Talk Talk Series, #6: Talk Talk- The Colour of Spring (1986) MP3 & FLAC

"Yesterday's faded, nothing can change it."

The Colour of Spring is often described as Talk Talk's "transitional" album; however, such a description is meaningless in the context of a discography comprised of nothing but transitional albums. More so than virtually any other band I can think of, Talk Talk traveled along a creative arc that never paused long enough to solidify into something to be transitioned from; rather, their sound and approach was in constant flux, seemingly evolving in a certain direction, but one quite unprecedented in pop music and one whose inevitable conclusion, for a host of reasons, was silence. After the relative commercial success of their previous album It's My Life, Talk Talk was awarded with a bigger budget and extended time to record The Colour of Spring, resources that they would take full advantage of in crafting more of a song-cycle than a mere collection of songs with a few singles mixed in. Mark Hollis has described the approach to recording the album as "arranged free-form," in which contributions from a number of musicians, including Steve Winwood (Hammond organ) and Danny Thompson (stand-up bass), were recorded and either integrated into the final arrangement or discarded depending on the synergy or lack thereof between the various elements within the song. In addition to this approach, which is more common to Jazz recordings, Talk Talk also began an exploration of more organic forms of instrumentation and the manipulation of aural space that would characterize their ground-breaking work later on. A perfect example of this new sonic approach is "Living in Another World." Gone are the synth-based textures that characterized previous albums; instead, the song opens with a crashing piano chord giving way to acoustic guitar, strings, and eventually Hammond organ. What's instantly recognizable as the song progresses is the care taken not only in integrating the various musical elements but also in sculpting the silences and sense of space surrounding the notes. The Colour of Spring marks the juncture in Talk Talk's artistic development where they began to move into what retrospectively would be termed "Post-Rock," meaning a move away from traditional song structure and towards a more organic, open-ended, perhaps even improvisational approach to song arrangement. Talk Talk would take this approach even further and to brilliant effect on their final two albums.

The Colour of Spring (1997 Remastered Edition)
1. Happiness Is Easy  (6:29)
2. I Don't Believe in You  (5:00)
3. Life's What You Make It  (4:27)
4. April 5th  (5:50)
5. Living in Another World  (6:56)
6. Give It Up  (5:15)
7. Chameleon Day  (3:18)
8. Time It's Time  (8:12)

MU: Lossy (MP3@320) 

MU: Lossless (FLAC)

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