Talk Talk Talk

One of those albums people are thinking about when they say music sounds all the same

This was very samey... but just fun and vibrant enough to earn it a fourth star. It's the type of 80's that I can't help but smile at.

Christ, another album from 1981 that has a similar name and album art to everything else from 1981 here. Is it going to be post punk/new wave garbage? Course it is. UK? Yeah, probably. Yep, English new wave punk garbage. Singer rips off Johnny rotten. Boring. 2/5.

Post-punk meets new wave and pop and Richard Butler’s very distinctive voice. An early ‘80s classic.

Good

Loud band with sardonic (and borderline misogynistic) frontman. Pretty is Pink was a great single, but his voice palls over the length of an album, and it all starts to sound pretty much the same. I like the breakdown at 1:33 of It Goes On. That's a pretty muscular rhythm section. I could live without all the saxophones.

Tension in the interaction between Furs' name, sound, style, and instrumentation generates plenty of satisfying spikes. The quality of songs, at first blush, is equally uneven. The pop backing is sturdy enough to hold the album up, turning into the foreground. Personally, the only thing inspiring a return is something like a string, when it appears.

One of the albums (just like Talk Talk's Laughing Stock) that for some reason you could practically buy for free in every record store in the nineties in the Netherlands. And so I did at the time. One of my favourite albums from the 80s and not sure which of the first four Psychedelic Furs albums is the best one. Talk Talk Talk contains the original Pretty in Pink - I prefer their 86 Americanish movie version, but this version fits the rest of the album much better.

i ended up enjoying this WAY more than i thought i would… i was never bored and i enjoyed the sound to the point i think i may even revisit a couple of these songs later. 4 stars because the vocal style really did not work for me at all and i thought i would get used to it but never did. but eventually i was able to tune that out and just enjoy the guitars quite delightfully

"I had to pay the doorman just to let me use the door. I had to use a muscleman to pick me off the floor" I was pretty excited to listen to a Psychedelic Furs album, as I really love the song "Love my Way," and my dad (having been a teenager in the 80s) told me that The Psychedelic Furs were one of the bigger bands, influence-wise, in his high-school, along with the Cure, the Smiths, and others. Upon listening to the album, I was pretty disappointed with what the furs had to offer. There were some songs with fairly good musical ideas behind them, such as: T1- "Dumb Waiters," and T2- "Pretty in Pink" (playlist track). But, much more frequently I found the songs to have very surface-level lyrics that were borderline embarrassing to be listening to, with uninteresting vocals over mediocre music, even if the music is in the genre that I prefer over most others. Due mostly to the genre, the band's influence, and those first 2 tracks, the album will not get a 2/5, but rather a... 3/5

So a big of The Psychedelic Furs, and was really looking forward to diving into this album… Always thought they were more of a mid-80’s band, but was really surprised to find their debut album came out in 1980 – so kudos for being one of the bands that defined the sound of the 80’s… Of note – I got the Furs album 2 days after having to listen to a band called “The Psychedelic Sounds Of The 13th Floor Elevators” – who apparently was the first artist to add the term “psychedelic’ to music – so there’s that, and not much else with that band… By the way, their album “The 13th Floor Elevators” is dreadful as hell, and totally sucks ass - if you haven’t gotten to that one yet… Anyways – liked the rock-based foundation of The Furs take on alternative 80’s pop, and have always been a fan of Richard Butler’s unique vocal style… Also enjoyed the guitar work on the album, as well as how they strategically worked the sax into their songs – as it really added a unique twist… Seems like they are one of those bands that always had 3-4 excellent songs on each album – which really helped to sustain momentum in the music industry over time, and “Talk, Talk, Talk” is no exception… Those 3-4 for me on this album would be – “Pretty In Pink” – 5-stars out of 7… Staple on the soundtrack to the 80’s… “Mr. Jones” – 4-stars out of 7… Nice straight-forward rock track… “Dumb Waiters” – 5-stars out of 7… Really unique sound to this one… “All Of This & Nothing” – 4-stars out of 7… Nice closer to the album, with great instrumental sections… There really isn’t a bad track on “Talk, Talk, Talk”, though there do seem to be bits and pieces of the more popular tracks, embedded into some of the lesser tracks (i.e. “No Tears” & “She Is Mine” sound a bit like “Pretty In Pink” at times…). Got to see the band at an 80’s festival a few years back, and they were awesome live – and you would be shocked at just how deep their catalog is when you listen to them… Highly recommend… This album definitely represents a band on the rise, and a clear step forward in the evolution as compared to their debut album… Not fully developed by any means, but you can see exactly where they are going… Would probably give this a 3.25 if I could, but definitely can’t get this to a 4, so a really good 3 in my book…

Punk

This album is very much punk having an exotential crisis in the face of New Wave. And David Bowie.

