The Colour Of Spring
Talk Talk
1986
Album Summary
The Colour of Spring is the third studio album by English band Talk Talk, released in February 1986. Musically, The Colour of Spring was a major step away from the synthesised pop of early Talk Talk, with a greater focus on guitars, pianos, and organs on such songs as "Life's What You Make It", "Living in Another World" and "Give It Up". It had a sound described by the band as much more organic than their earlier records, with the improvisation that was to dominate on their later works already apparent in the recording process.
WikipediaThe true artist chooses from the seemingly infinite possibilities of notation, rhythm and instrumentation to create a song so infused with the spirit and intention of its purpose that the lyrics couldn't possibly be anything else. That's alchemy.
Lots to love about this. A few months ago I became pretty obsessed with the follow-up 'Spirit of Eden'. The production on both albums is incredible. Every note, tone and strum fits perfectly. The craft and dedication to create and structure the songs is something I can only praise. On top of this is the introspective and existential lyrics.
You need to be in the right mood for this one, but if you are, it's great. You can really lose yourself in it.
Many consider this album to be the transitonal album between prior synthpop and successive post-rock, but I believe this album stands on its way own. Indeed, Mark Hollis one said he wanted each album to be a new and different experience for his listeners, and I believe he accomplished that. With full creative control, Hollis has ditched the synths in favor of a more experimental orchestral sound. And after listening to Depeche Mode, I've grown to better appreciate elements of orchestral pop. Each track is solid and distinct, providing an engaging listen all throughout. And of course being a pop album, there are several tracks that you could just sing over and over again, with the biggest example being "Life's What You Make It." This album accomplishes what it intends to do and leads the way not just for the post-rock they end up doing, but also the orchestral pop others will follow.
I'd never heard of Talk Talk or this album before today, but I'm so glad I now know who they are. This album is gorgeous! I wish I had more time to digest the lyrics, but this review will mostly focus on its sonic characteristics. This album showcases a wide range of moods. "Chameleon Day" is almost startlingly heartbreaking, with the singer's voice changing abruptly from soft and melancholy to loud and splitting. The track is spacious and empty, accompanied only by occasional piano notes and a soft woodwind outro. In contrast, a song like "Living In Another World" combines acoustic guitar, harmonica, driving drums, rock organ, piano, and funky bass to create a lush sonic landscape. Can I comment on that organ a bit? This album is full of it, giving it a grand, religious tone. The first and maybe second tracks are obviously religious in nature, though I don't know exactly what the singer is trying to comment on. But whatever it is, it sounds great. The final song, a long, gorgeous ballad called "Time It's Time", is a fitting end to such a lush and varied album. I really never got bored over the course of these long tracks, and I'll definitely be coming back to see what more I can get from this thing. 7/10
This esoteric, sometimes challenging record from Talk Talk bears a lot of rewards worth reaping, as it marked their divergence from straight-lace new wave into something a little more sprawling. I should start by saying how much I adore “Life’s What You Make It”. An absolute killer groove, constructed by drum machines (I think?), a live kit (possibly?) and shakers (definitely). That glorious four-note piano bass figure (you know the one)! The keyboards and soaring guitar lines layering over it are transcendental, and the lyrics (even if a bit Hallmark) are given such significance and weight by the power of the arrangement. It’s the all time great track on here and has long been a favourite of mine, earning at least two and a half of these stars on its own. Nothing else can quite match up to its power, but then it seems apparent that the band weren’t aiming for chart appeal on the same level for most of these songs. “April 5th” and “Chameleon Day” are both very sparse and take time to unfold over subtly shifting chord progressions, very tasteful woodwind or acoustic guitar ornamentations and drip-fed vocals. They’re soothing but don’t always hit me in the right place. More reliable is the gentle closer “Time It’s Time” and the urgent propulsion of “Living In Another World”, both suitably epic and dense in their scope and arrangements. While the rest of the songs aren’t constantly gripping, they’re at least flavoured by intriguing elements: “Happiness is Easy” with its jazz chords and a children’s choir backing the chorus, and “I Don’t Believe In You” for its sublime guitar solo in the second half. This has the feel of assured, intelligent and ambitious musicianship. It’s a bit lofty, at times even suggesting a new flavour of prog-rock excess in the mid 80s, but much more palatable than Talk Talk’s later work (which has yet to work its magic on me completely). Give me that opening of “Life’s What You Make It”, any day.
