TALK TALK

(UNITED KINGDOM)

THE COLOUR OF SPRING

(1986)
LABEL:

EMI

GENRE:

POP

TAGS:
80's, Experimental, Hovering, Instrumental, Jazzy, Melancholic
""The Colour Of Spring" is a monument, unclassifiable."
REALMEAN (08.02.2011)  
5/5
(0) opinions (0) comment(s)
This is the musical synthesis of the Talk Talk Talk spirit. Much better than a compilation. Where "It's My Life" still anchored in its pop register was reluctant to take the plunge, this new album is the incredible combination of a universal New-Wave, and an introspective-intimist writing that reveals Mark Hollis' true musical genius. How could one have suspected such a potential, at the exclusive and frenzied FM time of "The Party's Over"? The experience is indeed unique in its kind: the immediate melodic talents of the two previous opuses combine perfectly, and without ever altering their hue, with an astonishing jazzy-contemporary spirituality that will now impose itself as the common denominator of the Talkian work to come. 

Aficionados of the initial period will still find their place with "I Don't Believe In You" and "Life's What You Make It", powerful emotional generators located halfway between the "Tomorrow Started" and "It's My Life" of the previous album; assertive melodies with both ample and refined sounds. The components are chiselled with extreme precision, to the benefit of a flawless musical readability.

But "The Colour Of Spring" is above all a solid red thread, winding along very skilfully coherent considerations, and firmly stretched between the opening of "Happiness Is Easy" and the dreamlike conclusion of "Time It's time". The second in paradox of the first: "Time it's time to live through the pain". 

From the teachings of "I Don't Believe In You" or "Life's What You Make It", persuasive and ceremonial, to the transitional reflections of "Living In Another World" and "Give It Up", to the metaphysical questionings of "April 5th" or "Chameleon Day", Talkian writing never ceases to bring together two antagonistic entities: lyricism and melancholy. The closing, carried by the unforgettable "Time It's Time", is the apogee of the work, woven note after note, vocalized after vocalized; the piece unifies spiritual suffering and deliverance that it can bring, in the same brilliance, in a kind of astral journey.

Hollis had already demonstrated his vocal talent. Here, he uses it properly as an instrument, sometimes in the form of sporadic punctuations ("April 5th", "Chameleon Day"), sometimes in atmospheric or even cosmic layers ("Time It's Time"). The synergy of the result, on the crossing of song and orchestration, is simply amazing.

The instrumentation, on the other hand, is worthy of the greatest progressive music projects that have ever seen the light of day, and yet the sound never seems overwhelming. On the contrary, it will remain one of the most airy, barely loading the balance on "Living In Another Word", which is dressed in a relatively dense sound texture, mixing harmonica, organ, guitars and sustained percussion. In any case, the instrumental and vocal manna, served by an equally impressive line-up, fills a titanic grid: basses, electric and acoustic guitars, piano, percussion of all kinds, saxophone, variophone (an optical system essential to the building, for its noise capacities...), mellotron, choir ensembles...

"The Colour Of Spring" is to pop music what the work of the Cheval factor is to architecture; but the analogy is only approximate. In musical terms, it could be a progressive fresco free of any blotchy layers. A monument, finally unclassifiable.

TRACK LISTING:
01. Happiness Is Easy - 06:37
02. I Don't Believe In You - 05:01
03. Life's What You Make It - 04:28
04. April 5th - 05:49
05. Living In Another World - 06:57
06. Give It Up - 05:15
07. Chameleon Day - 03:16
08. Time It's Time - 08:11

LINEUP:
Alan Gorrie: Basse
Ambrosia Choir: Choeurs
Danny Thompson: Basse acoustique
David Rhodes: Guitares
David Roach: Saxophone soprano
Ecole Speake: Choeurs
Gaynor Sadler: Harpe
Ian Curnow: Claviers
Lee Harris: Batterie
Mark Feltham: Harmonica
Mark Hollis: Chant / Variophone, Orgue, Piano, Mellotron
Martin Ditcham: Percussion
Morris Pert: Percussion
Paul Webb: Basse / Choeurs
Phil Reis: Percussion
Robbie McIntosh: Guitares / Dobro, Guitare acoustique
Steve Winwood: Orgue
Tim Friese-Greene: Claviers / Piano, Variophone, Orgue
   
(0) MIND(S) FROM OUR READERS    
Top of the page
   
(0) COMMENT(S)    
 
 
Top of the page
READERS
4/5 (2 view(s))
STAFF:
5/5 (6 view(s))
MY RATING
 
 
OTHER REVIEWS
ELOY: Ocean (1977)
PROGRESSIVE ROCK - In 1977, Eloy releases his album "Ocean", which is not only his biggest seller but also his most successful album to date.
TALK TALK: Spirit Of Eden (1988)
POST ROCK - "Spirit Of Eden" is the suspension then the ascent of a soap bubble in the air: fragile, and inexorable. But it is above all a true cornerstone of the history of Rock.
 
 
OTHER(S) REVIEWS ABOUT TALK TALK
TALK-TALK_Spirit-Of-Eden
Spirit Of Eden (1988)
4/5
5/5
EMI / POST ROCK
 
F.A.Q. / You found a bug / Terms Of Use
Music Waves - Rock (Progressive, Alternative...), Hard Rock (AOR, Melodic,...) & Metal (heavy, progressive, melodic, ...) Media
Reviews, News, Interviews, Advices, Promotion, Releases, Concerts
© Music Waves | 2003 - 2025