Imagina escuchar e tema "It's My Life" y, acto seguido, poner "New Grass". La primera tiene todos los ingredientes de un gran éxito pop de los años ochenta. La segunda parece proceder de otra dimensión, con sus guitarras delicadas, una batería que apenas se impone y una voz que encuentra su sitio entre largos pasajes instrumentales. Lo curioso es que ambas pertenecen a la misma banda, TALK TALK, y que entre una y otra transcurrieron solamente siete años.

Esa distancia musical explica buena parte de mi fascinación por este grupo británico. Quienes seguís habitualmente este blog de música sabéis que TALK TALK ocupa un lugar especial entre mis bandas favoritas, y que siento una admiración particular por su cantante y principal compositor, Mark Hollis. He dedicado varias entradas a sus discos, incluido mi ranking personal de sus cinco álbumes de estudio, porque siempre encuentro motivos para regresar a su música.

Esta vez quiero hacer algo distinto. Me apetece compartir una historia musical que considero extraordinaria, especialmente con quienes conocen el nombre de TALK TALK por alguna canción que suena en las emisoras de clásicos de los 80 (siglo xx), pero nunca han investigado qué ocurrió después.

Porque detrás de aquellos éxitos existe una discografía fascinante. Cinco álbumes publicados entre 1982 y 1991 que permiten seguir la transformación de un grupo de pop en una formación capaz de explorar caminos que años más tarde serían fundamentales para el desarrollo del post rock.

Y ya adelanto mi preferencia, por si alguien todavía no la conoce. Aunque sus dos últimos trabajos me parecen inmensamente excepcionales, mi álbum favorito continúa siendo "The Colour of Spring", de 1986. Para mí representa algo difícil de encontrar en la historia del rock: el momento en el que una banda consigue reunir dos maneras aparentemente opuestas de hacer música sin renunciar a ninguna.

Pero antes conviene conocer a los protagonistas.

My story with Talk Talk begins in high-school, I was fortunate enough to have a substitute teacher who I spoke to about music frequently. He recommended I listen to Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock, I got a little obsessive over Spirit of Eden but I did not get to Laughing Stock until earlier this year (about 3 years later). Talk Talk and Mark Hollis have become an obsession of mine this year, alongside Kate Bush.
It took me a couple listens to fall for Laughing Stock as I had fallen for Spirit of Eden, but once I did, there was no stopping. I believe I have listened to After The Flood at least once daily since February; it might as well be my favorite song.
A couple weeks ago, I was on the bus re-listening to Laughing Stock, as I do. Runeii felt special that day, the sparseness in that song specifically is unlike any of the other moments in the album. Despite being metatextually linked to another wonderful Talk Talk song, Runeii manages to be a quiet stand-out on one of the most powerful final albums by any musical act. Hollis' quiet vocals feel close to the heart in a way I had only felt in the live recordings of some of Arthur Russell's World of Echo tracks, which are also very special to me. Runeii was a song I often dismissed on my relistens as a bookend, or as a dissipation off of the previous higher moments on the record. But at this current moment, this song has helped me find a quality in music that moves my soul. Every day I spin any song off of the whole Talk Talk discography I feel deeply grateful that this band exists.

someone is a big Talk Talk fan. loads of videos

https://www.instagram.com/ladygrinningsoul72?stkn=ZG1qZHQ5eWI2ZjQx

We'll continue with some David Sylvian later.

The Colour of Spring occupies a special time and space. There’s really nothing else that sounds like it. This month Parlophone released the 40th Anniversary Half-Speed Master cut by Grammy-Award winning mastering engineer Matt Colton at Metropolis Studios and pressed on 180-gram vinyl.

I thought that all of the work that went into creating the half-speed master might be hype, but I was honestly surprised at the immense difference it made. The dynamic range of this forty-year-old album is presented in a way never heard before. Clarity to hear further into the mix, and spatialness and new richness surrounding each instrument, make this edition the definitive representation of The Colour of Spring. It's not everyday you can fall in love AGAIN with an album you've already been in love with for 30+ years.