I don't care how much punk you make me listen to, I'm never gonna like it

This is a nice album full of poppy and rocky hits that seem so 80s that you wanna go to a mall and get an Orange Julius. 4.6/5 Fav: Pretty in Pink Least Fav: All of This and Nothing

I love the first two and last two tracks and the rest are dirty and sexy. I Wanna Sleep With You is a banger too ; ) Some of it sounds like Bowie which is a plus for me. One of my favorite new wave albums that makes me think maybe this genre can be rewarding after all

Really great album.

For the second time in just a few days, we have an album that I thought I'd be luke-warm on, at best, based on scant familiarity with the artist but on listening, I find myself really enjoying the sound and thinking, I would definitely listen to this again. I didn't think this kind of 80s alternative was my thing but who knows what my thing is anymore. I liked this a lot!

Didn’t listen to them way back when and kind of feel like I might have missed out

For some reason, I get The Psychedelic Furs and Violent Femmes mixed up all the time. I think it’s something about their names. Talk Talk Talk occupies a space between New Wave and Post-Punk; it always seems to be oscillating between a somewhat respectable Pop sound, and a rawer heavy Rock one. It makes for compelling listening. And when it settles down to the Bowie-Esque She Is Mine at the end, it unravels into a beautifully melancholy portrayal of the absurdity of life and all it’s small characters, coincidences and events which throws the whole album into a greater perspective. This is the sound of Punk growing up, losing some of the Nihilism and embracing Absurdism, and I’m all for it

Loved it!

I completely forgot about "All of This and Nothing" and will be playing it on repeat. God, I love this album. So underrated.

10/10 I’ve heard a fair bit from The Psychedelic Furs before, and I’ve absolutely loved all of it I’m surprised I haven’t just gone through their entire discography yet

The album that made me fall in love with the Furs. A sound out of time, yet timeless. A fantastic album.

Great album I have missed. I don’t know why but it was not on list.

cool

Oh my god, love this whole album. I only ever knew them from Pretty in Pink. Wish I had heard it back in the day.

What a killer album! How had I never listened to this before!? Such an interesting saxophone hook to open an album… got me from the first note.

ohne 80er Vibes schöne Schrammel-Melancholie

I liked this one quite a lot. It's infectiously catchy, with an energy that kept me invested throughout. There's some elements of post-punk and pop thrown into it, but its rock DNA shines through. There is some excellent sax-playing in there too. (RIP Mars Williams) I can totally see how this might not be a popular one outside of the UK though; there's no hiding the accent, and to an American it probably produces the same kind of feeling I get from hearing American country singers with a real Southern twang to their accent. Regardless, this was a really good album, and I bet it was somewhat of an inspiration for British indie and britpop acts that came later. Favourite: Dumb Waiters

Interesting that I’ve likely never heard any of these songs before, although I am very familiar with the 1986 re-recording of Pretty In Pink from the movie. This version was a bit different. That made this album a completely new listen. I enjoyed it. It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting - there was a lot more going on than the 80s hits I am familiar with would have implied. Really interesting and good, and one of those albums I think I like a lot more now than if I’d heard it back in the day.

Classic 80s alt rock

5/5

Excellent! One of my all-time favorites bands from the 80s!

LOVE the opening. Very cool new romantic with lo fi production. Pretty in Pink is so beautiful!!! Bauhaus does The Mamas and The Papas?? Gets better and even slightly funkier. Loooove it. Into you like a train, slay slay slaaaaay

Though I've complained about monotonous music before, I should be fair and do that here as well... Yet the Zeitgeist got me sooooo hard! Pretty In Pink 5*

There were times while I was listening to this when I thought it was perhaps one of the greatest albums I've ever heard. Other times I felt it was just really fucking good. I usually don't fall in love on the first date, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't screw.

I’ve become kind of allergic to the phrase “New Wave” as this project has gone on, given the number of English synth bands from the 80’s I’ve endured. I’d heard of this band, but never listened. All of this made for a very pleasant surprise. This album is super interesting and has all kinds of weird, rough edges and an artsy sensibility. It reminded me of Roxy Music a little.

