Happiness Is Easy: Talk Talk reviewed

Bulldog · 05-04-2010, 04:37 PM

Seems like everyone and their Mums are doing discography threads these days, which is awesome as they're far and away my favourite kinds of threads, but I'm getting a bit bored of the other threads of mine I've got going, so what the hell.

Who are Talk Talk then? To give you a literal answer to that question, here's the core of the band itself;

Mark Hollis: vocals, 1981-91
Simon Brenner: keyboards, 1981-83
Tim Friese-Greene: keyboards, 1983-91
Paul Webb: bass, 1981-91
Lee Harris: drums, 1981-91

Things'd get a bit more complicated than that as the band evolved within its fairly short lifespan (as any fans out there would well know), as Talk Talk are one of those bands which saw one of the most famous and critically acclaimed changes in musical direction. Starting out as a London-based band with its style firmly rooted in synthpop and new wave which had a real strangehold on the international charts, their third album acted as a bridge between that sound and what would come next as Mark Hollis and Tim Friese-Greene began to exercise more control over the band's direction between them. I'm sure a lot of you already know what that sound was but, for the sake of those who don't, I'm gonna keep it a secret for now

In a sentence, Talk Talk stand as an example in the music industry of what I think it'd be so cool if today's cream of the crop could do, that being getting under the skin of the industry with a few hits and then tearing down the walls of pop and rock music from the inside - a noble sacrifice of material gain in the name of artistry. Such is why I think these guys are worth more of a mention around here and, by more of a mention, I do of course mean in the form of a discography thread.

Talk Talk's lifespan as a functioning musical unit was kinda short, so this won't be such a huge thread but, nevertheless, it'll keep me occupied around here for at least a little longer

Here are the albums I'm gonna cover anyway;

Talk Talk
1982 - The Party's Over 5/10
1984 - It's My Life 8/10
1986 - The Colour Of Spring 10/10
1988 - Spirit Of Eden 10/10
1991 - Laughing Stock 10/10

Mark Hollis
1998 - Mark Hollis

O'Rang
1994 - Herd Of Instinct
1996 - Fields and Waves

Heligoland
2000 - Heligoland
2006 - Pitcher, Flask and Foxy Moxie

Tim Friese-Greene
2009 - 10 Sketches For Piano Trio

05-04-2010, 04:37 PM	#1 (permalink)
Bulldog why bother? Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: UK Posts: 4,840	Happiness Is Easy: Talk Talk reviewed Seems like everyone and their Mums are doing discography threads these days, which is awesome as they're far and away my favourite kinds of threads, but I'm getting a bit bored of the other threads of mine I've got going, so what the hell. Who are Talk Talk then? To give you a literal answer to that question, here's the core of the band itself; Mark Hollis: vocals, 1981-91 Simon Brenner: keyboards, 1981-83 Tim Friese-Greene: keyboards, 1983-91 Paul Webb: bass, 1981-91 Lee Harris: drums, 1981-91 Things'd get a bit more complicated than that as the band evolved within its fairly short lifespan (as any fans out there would well know), as Talk Talk are one of those bands which saw one of the most famous and critically acclaimed changes in musical direction. Starting out as a London-based band with its style firmly rooted in synthpop and new wave which had a real strangehold on the international charts, their third album acted as a bridge between that sound and what would come next as Mark Hollis and Tim Friese-Greene began to exercise more control over the band's direction between them. I'm sure a lot of you already know what that sound was but, for the sake of those who don't, I'm gonna keep it a secret for now In a sentence, Talk Talk stand as an example in the music industry of what I think it'd be so cool if today's cream of the crop could do, that being getting under the skin of the industry with a few hits and then tearing down the walls of pop and rock music from the inside - a noble sacrifice of material gain in the name of artistry. Such is why I think these guys are worth more of a mention around here and, by more of a mention, I do of course mean in the form of a discography thread. Talk Talk's lifespan as a functioning musical unit was kinda short, so this won't be such a huge thread but, nevertheless, it'll keep me occupied around here for at least a little longer Here are the albums I'm gonna cover anyway; Talk Talk 1982 - The Party's Over 5/10 1984 - It's My Life 8/10 1986 - The Colour Of Spring 10/10 1988 - Spirit Of Eden 10/10 1991 - Laughing Stock 10/10 Mark Hollis 1998 - Mark Hollis O'Rang 1994 - Herd Of Instinct 1996 - Fields and Waves Heligoland 2000 - Heligoland 2006 - Pitcher, Flask and Foxy Moxie Tim Friese-Greene 2009 - 10 Sketches For Piano Trio Last edited by Bulldog; 12-20-2010 at 07:10 AM.