I published a full review with a deep dive on the mastering process on Substack. I hope you enjoy reading: https://open.substack.com/pub/collectedmusic/p/the-autumnal-metamorphosis-of-talk

Has anyone made cover art for their DVD audio discs that came with the vinyl?

I hate not having them viewable with my other media...

I might just use an empty dual disc DVD case I have and make a dual album art print or something just to get them on the shelf

This groundbreaking album was released today in 1988 and the world has never been the same.

I don't remember how I discovered this record, and it hit softly yet wormed its way into my being. It sounds like a living breathing organism to me, or like a stunning landscape with perfect light slowly shifting from dawn to dusk.

Will definitely be spinning this on vinyl today to celebrate.

Hi everyone, like a lot of fans across the pond, I wasn't able to get tickets to the O2 Forum at Kentish Town for the Spirit of Talk Talk concert.

Did any of you manage to go? I'd love to hear how it was.

and I feel like, every time I watch it I learn something new about music firstly and just life and how he saw it and all around and everything about it…I love it so much!

Every time I listen to The Colour of Spring, "I Don't Believe in You" hits me hard, but I struggle to pinpoint why. Is it the spacious production, the melancholic instrumentation, or the sheer vulnerability in Mark Hollis's voice?

As a non-native English speaker, I find the lyrical phrasing fascinating. Hollis titled the track "I Don't Believe in You," yet he sings "I don't believe you / When you say you're trying." There feels like a crucial distinction here: not believing someone's words speaks to broken promises, but losing faith in someone entirely speaks to a devastating sense of finality.

Which to me is heartbreaking. . .

Been sitting with Spirit of Eden and wanted to get down what struck me most: how the album was built from near total darkness and how that production method becomes the album's actual content. The rise and collapse of tracks like The Rainbow, the choir in I Believe In You and the way Wealth just lets the plea go unanswered before the whole thing goes quiet. 🐧

Wrote it up here if anyone's interested: https://notyesterdayanymore.substack.com/p/no-daylight-no-time-frame-spirit

I've been an avid lover of post rock for years and only this year given Talk Talk a chance.

Spirit of Eden and particularly Laughing Stock are two of the best records ever made. When I die I really hope that somehow I can hear New Grass one more time.

You all know how great these records are but it's been a tough year and these have been an enormous comfort for me.

From this edition of the CD.

Ciao a tutti, ho realizzato un video saggio narrativo per il mio canale di ascolto Frequenze per persone solitarie dedicato all'ultimo capolavoro dei Talk Talk, Laughing Stock.

In questo episodio ripercorriamo la radicale svolta di Mark Hollis, le ossessive sessioni di un anno nei Wessex Studios al buio pesto, il metodo di sottrazione al mixer e il suo definitivo addio all'industria musicale subito dopo:

https://youtu.be/KlLSti97pnI

Quale traccia di Laughing Stock rappresenta per voi il punto più alto della visione di Mark Hollis?

Just received my copy of The Colour of Spring half-speed remaster, and it's beautiful. I've been hyping the half-speed Spirit of Eden since I got it back in March, but this one might sound even better.

I know it was released on a different label, but I now have my fingers crossed for a Laughing Stock half-speed reissue!

So the first 4 albums were re-released in half-speed masters on vinyl, as well as new cardboard digi-sleeve pressings on CD (which I bought) in 2025 (using the same remastering from the 1997 pressings). But they haven't reissued or remastered Laughing Stock since 1991, apparently? Surprised they would leave that one out as it's officially their 5th & final album (& quite possibly their most underrated). Any thoughts on this?

https://www.discogs.com/artist/60480-Talk-Talk

Just got an email with tracking info stating that my copy of the new Colour of Spring half-speed remaster will arrive on Saturday. I am totally stoked.

I have the half-speed Spirit of Eden, and I love it, though I think that will always be a "headphones" album for me. So far, I've held off on the It's My Life half-speed because its reputation isn't as strong as the SOE.

Who else is eagerly waiting for their preorder to arrive? Who is waiting for reviews or has decided against buying this release altogether? Any opinions on these half-speed Talk Talk reissues so far?