The Psychedelic Furs as a band are a class act. I've seen them a few times live with the first show being the most memorable. It was an intimate setting & got to shake Richard Butler's hand as he was performing & caught his brother, Tim's, guitar pick. Of all the stories I hear of 80s bands still touring, I hear nothing but praises for this band & Richard specifically - he truly appreciates his fans. Pretty In Pink is an 80s staple & the movie is my second favorite all-time film. The rest of the album is classic Furs with Richard's raspy vocals, Mars William's sax, and a nice balance between post punk & new wave. RIP to Mars Williams who recently lost his battle to cancer. If you liked this album, take a listen at the rest of their work. It's great stuff. 4.5 stars.

Loved it then and still do today.

Rating things is so scary and hard so I’m giving every album five stars. It’s nice that they wrote a song about my dad. Overall I don’t respect British people but I did like this album

Love moody men from the 80s tbh

Not sure how these guys have passed me by, but this is spot-on, defining both 80s new wave pop and indie rock in one fell swoop.

I’ve heard this before, but giving it three good listens in a row revealed a masterpiece to me. An incredible album.

"Post punk," "new wave," whatever genre you want to fit the Furs into, the music defies. Strange, hypnotic, droning, aggressive, grating, melancholic,... better to attach adjectives than categories. A work of art.

Not at all excited to see another UK album from 1981 but there’s actually a lot to like here. Building on the foundations, this is a kind of post-punk I can get behind. Curled lip attitude but with a bit of skill and craft going into it. I can hear a lot of other artists taking influence from these guys including: The Cult, Billy Bragg, The Libertines, Ride, Green Day and I’m sure many more.

Perfect 80’s punk party album. It’s just a lot of fun!

One has always found Psyche Furs and Richard Butler to be pretty underrated. He's got a great – perhaps the essential post-punk voice, capable of both murderous sneering and tender vulnerability. "Pretty in Pink" is a wonderful melding of punk-light and sweet pop melodies (a combination this band well and truly mastered) and "She Is Mine" is right up one's alley, sweet and melancholic. They got way quality mileage out of the sax playing – these post-punk bands knew how to bring the brass and integrate it non-obviously and non-obnoxiously. The other cuts are mostly solid, if not major, and a 4 slightly flatters this effort, which one likes slightly less than Forever Now. But the 4 is worthy in the sense that all of their records were above average, ++ and under-appreciated. So there we are.

Pelkäsin jo, että olen alkanut lyttäämään näitä brittejä tottumuksesta, mutta täähän oli tosi kova! Tietty vanhempien levyjen kohdalla brittinostot ovat olleet usein ihan hyviä. Sen tyylinen levy, että voisin vinskalle haluta, täytyy pitää mielessä.

All in the same, very distinctive style. 'Pretty in pink' is easily the best, but 'All of this and nothing' is also excellent.

Great album, reminder to myself to relisten as I’m not super familiar with their catalogue. Loved it though, can’t wait to spin it again. Reminded me of some late 80’s Manchester style cuts.

I loved it! What a time capsule, and the inspiration for John Hughes.

Cool, je connaissais pas. Punk et 80's bon melange

It was pretty good. It can sound repetitive at times but overall it’s a quality rock/new wave album with good instrumentals and vocals.

Fantastic blend of post-punk/alt rock/new wave. More 'punk' than Talking Heads. Dumb Waiters is such a fun song

It's funny how some of the scenes emphasized on this list really annoy me (like 90s-00s Brit Pop), and some scenes I really enjoy. Post-punk is definitely one of the latter. I don't have a lot to say about this album that I haven't said about previous post-punk albums, but this album is really cool. More explicitly sexual subject matter than was often present in punk/post punk, which is neat. I don't love the singer's voice, but he makes it work 4/5

I had fun i think

This was my first time listening to the psychedelic furs. It won't be the last. This was really good. I liked the entire record.

Fond memories of the 80s

Cool

The amount of post-punk and new wave (especially the British variant) on this list is obviously excessive and maybe even problematic… But this is one of the albums I sure wouldn’t remove. The songwriting is fun and catchy and Butler’s vocals are iconic - but what really makes this record stand out is Ashton and Morris’ jangly and playful guitars.

Sopivasti levoton alt-rock-pläjäys! 4/5

At some point you have to wonder if perhaps something else could have taken the place of this 100th British post-punk album on the list. Don't get me wrong, I love it... but still.

1981, New Wave, Post Punk Standouts: Dumb Waiters, Pretty in Pink, I Wanna Sleep with You, Others: No Tears, Mr. Jones, All of This and Nothing, She is Mine

Somehow this band has always passed me by, despite liking many similar-sounding alternative 80s bands. Really dug this

This was nice

Very good. Energy up throughout. I could hear bits of loads of other bands like Roxy Music/The Fall/Sex Pistols/The Cure. They were either very influential or savvy when it comes to picking bits from others.