“The Color of Spring” by Talk Talk (1986) A good album that has its flaws, mostly conceptual. In those places where the message tiptoes close to meaning (tracks 1 and 2), we find categorical moralizing without substance—they clearly want someone to feel bad, but who? Somebody wants to say something, but band mates (or managers) smother that baby in the bassinet. For the rest, there are only hints of feeling for another; only small attempts at expressing soul. But the music is good, well executed, incorporating elements of jazz, and effectively utilizing silence in distinct layers of the mix. Good dynamic contrast. Lead vocals are decent, successfully avoiding distracting from the soundscape (which, along with the excellent rhythm section, is the real musical feature here). The synthesizer arrangements were done by someone who really knows the instruments, creating sounds which merge well with the mood. Lots of free-form melodies and chord structures—but could use more harmony. Nothing jarring or out of place. Anxiety free music. This would be a good album to play in the background while working on the more routine aspects of a creative project. But I couldn’t figure out why the color palette of the cover (brown, yellow, orange) was used on an album entitled “The Colour of Spring”. I’m content to let it go. 3/5
I'm going to create another list called "1001 Mediocre New Wave Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". That would reduce the current list by about 700, and it might be hard work to replace those, but I think it's worth it.
Haven't listened to Talk Talk before, and am seriously regretting it now. Fantastic, dream-like songs that have fantastic melodies and are slightly reminiscent of late era Pink Floyd. Definitely listening to more. Favorite Song: I Don't Believe In You
This album is amazing, but I very much love this band. As such, this album must be graded on a curve. Since 5 is the best I can give, I’m forced to give this a 4. Really a 4.5, maybe even .7. The problem is, Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock are so absolutely amazing, that the 5’s are reserved for them. This album has Life’s What You Make It. So damn good
This band pushed and pulled at the limits of 80s New Wave and Synth Pop in the same way that Radiohead did with 90s alt rock and Bon Iver did with 00s/10s indie rock. I’m kind of amazed I never heard of them until Mark Hollis died two years ago.
J'ai adoré cet album, je suis en revanche un peu déçu par l'attitude du chanteur sur la 5ème piste de cet album. En effet, apres de solides prestations sur les 4 premières pistes, ce dernier s'est senti poussé des ailes. Il est en effet devenu absolument intenable. Les efforts des autres membres du groupe pour tenter de le ramener a la raison furent vain, il était absolument déchainé, et ne revint dans un calme relatif qu'a la fin de la chanson. Une belle frayeur pour tous les auditeurs du générateur, qui n'entâche en rien la qualité exceptionnelle de cet album.
The Colour Of Spring is something of a bridge album for Talk Talk. The prior two albums would feature a distinct synthpop sound; not especially notable but still fitting for the 80's. It would be this album, their third, that would indicate a pivot in sound. We start to see more acoustic instrumentation and a concise focus on songwriting, utilizing these instruments to layer sounds in such a way that it feels like a moving collage (imagine the album cover, but animated). In doing go, Talk Talk creates more delicate, refined sonic textures that are well-crafted. Just superb. These new songwriting skills would carry over into their following two album, in which we would see the beginnings of post-rock as a genre. As such, we should regard The Colour Of Spring as an important stepping stone for Talk Talk as they explore more sonic pallets.
Very interesting. I like the sparsness, its an element I havent seen a lot in New Wave type music.
Un début très agréable jusqu'à ce que le chanteur devienne totalement incontrôlable au début de la cinquième piste. On se retrouve alors en tant qu'auditeur plongé au milieu d'une scène de négociation entre ledit chanteur et les forces de police rapidement arrivées sur les lieux. Les discussions aboutissent finalement après quelques minutes, le chanteur acceptant de terminer l'album vêtu d'une camisole et attaché à son siège.
Interesting album, and by interesting I mean boring. Very 80’s slow vibe you’d hear in some weird transition during a boring Bond movie. Might be the epitome of lack of effort 80s slow album
Yet another mediocre new wave band on the list. I'm not even surprised by it anymore. I just expect to get at least one a week. Like ALL the other so far, this is ignorable bordering on annoying. At least the singer's voice is half-decent. That earns it a two star review.
Descubrimiento. Tiene todo lo bueno de los ochenta. Art pop de largos desarrollos con notas de blues o jazz, que sin dejar atrás la New Wave la sobrepasa yendo un poco más allá. La línea de bajo es de Rustin Man. El cantante, Hollis, se sale. Genial.
