Talk Talk: Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock

sonicanger · Post by **sonicanger** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 8:57 am

I dont think either of these two albumns have been discussed at any length here before, so I wanted to throw these out for discussion. Anyone know anything about what went into the creation/production of these two gems. I've been listening to both of them a lot lately, and they stand out in my mind as some of the most well recorded/captured performances I have heard. Texture, atmosphere, sense of space, etc. Actually, any info at all on Tim Friese-Greene's production techinqures would be welcome/appreciated.

trodden · Post by **trodden** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 10:09 am

I just picked up the Spirit of Eden 12" for like $6.00. Its been my "pass out late at night record" lately. Nice.

JGriffin · Post by **JGriffin** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 10:39 am

Phill Brown's experiences working on the Talk Talk albums is pretty well documented in his TapeOp articles. Don't know the issue numbers offhand.

But we've definitely talked about this stuff on Old Yeller, back in the Before Time.

eeldip · Post by **eeldip** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 10:41 am

yea, these records got talked up here before, and i ordered a copy of laughing stock.

after two listens i couldnt get over the Sting-like adult contemporary vibe and i gave it away to my sister in law.

i dunno, maybe i was being premature, but i thought the whole thing was wanky boring and uh, you know. like sting.

kayagum · Post by **kayagum** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 10:41 am

Welcome to the board- let me be the first to greet you with UTFSF

Actually, there's been quite a following on this board, and articles about them in the magazine.

Search on the album titles- click the link above (apparently searching on "Talk Talk" will pull every thread that has "talk" in it- over 2000 posts).

I love the Mark Hollis solo album (self titled from 1998). So quiet, the line noise is a part of the music....

JGriffin · Post by **JGriffin** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 10:42 am

eeldip wrote:yea, these records got talked up here before, and i ordered a copy of laughing stock.

after two listens i couldnt get over the Sting-like adult contemporary vibe and i gave it away to my sister in law.

i dunno, maybe i was being premature, but i thought the whole thing was wanky boring and uh, you know. like sting.

I prefer Spirit of Eden. Not much Stingyness there.

sonicanger · Post by **sonicanger** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 11:28 am

my b gents...must have missed it the first time around...anyone have a link to any relevant links/info they could share.......currently wading through 35 pages of results to find something worthwhile.

kayagum · Post by **kayagum** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 1:52 pm

sonicanger wrote:my b gents...must have missed it the first time around...anyone have a link to any relevant links/info they could share.......currently wading through 35 pages of results to find something worthwhile.

Make sure you have "search for all terms" button on (on the search page).

"Spirit of Eden" and "Laughing Stock" netted only 1 page each.

dumbangel · Post by **dumbangel** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 1:02 pm

i prefer Mark Hollis solo album that came after that.

fossiltooth · Post by **fossiltooth** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 7:56 am

My god. "Spirit of Eden" is easily one of the best-sounding records ever released in the history of the universe. I'm amazed that I didn't ever hear it until two weeks ago.

I've never heard "Laughing Stock", so I can't speak for it, or any unsettling "stingy-ness". While "Spirit of Eden" is amazing. It does feature some aesthetics that I feel like I should hate... but somehow I don't.

For instance, on the rare occasion that their are vocals, they wouldn't be out of place on a Phil Collins or Peter Gabriel album or something. The level of ear candy and polish could put it in the same category as Dark Side of The Moon or Aja.... except that I can't stand to listen to either of those albums! ...but I'm loving "Spirit of Eden".

The sound of the whole record is almost too huge and smooth.... but does it sound like easy-listening adult contemporary? No. Not if you actually listen to it! It's not afraid to completely assault the listener. I mean, listen to the F*ing harmonica on Rainbows. My god. It's very nearly psychotic music. It's like a confusing dream, but half the sounds are hyper-lucid.

It's the kind of album you really have to listen too... But don't worry, you don't even to try. If you put it on in a room without distractions, you'll have no choice. It's incredibly engaging. It's kind of like watching a very memorable slow-paced movie: You don't necessarily have to watch it again and again, but it's worth sitting through at least once and listening for every detail. Even if your mind misses a few details, your body will sink it all in if you let it, and when you get up, you won't feel the same.

Then again, I can't "force" anyone to like it. You'll dig it or you won't. If it just sounds like a giant piece of shiny garbage without any "songs" on it, that's fine. Maybe you'll "get it" at some other time in your life. Maybe you won't.

Hey, there's plenty of music I don't "get": Bruce Springsteen. Steely Dan. Prince. I know plenty of people who have great taste who like these artists. I just don't "get" them. I doubt I ever will... but who knows? There's always tomorrow. There's plenty of things I used to hate. Like asparagus. That's sh*t's dope.

This is one album that probably couldn't (and shouldn't) translate to a boombox or set of laptop speakers. It's one of those rare cases where you'd miss 90% of the reasons it's completely awesome. It would be like watching Citizen Kane on your iPod!

MoreSpaceEcho · Post by **MoreSpaceEcho** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 9:15 am

fossiltooth wrote:I've never heard "Laughing Stock"

you're gonna lose your mind. it sounds easily twice as good as "spirit of eden". f'real.

trodden · Post by **trodden** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 11:42 am

fossiltooth wrote:. It does feature some aesthetics that I feel like I should hate... but somehow I don't.

I THOUGHT THE SAME THING!

Hey, there's plenty of music I don't "get": Bruce Springsteen. Steely Dan. Prince. I know plenty of people who have great taste who like these artists. I just don't "get" them. I doubt I ever will... but who knows? There's always tomorrow. There's plenty of things I used to hate. Like asparagus. That's sh*t's dope.

uhhh whats going on here? GET OUT OF MY HEAD! i love the asparagus grilled on the bbq after sitting in some garlic and olive oil marinade. had it 3 times last week.. then it started SNOWING here, mid-april? wtf. too cold for bbq.

This is one album that probably couldn't (and shouldn't) translate to a boombox or set of laptop speakers. It's one of those rare cases where you'd miss 90% of the reasons it's completely awesome. It would be like watching Citizen Kane on your iPod!]

totally.

sears · Post by **sears** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 4:43 pm

ok ok I'll get them

Babaluma · Post by **Babaluma** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 9:48 pm

both amazing albums.

be sure to check out the interviews on the following fan site:

http://users.cybercity.dk/~bcc11425/

some go into great detail about how they were recorded.

MoreSpaceEcho · Post by **MoreSpaceEcho** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 12:22 am

hey thanks for that link!

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Talk Talk: Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock

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