You say samey, I say brilliant at what they do and I like the saxophone. These are great pop songs (Pretty In Pink being one of the greatest of all time) backed by cacophony. Dumb Waiter and Into You Like A Train are pretty amazing too.

Una bona descoberta. Era una banda que sempre m'havien passat sota el radar; el poc que havia sentit d'ells no havia fet que m'interessessin. Error. 'Pretty in Pink' és un dels millors temes de començaments dels '80s. I tot el disc en sí es especial. Post punk, new wave passat pel filtre del Bowie del moment i amb una veu molt pròpia. A conservar!

British new wave/post punk today. A fairly average album. Some really catchy numbers on this record. The first song on the album, Dumb Waiters, is awful, but the rest of the album is pretty solid. Favourite songs: Pretty in Pink, All of This and Nothing, Mr. Jones, It Goes On Least favourite songs: Dumb Waiters (dogs down the street were reacting to the fucking saxophone parts...) 4/5

Knew the name but never listened before. Rather good as it happens- and sounds a lot more modern than I’d expect from 1981. Grunge like in places and of you told me this was 10-20 years later I wouldn’t have been surprised. Vocally bits reminded me of the magnificent Half Man Half Biscuit, which is never a bad thing in my book. And I can get onboard with the overall sound. Pretty good overall and I’d listen again without a problem.

Enjoyed! Punky

It sure started rough but this one really grew on me. It had enough of a punk edge that I didn't mind the new wave elements. I don't know. I worked for me.

jagged pop. i love this record.

What if David Bowie tried punk...?

The combination of the slickness of new wave and the edginess of post punk is an interesting one. Heralds the dawn of a new decade.

Good album. A solid 4

Butler is seriously underrated as a vocalist and frontman – he's got the essential indie rock voice. But the playing and instrumentation (especially some ace sax touches) and arrangements are all strong. "P in P" very much merited a movie named after it – what a hook, what a mix of the salty (Butler's sneering vocal) and sweet (the melody). "No Tears" and "She Is Mine" are also plus-plus tunes. A seriously underrated band, the Furs. Forever Now would also be worthy of inclusion on this list.

Liked it, can definitely hear how influential this has been

Vaguely familiar from my youth which featured New Wave of this era heavily. Rocks pretty hard in that laconic English way, the singing brushes the lower end of ability to a degree that you wonder at them getting away with it. But for this it works. Probably slightly overrating out of nostalgia.

Let's all get dressed up in some big old fur coats and eat a bunch of mushrooms.

This whole album is incredibly 80’s, in a good way. Distinctive sound and fun to listen to. 4/5

I'm surprised i've never listened to The Furs before as their post-punk sound is right up my alley. Had a great time listening to this. All was new to me except for Pretty In Pink which i recognised instantly. Looking forward to hearing it again.

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Dumb waiters, All of this and nothing

I had forgotten how good some of the lesser-known songs were, like "No Tears" and Mister Jones". Overall the production is a bit sludgy with the instruments taking a back seat, so nothing distracts us from Richard Butler's raspy voice and lyrics about love, loss and alienation. There are a lot of catchy choruses here for one album! Between a 4 and a 5 for me.

Truly a classic pop-punk-new-wave-whatever album. 4 stars.

Between being simple and extremely clever this raw guitar driven garage pop/rock proves to have aged VERY well. 3.9

I've never heard more than a handful of PF songs before today, in fact I'm more familiar with punk covers of their songs. This album was really good. I'll definitely go back to it and probably seek out more.

new wave is so cool. I wish England was real

This post-punk record really emphasizes the punk aspect of that genre. The album was enjoyable the whole way through, but I felt like the second half was really where it started to shine. This album was recorded before the Psychedelic Furs incorporated more pop influences so its rock influences are front and center. The guitar and bass are driving and incorporate psychedelic, hard rock, and overtly punk elements to create something that sounds unique in post-punk.

Cool. I like it.

Liked this one. Great stuff.

Pretty upbeat and fun, sounds just like the 80s era in this vein

3.5

Great album! Not one I had listened to previously, but I am sure I will come back to it again. Hidden gem. 4/5

Actually it's just called Talk Talk

Very easy to see all of the influences later punk bands would take from them.

Well, they’re such a great band.

Like the vocals and style, doesn't excite too much overall however. 3.7

couple really good songs on this one. Always nice from a band you've never heard before.