Talk Talk - The Colour Of Spring
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Free Music Notes for The Colour Of Spring
Free Music Review: as bad as bad becomes it's not a part of you and love is only sleeping wrapped in neglect
Hit: 5 Stars
One of the best albums ever composed. That is what Talk Talk's Colour Of Spring will always be to me. One of the best 10 albums among the 5,000 I have kept. You have to listen to it a few times (7 is a good number) before you quite get there but I can assure you, no matter what is your musical background, you can get to love this music. It is melodic and uplifting, acoustic and atmospheric, peaceful and perfect.
Happiness Is Easy is a perfect song to listen to on Sunday morning around 10 am, if you are at home or alone and feel like surrounding your spirit with harmony. Stay within this song for a while. Although Mark's lyrics leave it a bit open as far as his take on things the feeling this song will place upon you...leaves no doubts. This is one of the most spiritually uplifting songs in rock music. The choir of Children From The School Of Miss Speake is a great addition to this song. I find it more special than the choir in Jerusalem by Vangelis of even Mike Oldfield's work, and the only song I know which exceeds the power of a similar expression is Jan Garbarek's We Are The Stars. The Colour Of Spring is a very exceptional album in terms of talent it brought together. There are 16 musicians and 2 choirs involved here and none of the songs were recorded by the same line up. Happiness Is Easy, for instance, has 10 musicians playing and a choir singing, and the instruments involve drums, 3 sets (and players) of percussion, acoustic bass, electric bass, organ, piano, guitar and effects. Steve Winwood plays organ here and on 2 other songs. I Don't Believe In You is another great song and we have an addition of harp and soprano saxophone here. This spectacular orchestration of this music is what makes it such an unique rock album. Here Mark's words could be directed towards all of us or he could be addressing himself, but no matter how he says it, the spirituality of the music is enormous. Life's What You Make It takes us to the song April 5th which relates more towards Mark's future music. More withdrawn and abstract. The lyrics of April 5th, directed towards spring, are a perfect study of his poetic style. `Let me breathe the colour of spring'...the way he sings his words at the end of this song, by almost breathing them back and forth and distorting the voice to complement the guitar sounds and adding texture to the ambience of our experience is truly amazing. The total instrumentation of this song consists of Mark's voice, soprano saxophone, 2 variophons, organ, piano and dobro. This is the atmosphere building at its best which David Sylvian excels at as well. Living In Another World is a completely different song in terms of rhythm and texture but lyrically...all doors still were left open. Mark's lyrics keep on asking us over and over to work out the details of his poetic tales...on our own. Perhaps the following song, Give It Up is a little more direct, towards all of us again. The music of Chameleon Day again takes us to Mark's future and the atmosphere of his later work. It is limited to his vocal, piano and 2 viriophones. It becomes a great moment of peace before the most powerful moment of this album, to me. The music is more beautiful than ever and the Ambrosia Choir this time adds layers to the texture which is upon us. Time It's Time summarizes the message of Colour Of Spring and is a bit more direct...'love is only sleeping wrapped in neglect'; `contempt is ever breeding trapped in itself'; `the wicked and the weeping ramble or run'; and so, `time it's time to live for living' and we are so fortunate to have this beloved album to help us along...
The Colour Of Spring was just such an awesome stage of a beautiful progression of Mark Hollis' complete musical development and statement. And yes, all of us sometimes wish that more great albums similar to the ones we consider our jewels would be left behind by artists we love. It is often impossible for them and Mark Hollis happens to be the monument to this statement. This phantastic album at hand is the only message he wanted to express in this unique way. Which songs are best? Again, my favorite ones are Time It's Time, Happiness is Easy, I Don't Believe in You, April 5th, and Living in Another World. What a magnificent album this is. Thank you Mark and all of you who have contributed to the release of this music.
Free Music Review: Recommendation Goes Wright!
Hit: 5 Stars
To the reviewer who said this album was mostly unknown outside the circle of Talk Talk aficionados, you're in luck! I hadn't even HEARD of the band until I saw this album mentioned in an interview of Rick Wright, Pink Floyd's keyboardist. On a lark I decided to give it a try--and sure enough, his taste proved extraordinary."The simplicity of the songs and Mark Hollis's voice make this album just incredible," Mr. Wright had explained to Record Collector magazine. "The first tune, 'Happiness Is Easy', says it all--nothing but a bass, a snare and a weird chord. That's Talk Talk all over, great songs and simplicity with a twist ... Why does it touch me? Hard to say, but it's got the feelgood factor, which all my favourite records have..."
