanda, Wednesday, 18 May 2022 07:43 (one year ago) link
Might check it out, but Talk Talk is maybe the worst band ever for new acts being compared to them falling pitifully short of the level
― imago, Wednesday, 18 May 2022 07:46 (one year ago) link
Happiness really isn't easy
solid album
― nxd, Wednesday, 18 May 2022 08:19 (one year ago) link
agreed, this is great. thanks for posting, gp!
― Let's disco dance, Hammurabi! (Austin), Wednesday, 18 May 2022 14:41 (one year ago) link
it's a pretty good album. last track gets a bit wanky in the guitar department and is def. more Dire Straits-y than Talk Talk but I still like it.
― akm, Wednesday, 18 May 2022 14:46 (one year ago) link
yeah definitely prefer the more sparse moments, but hey . . .
Happiness really isn't easy― imago, Wednesday, May 18, 2022 12:46 AM
― imago, Wednesday, May 18, 2022 12:46 AM
― Let's disco dance, Hammurabi! (Austin), Wednesday, 18 May 2022 14:50 (one year ago) link
About 3/4 of the way into this Mark Hollis biog. Kinda interesting as he comes across poorly a lot of the time, some people say he was an earnest, funny geezer and sometimes a bit moody other reports render him a bully, sullen, a mean drunk.
― Maresn3st, Saturday, 4 June 2022 12:49 (one year ago) link
Can quite easily imagine all those things being true.
― Zelda Zonk, Saturday, 4 June 2022 13:05 (one year ago) link
He'd get especially sullen when he'd read this thread and see his records referred to as crinkle-cut chips.
― Halfway there but for you, Saturday, 4 June 2022 13:54 (one year ago) link
Surprisingly this does not seem to be available to buy as an ebook. Physical edition is too $$$ for me ok afraid
― covidsbundlertanze op. 6 (Jon not Jon), Saturday, 4 June 2022 15:28 (one year ago) link
To be honest you're not missing much (so far, at least imho) there's not much of a tale to tell it would seem and what is there is told in a boilerplate fashion.
― Maresn3st, Saturday, 4 June 2022 15:34 (one year ago) link
That’s the other thing… if the stir around it was more positive the cost wouldn’t be such an issue. So glad we got phill brown’s book.
― covidsbundlertanze op. 6 (Jon not Jon), Saturday, 4 June 2022 16:30 (one year ago) link
Yeah that and Spirit of Talk Talk seem to be all you need.
― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 4 June 2022 16:41 (one year ago) link
There's a lot about Ed Hollis in the earlier part of the book (naturally), he seemed like a really interesting cat and I didn't know that he had such a big hand in Mark's early stages.
― Maresn3st, Saturday, 4 June 2022 16:54 (one year ago) link
What's the Phill Brown book?
― Paul Ponzi, Saturday, 4 June 2022 18:34 (one year ago) link
https://www.amazon.com/Are-We-Still-Rolling-Recording/dp/0977990311
― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 4 June 2022 18:37 (one year ago) link
It's a great overview of Brown's work -- the Robert Palmer stories alone are really revelatory, further underscores just how underrated Palmer was, frankly -- and by the time the Talk Talk/Hollis records start happening you get a sense of someone who has really become a master of his craft working for a band that knows they want to next level further.
― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 4 June 2022 18:38 (one year ago) link
Oh, that looks terrific. Thank you!
― Paul Ponzi, Saturday, 4 June 2022 23:49 (one year ago) link
It will also make you want to pull out John Martyn and Stomu Yamashta
― covidsbundlertanze op. 6 (Jon not Jon), Sunday, 5 June 2022 03:34 (one year ago) link
One World and Go specifically
― covidsbundlertanze op. 6 (Jon not Jon), Sunday, 5 June 2022 03:35 (one year ago) link
Finding 'A Perfect Silence' pretty enjoyable so far. It's written in a simple, straightforward way but competently--certainly not trying to be poetical or of a piece with the feeling of Talk Talk as an artwork in its own right, but that might be tiresome past essay-length. I supposed I tend to be moderately ignorant of the "histories" of most artists I like, tending to focus on just the music itself, but this is still engaging stuff. I'm just pre-major-commercial-breakthrough now, looking forward to chapters on the last two albums and 'Mark Hollis'.
The introduction raises the question of whether an author should pry into the life of someone who was very private... and just kind of leaves the ethical implications out there (while obviously having determined internally it was kosher to move forward). But thus far, the book mostly covers professional relationships and musical processes, without overly speculating on personal/private/inner life. Maybe it goes into that more, later (for better or worse)?
― Soundslike, Sunday, 5 June 2022 20:47 (one year ago) link
I just got Talk Talk's Spirit of Eden, remastered, on CD. Previously listened on Spotify on headphones. Now I'm listening on my stereo and my goodness - what a difference! This record needs to fill a room. And it needs to be LOUD. Like, as loud as you can handle.
What a fantastic album.
― The Ghost Club, Tuesday, 20 September 2022 05:27 (one year ago) link
Yup, one of the first things I played on my new speakers. My downstairs neighbor even texted me saying how stoked he was to hear me playing it... did not expect that.
― octobeard, Tuesday, 20 September 2022 06:52 (one year ago) link
I love that. What a cool neighbour!
― The Ghost Club, Tuesday, 20 September 2022 08:32 (one year ago) link
I reckon I got into this hard as a kid because my dad would absolutely blast it in the car. Not only filling a room, but a particularly small one
― imago, Tuesday, 20 September 2022 09:06 (one year ago) link
I have been known to play Laughing Stock at nuclear volumes, the recording comes to life when the instruments are as loud as they were in the studio.
― assert (matttkkkk), Tuesday, 20 September 2022 12:50 (one year ago) link
While we're on the subject, a podcast called Hold Onto The Colours has episodes from this year that feature (separately) Phill Brown, Tim Friese-Greene and Ben Wardle.
― Supposed Former ILM Lurker (WeWantMiles), Tuesday, 20 September 2022 14:09 (one year ago) link
Thanks for the Phill Brown interview recommendation. Brilliant interview. I really must read the book.
― Shard-borne Beatles with their drowsy hums (Chinaski), Sunday, 25 September 2022 11:38 (one year ago) link
i bought this today purely because of the Tim Friese-Greene production credit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9YiYDG71xw
favourite comment:
sixthtimelucky - 7 years agoDreadful then... dreadful now haha :)Derek Ritchie - 5 years agoI agree, and I was the drummer!
Derek Ritchie - 5 years agoI agree, and I was the drummer!
― o shit the sheriff (NickB), Sunday, 25 September 2022 14:53 (one year ago) link
30p and i still feel like i was robbed
― o shit the sheriff (NickB), Sunday, 25 September 2022 14:55 (one year ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYQzJ6ezdLs
― MaresNest, Monday, 4 September 2023 19:33 (seven months ago) link
I mean, it's very much the season anyway, but having seen the 'What's in my bag?' with Meshell Ndegeocello on another thread, where she selects the Hollis solo album today was the day. Shit is sacred music.
― I would prefer not to. (Chinaski), Wednesday, 11 October 2023 19:27 (six months ago) link