Review - Talk Talk's The Colour of Spring (1986)

It's been a while since I last reviewed an album not by New Order - six months, in fact - so I've decided to relisten to another album I enjoy.

It's quite apt to be writing about The Colour of Spring in April - the season started two weeks ago, and the trees are slowly blooming once more. It's getting warmer, and the world feels more alive as well. Not that that has anything to do with the album, though, I just wanted to write that. But the album itself does feel more alive, less rigid than Talk Talk's previous works.

Initially, Talk Talk were writing synthpop hits with catchy hooks and often repeating lyrics. The songs were often about relationships, and the mechanical rhythms of the drum machines were in the background. The audience and record labels probably didn't mind this, what with the songs still being very good (and I personally like their first album, The Party's Over, which is as 80s as you can get). But The Colour of Spring takes those pop ideas and turns them into something more enriching to listen to. (This review will be structured slightly differently to usual - not by track listings, but rather by how the songs sound).

Some might consider the album as merely the transitional record that preluded Spirit of Eden, which broke away from pop entirely, but that would be devaluing just how unique The Colour of Spring is itself. For starters, the synths are now replaced by keyboards and organs, sometimes only playing the occasional note instead of being a catchy riff. The intro to the opening track, Happiness is Easy, is an example of this - the instrumentation builds up and creates a beautiful atmosphere, with Mark Hollis' vocals always a positive. This makes it like a track off Spirit of Eden - it's far more subdued than you might have expected if you were buying the album in 1986.

The album itself is also far more pleasant to listen to than Talk Talk's previous music, whilst being more accessible than their post-rock efforts (Spirit and Laughing Stock). I Don't Believe in You is a more laidback song, and is backed by Lee Harris' persistent drumming and some wonderful harp and organ playing. Even the guitar solo doesn't feel that out of place, rougher it may be than the rest of the track. A similar track is Side B's Give It Up, a more urgent track which has Hollis singing more passionately amidst a brimming organ.

But at times there are also the more dramatic tracks, like Life's What You Make It, itself a hit. On the album, its opening organ track is more abrupt, and the song itself is more pop-like than the rest (partially as EMI wanted a hit). It's a wonderful song, especially with the jazz piano-esque playing by Hollis and his yearning vocals. And then you have Living In Another World; driven by the pulse of Harris' drumming and Paul Webb's bass, the sudden harmonica and wonderful organ create a beautiful track - it's a highlight of the album, worth every second in its seven minute runtime. It's maybe the best example of how each part plays a greater role across the album, yet is still individual.

And then you have the songs that best point to Talk Talk's later efforts. April 5th slowly builds up amidst a haunting organ, and with no bass or drums to fall back on, it's driven only by Hollis' vocals. It's fantastic. Chameleon Day takes this to the extreme, though - it's only Hollis, some brief piano notes and a variophon, creating a sparse atmosphere that's more reminiscent of songs like Taphead from Laughing Stock. And Time It's Time is a stunning closer which can be split into two halves - the first has Hollis accompanied with a choir as the music shifts between being calm and dramatic, but the second is even more beautiful, ending with the repeated playing of woodwinds and some lovely melodica playing. It sounds pure and to me represents the album as a whole - at least, how I view the album - as a celebration of the beauty of life and the world, of spring.

In 1998, Mark Hollis released his solo album of the same name, and the first track was called...The Colour of Spring. It's nothing like Talk Talk's album, though - the lyrics are now fragmented, there's far more silence than before, and it's mostly just Hollis and his piano. Listening to Chameleon Day, it should have been obvious Talk Talk and Hollis would go down this route - but EMI didn't notice, and were left looking like fools when Spirit of Eden was released. The Colour of Spring was when Talk Talk started making their music far more than just something disposable you'd hear on Radio 1 in the car - as Hollis said, music shouldn't be merely in the background, after all. Few albums get as stunning and also mainstream as The Colour of Spring - in a way, that makes it rather unique.

I talked about Spirit of Eden on my blog a while ago - it wasn't really a review, more an "appreciation post" - and you can read it here: https://allovertwoa.blogspot.com/2023/09/an-appreciation-post-of-talk-talks.html