From the second I heard the opening to "Happiness is Easy", I knew every word of Mr. Wright's was dead-on accurate. "Colour of Spring" is indeed a most appropriate title--I immediately felt a sense of gentle, uplifting power coming from the music. Although pensive, sometimes even sad in the lyrics at times, he does not go overboard with it. Mr. Hollis' voice becomes like a musical instrument in its own right, mingling perfectly with the open, never overpowering musical arrangements.
Particularly striking about this album are the Hammond organ played by Steve Winwood, which floats gently in the background and provides each track is atmosphere. The acoustic guitar and piano seem to dance gracefully in and out of the songs. Overall, Colour of Spring is incredibly soothing, but without putting the listener to sleep. This is the perfect album to unwind from a stressful day, and definitely a recommendation worth listening to!
Free Music Review: Breakthrough sound production, a sonic treasure chest
Hit: 5 Stars
"Colour of Spring" is joyous and yet introspective at the same time, it would be one of my "desert island" discs. (If you were stranded on a desert island, what records would you want to have with you?)One of the fascinating things about this album is the engineering/production. If you have a good pair of headphones, or better still, a really nice sound system, this album will bring you lots of pleasure. For example, on "Happiness is Easy" there's a beautful children's chorus who's stereo image is about 100 feet wide. At the same time, there's a very closely miked accoustic bass, you can almost feel the pluck and bowing of the strings. In "Living in Another World", which really rocks out, there's a great blues-y acoustic piano. The piano sounds like you're right inside the damn thing, listening to the hammers hit the strings. Right along side it is the beautiful thunk thunk thunk of an acoustic drum.
Some people don't like this album because its too "ponderous". I have never felt that way. There's always a compelling pulse in each song. There are great "hooks". Mark Hollis' voice is beautiful, and the melodies are very captivating. But the thing that really elevates this album for me is all the subtle details that you may not pick up on the first few times you listen to it. I found that even after playing it over and over again for months, I was still finding new little sonic wonders hidden here and there in the music. I would highly recommend this disc, especially to artists and musicians.
Free Music Review: Wonderfully creative - new wave just doesn't get better than Talk Talk
Hit: 5 Stars
The 80's was a decade filled with great new wave songs - A-Ha's "Take On Me" is but one example. What separates Talk Talk from, say, A-Ha is how creative they are - they definitely follow standard song structure here, but the instrumentation is very organic and spontaneous at times. You can tell these guys aren't simply trying to cash in on a popular genre. This is most clearly evident when one listens to the album that follows this one, "Spirit Of Eden", which completely abandons new wave in favor of post-rock/experimental/ambient rock. These guys are, simply put, overlooked geniuses (if you were to ask most people if they ever heard of Talk Talk, I'm pretty sure almost everyone would say no). Mark Hollis' voice is very new wave - he has a distinctly 80's sound and his voice sounds like he's a little timid. The lyrics are pretty good, but it's not really the focus of the songs. It's mainly a nice and atmospheric new wave album - the instrumentation is the key. Every song features extremely creative ideas that verges on experimental rock. Most people should really like this album as well as its follow-up "Spirit Of Eden". This album also features lesser-known 80's hits including "Happiness Is Easy" and "Life's What You Make It". If you're looking for a great new wave record, "The Color Of Spring" will amaze you. Highly recommended!
Highlights include:
the entire album!
Free Music Review: Happiness is easy with this album
Hit: 5 Stars
Just a quick word about the first track, Happiness Is Easy: Simply one of the greatest songs of all time. It's STILL completely ahead of its time. Trip-hop and modern chill-out BOTH owe a HUGE debt to it and to this whole album in general (although maybe not the guitar bits). The track stars with one of the most crisply-produced, rhythmically-intricate beats you'll ever hear, and apart from the piano and organ parts, every other element (acoustic and electric bass, acoustic guitar, sax, trumpet) are results of some great improvisations, cut-up and intersperced throughout the length of the song like so much pixie dust, giving way to many jaw-dropping, blink-and-you'll miss-it moments (The richocheting snare at the beginning, small throbbing globs of acoustic bass, swirling guitar phrases). In essence, Happiness Is Easy remains THE late-night, driving-in-your-car track of ALL time. Anyone interested in brainy, intricately-but-not-over-produced avant rock that's still remarkable easy to listen to (like Doves and The Flaming Lips)shoud not miss this album. Be wary of further exploration of Talk Talk, though: The two albums preceding this are New Romantic synth-pop and the two succeding are challenging neo-classical concept albums with labourously-built, complex structures. Not for everyone, then. Lead-man Mark Hollis' sparse, fragile solo album from '98 ought to do the trick.