ну наконецта лучший музыкальный жанр на свете! Хотя не знаю, насколько это можно назвать именно синтипопом, ибо попа собсна тут как будто и не особо (танцевать под это сложно, по крайней мере). Но вообще-то, если вы присмотритесь ко мне, то сможете увидеть меня, например, идущим по улице с работы домой или сидящим в офисном кресле, или лежащим на диване. Улавливаете? никаких клубов, никаких танцев. Поэтому мне так даже лучше. А альбом между тем охуенный. Тоже ловится некий ПетШопБойз вайб, но здесь, мне кажется, он скорее реверсивный — несмотря на общий год основания, чувствуется, что Толк Толк на них как минимум не меньшее влияние оказали. В общем мне очень зашло, припевы супер мелодраматичные, вокалист очень харизматичный, что удивительно зашёл даже симфоник-хор в последней песне — а я себе такое нечасто позволяю. По-настоящему не проперся только от открывашки — какая-то она чутка бесформенная, голоса эти детские не в тему, хз. Но все, что после — очень увлекательно. 9/10
Killer 80s album. I'm a bit particular about my synthwave, but these guys nailed it.
Was für wunderbare Musik das hier ist, noch auf dem Höhepunkt ihrer Popstarkarriere aufgenommen und sich dem ganzen Rummel ja schon deutlich verweigernd in ihrer zarten Versponnenheit und der weitsichtigen Melancholie, die zwischen und neben den großen Pop-Entwürfen (Life’s What You Make It; Living In Another World) überall durchscheint. Aber wie es trägt und beruhigt, dabei wach ist und klar wie ein Morgen mitte März: Big Love dafür, für alles! Talk Talk sind sicher nicht unterschätzt, aber soweit ich beurteilen kann noch nicht ausreichend gewürdigt. Muss dringend geändert werden.
I am not familiar with the TALK TALK’s THE COLOUR OF SPRING; however, I do have TALK TALK’s previous album, IT'S MY LIFE (1984) and it did not make a strong impression upon me when I got it, like around 2.5 or 3.0 After listening to THE COLOUR OF SPRING and reading about the band, I realize now how and why TALK TALK are considered important. I wasn’t aware of its significance upon the post-rock genre. Now I can see the band in a different perspective and appreciate what THE COLOUR OF SPRING brings to the table, but it took multiple listens to get there. In 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, THE COLOUR OF SPRING is the only album included. Rate Artist: TALK TALK (0.0) Rate Album (Year): THE COLOUR OF SPRING (1986 Original) (0.0) Ranking of TALK TALK - THE COLOUR OF SPRING songs 01) "Happiness Is Easy" 6:30 09.5/10 02) "I Don't Believe in You" 5:02 09.5/10 03) "Life's What You Make It" 4:29 10.0/10 04) "April 5th" 5:51 09.0/10 05) "Living in Another World" 6:58 10.0/10 06) "Give It Up" 5:17 10.0/10 07) "Chameleon Day" 3:20 08.5/10 08) "Time It's Time" 8:14 09.5/10 Original 1986 Release 76.0/80 = 95.0 / 2 = 4.75
Oh c'est vraiment une belle surprise cet album. Superbe production. Quelque part entre Peter Gabriel et Kate Bush. Avec des écouteurs c'est merveilleux.
Damn, what a unique and full-sounding album. Not every song works, but the sheer diversity of instrumentation in a lot of these songs just blew me away. The singing is top-notch and the hooks just take you in, can't stop listening to Living in Another World. Great underrated album.
This one really blew me away and is apparently the absolute best Talk Talk have ever made, there's something new to hear in every song every time I put it on. Definitely an album to keep revisiting
5/5, kannte ich nicht, fand ich super! Ich glaube Maynard James Keenan hat sich von dem Gesang inspirieren lassen.
Something new, yet very interesting. Similar to Depeche Mode, like it a lot
Really good album that fits squarely into my wheelhouse stylistically. I listened to this mostly in the background, so I didn't pay particular attention to the lyrics, but really liked the sound. 4 stars.
A very impressive piece of New Wave/art rock. It's a bit long winded but I really like it after my first listen.
Hyvin samantyyppistä kasarielektroa kuin Duran Duran, ja sokkokuuntelussa nämä bändit oliskin voinut sekoittaa keskenään. Ehkä Duran Duran luottaa enemmän tarttuviin melodioihin, kun taas Talk Talkilla on hieman taiteellisempi ote tekemiseen. Erittäin positiivinen yllätyshän tämä oli. Aiemmin bändistä oli tuttua ainoastaan nimi, ja musiikkigenre oli tiedossa etäisesti. Mukavaa että listalta on alkanut löytymään enemmän tällaisia uusia tuttavuuksia joita varmasti tulee kuunneltua myöhemminkin.
