The Colour Field- Virgins and Philistines (1985) / Deception (1987) MP3 & FLAC -For Stefano-

"Let's conjure up a day of beauty, fulfill our tender duties."

After the demise of Fun Boy Three, a strange and occasionally brilliant hybrid of Ska and New Wave pop, Terry Hall formed The Colour Field in Manchester. Whereas Fun Boy Three, despite a strong impulse toward experimentation, always kept its finger on the pulse of current UK pop trends, on their debut, The Colour Field sounded like a band completely out of time and place in the mid-eighties, all but ensuring their commercial failure. Drawing on various influences from the sixties such as baroque Chamber Pop, Jangle-Pop, and Psychedelia, Virgins and Philistines has held up rather well over the years, whereas much of what was "contemporary" in 1985 now sounds badly dated. Such are the ironic whims of pop culture. Terry Hall's approach as a vocalist in The Colour Field isn't much different from his work with The Specials and Fun Boy Three: cool, laconic, and minimalist but thoroughly charming. For example, on "Castles in the Air," Hall's coy vocals provide a perfect counterpoint to the song's baroque melodrama that comes complete with weeping cellos and Spanish guitar. On their second album and swan-song, Deception, The Colour Field largely abandoned the sixties pop fetish for a more recognizably eighties sound; nevertheless, Hall's acerbic wit is still fully on display, and the album contains some genuinely fine moments such as "Miss Texas 1967," a gorgeous acoustic ballad that sounds like it would have been more at home on Virgins and Philistines.

Virgins and Philistines (1999 Japanese Remastered and Expanded Edition)
 1. Thinking of You  (3:31)
 2. Faint Hearts  (4:19)
 3. Castles in the Air  (3:41)
 4. Take  (4:09)
 5. Cruel Circus  (4:01)
 6. Hammond Song  (4:27)
 7. Virgins and Philistines  (3:55)
 8. Yours Sincerely  (3:40)
 9. Armchair Theatre  (5:01)
10. Sorry  (3:17)
-Bonus Tracks-
11. The Colour Field  (2:54)
12. Windmills of Your Mind  (2:58)
13. Pushing Up the Daisies  (4:05)
14. Thinking of You (Singalong Version)  (3:29)
15. My Wild Flame  (4:19)
16. Little Things  (2:29)
17. Castles in the Air (Extended Version)  (5:05)
18. Your Love Was Smashing  (3:54)
19. I Can't Get Enough of You Baby  (2:19)
20. Things Could Be so Beautiful  (3:24)

MU: Lossy (MP3@320) 

MU: Lossless (FLAC)

Deception (2010 Remastered and Expanded Edition)

 1. Badlands  (4:41)

 2. Running Away  (3:51)

 3. From Dawn to Distraction  (3:37)

 4. Confession  (4:33)

 5. Miss Texas 1967  (4:10)

 6. She  (3:18)

 7. Heart of America  (4:57)

 8. Digging It Deep  (3:50)

 9. Monkey in Winter  (5:11)

10. Goodbye Sun Valley  (4:37)

-Bonus Tracks-

11. Things Could Be Beautiful  (3:21)

12. Frosty Mornings  (4:21)

13. She (Single Remix)  (3:15)

14. Monkey in Winter (Featuring Sinead O'Conner)  (5:00)

15. Running Away (Arthur Baker Dub)  (7:09)

MU: Lossy (MP3@320)

MU: Lossless (FLAC)