Production: 15/20 Songwriting: 14/20 Innovation: 16/20 Bangers: 5/20 Emotional response: 14/20 =64 enjoyed
cool drum pattern to start off Happiness Is Easy. Life's What You Make It is a good pop single. though some tones on that track come out of nowhere. This is good laundry folding music, or back yard barbequing music. Chameleon Day is very, very different from the rest of the album. Not a big fan of an 8 minute operatic ending on an album fueled by synth pop hits
Weird voice but eerily pleasant. A nice mellow ride all the way through
Bandu nie znam, nie kojarze, pierwsze widze, pierwsze slysze, ale oczywiscie brytyjska grupa z lat 80, albumik zaliczylbym do soft rocka lub artystycznego rocka, pozytywne wibracje leca przez cale 45 minut krazka, o dziwo wyspiarski wokal, a strasznie mi siadl, chociaz nie ma go zbyt wiele, bo niektore tracki sa czysto instrumentalne, ale jak jest to nie psuje kompozycji instrumentow i to jest jak dla mnie najwazniejsze, troche poor boyowe lub joelowe skojarzenia z nim mam, na plejke wrzucam opening happienes is easy oraz living in another world, trzeba bedzie sprawdzic reszte albumikow talk talka
For me, it's a very good album. However, it's bettered by their last albums Spirit Of Eden and Laughing Stock.
Well, that took me back and I knew I’d love it ! Especially Life’s what you Make It. ****
It's this interesting transitional album between their synthpop phase and their genre-defining post rock records
slightly wild and very ambitious. I really liked the quick "zaps" of sounds we get coming from acoustic guitars and synths throughout the record; they get the passion across. sounds something like talking heads crossed with peter Gabriel. reminds me of a precursor to Destroyer. 7/10 rounding up.
Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Life's what you make it, Living in another world,
Title track is great. I like the style a lot, the mix of instruments at the front and dominant bass makes me think of Tame Impala at times
The 2 albums they made after this are incredible, never heard this one before. Amazing they gave up pop music and started doing this
A really solid album. There’s some great melodies here and a sombre, contemplative mood throughout, which feels perfect for autumn. There’s a couple of stand out tracks (Life’s What You Make It, Give It Up) which somewhat define the British new wave sound.
Dug this a lot. Cool 80’s vibes without being too heavy on the synthesizer & electronic drums.
I've only heard Laughing Stock by these guys, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect here. I think I actually prefer this album. I have a thing for 80's music and this is right down my alley. Especially the song "Living in Another World", which is my favorite off this whole record. I will definitely listen to this one again.
Divan album. Veliki sam fan Talk Talk-a, pogotovo njihova zadnja predivna, presavršena albuma (Laughing Stock i Spirit of Eden). Ovaj album je taman prelazak u žanru glazbe. Na ovom albumu još je najglasniji taj art-pop sa naglaskom na progresivni pop sa njegovim umiljatim glasom i zašećerenim laganim jazzom. Poslije ovog albuma, nailaze dva njihova magnum opusa i s time završavaju karijeru. Da bar većina artista naprave veliki boom, nešto drugačije od onog što inače rade, i osjete da je to to, ne moraju se više pokazivati i završe karijeru.
Transcendentalno, hipnotizirajuce, graciozno i Bwitish. Talk talk can talk the talk and walk the walk.
The follow-up to It's My Life came with a sound change - less synthesizers were used, but Mark Hollis' characteristic voice and beautiful, moody, yet never boring songs make this still a true Talk Talk album. Standout: I Don't Believe in You. 4/5
A slow groove but not a plodder, deliberate impetus; jazz themes and dreamy strums and keyboards, crafted airy vocals. This does feel like a world waking to a new season. Not entirely free of 80s tropes but almost a 90s indie record.
Like a caterpillar metamorphosing into a butterfly, this is a beautiful transitional album for Talk Talk. Mark Hollis is slowly moving the band from their early synth-pop to a more progressive, atmospheric sound and they’re getting there on this album. They will peak with their later albums, Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock but this is a fine effort.
This album is immaculately constructed. The way the music builds and complements itself is masterful. Each instrument is clear and the whole is spacious and atmospheric. The production is crisp though it sounds a bit dated. Overall, I really enjoyed this album though a lot of it sounds similar.
I didn't immediately connect with this album on the first listen, but it grows on you. Some really lush, sophisticated arrangements, leagues beyond what Talk Talk's peers were doing at that time. Much of the album has a lingering pace, so you do really need to be in the right mood for it. Fave Songs: Time It's Time, Living in Another World, Life's What You Make It, I Don't Believe in You, Chameleon Day
I didn’t know this album at all, even though I had heard “Life’s What You Make It” a few times before. It never struck me that it was Talk Talk. This is one of the joys of this list - the lost treasures.
Not listened to this album for a long time. 'It's my life' and 'Life's what you make it' are the stand out tracks.
The moments this album loses me are the slower ones. It's already a very relaxed album, so the slower moments ("April 5th", "Chameleon Day") are so slow they border on catatonic. Still, despite the semi-yuppieness of this record, it's a fun, textured, catchy listen that I'll come back to. Favorite tracks: "Happiness Is Easy", "Life's What Your Make It", "I Don't Believe In You", "Give It Up"
I was only familiar with a few Talk Talk songs before this, and I don't think any from this album which is a shame - this is great. It's 80s without sounding *too* 80s (in a dated way) - the songs are all catchy without being saccharine, a great mix of dynamics and instruments. A keeper. 8/10 4 stars.
New wave, 1986. A really well done pop album of the 80s with impressive and tasteful productions. The songs are all very intelligent in every aspect of them and the vocals match perfectly with the instruments. Nice job!
An uneven album, undoubted quality musicianship and songwriting, especially Life's what you make it, but overall tone and tempo a bit downbeat and one or two unmemorable numbers. Life's what you make it, earns an extra star
A beautiful album that sounds like nothing else around the same time. It really wasn't very fashionable to display your Pink Floyd influences back in 1986, especially after you had been wrongly been placed in a second rate Duran Duran pigeon hole. Life's What You Make It is spectacular. It has the last of the driving rhythms from Talk Talk before the rhythm section was toned down on the next two albums. Time It's Time ends with a nursery rhyme like quality. I bought a £3 copy on eBay on the back of playing this again.
This album hit the spot. Had no idea what to expect but the band was right the length was perfect at a tight 45mins and even the cover art was sweet. Was worried when I saw another Brit rock band from the 80’s but there was no needless drivel to drag this thing out. First track, Happiness is Easy along with Living in Another World were favourite tracks but there were no stinkers here in my opinion. 4.5/5
Good vibe album, but pretty 1 dimensional. A lot of the songs sound alike, with very slow breaks.
Nicer 80s Sound. Gefällt mir so gut, dass ich mir den Katalog mal anhören werde.
very 80s so far. let's see. A solid 4 im going in for a relisten! especially the first few songs on the album scratch an itch I didn't know I had.
Crisp production that nods slightly to earlier work but sheds so much of the 80s baggage it's almost a new band. I was surprised by this record. An album I would've never given any thought to listen if it wasn't for this project. The opening track sets the mood and my expectations. The rest of the album delivers on that. This simple thing is really quite indicative of whether or not I'll continue to enjoy a record, regardless of genre, that's been put on for the first time. The song April 5th downshifts the record too much in its current sequence. I'd be inclined to sequence it differently. If the last song wasn't slightly over 8 minutes, I think it could've been last. But then where do you put Time It's Time. So hard to make a perfect record unless you delete a song or two sometimes. Perhaps that's what this record needed to rate a little higher.
Good album by Talk Talk, which is a great band. This one is kind of transitional between their pop-hits era (see the amazing It's My Life) and their art rock era. I think it blends really well the strengths of both sounds, with pop sensibilities at their best on Life's What You Make It. Production is awesome, and the synth sounds of the album aged really well. The album cover is gorgeous too. Beautiful. 8,4/10
I prefer TT here, during their poppy era, more than during their more feted later albums, which I find flat and overproduced.
This was a good album. Very pleasant and something I'll likely want to hear again.
I thought this was some pretty good 80's new wave. The more I listen to in the list, the more I'm opening up to 80's pop I think. Some of these songs did end up being tuned out a bit, but there were also some real bangers in here, and one or two I swear I've heard before but not entirely sure. I think I'll approach this again some time. Favourite: Life's What You Make It
Not too much my cup of tea. Reminds me quite a bit of Depeche Mode, late 80s synth stuff.