The Colour of Spring
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''The Colour of Spring'' is the third studio album by English band
Talk Talk Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981, led by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drums), and Paul Webb (bass). The group achieved early chart success with the synth-pop singles " Talk Talk" (1982), " It's My Life", and " ...
, released on 17 February 1986. Written by Mark Hollis and producer
Tim Friese-Greene Timothy Alan Friese-Greene is an English musician and producer. He worked with the band Talk Talk from 1983 to their breakup in 1991. He currently releases solo albums under the name "Heligoland". He is the grandson of filmmaker Claude Friese-Gre ...
, the album combines elements of
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
and
art pop Art pop (also typeset art-pop or artpop) is a loosely defined style of pop music influenced by art theories as well as ideas from other art mediums, such as fashion, fine art, cinema, and avant-garde literature. The genre draws on pop art's ...
in an effort by Hollis to embrace more organic instrumentation and production values. Unlike previous Talk Talk albums, synthesizers are rarely featured on the album, being replaced by guitar, piano, and organ. The album went on to become Talk Talk's greatest commercial success, spawning the hit singles " Life's What You Make It" and " Living in Another World" and reaching the
Top 20 A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...
in numerous countries (topping the Dutch charts), including the UK, where it reached No. 8 and stayed in the UK charts for 21 weeks.David Roberts ''British Hit Singles and Albums'', Guinness World Records Limited


Background

''The Colour of Spring'' is commonly viewed as a bridge between Talk Talk's earlier, synthesized pop sound, and their later, more improvisation-based work. Despite the extensive use of synthesizers on the previous two albums, Hollis was vocal in his distaste for them, stating that they were used primarily for economic reasons and that “if they didn’t exist, I’d be delighted.” During the recording of the album, Hollis frequently listened to the music of composers such as Erik Satie, Claude Debussy, and Béla Bartók, with the latter being a particularly significant influence on the album. Like other Talk Talk albums, outside musicians were heavily utilized. Guests contributing to the album include
Robbie McIntosh Robbie McIntosh (born 25 October 1957) is an English guitarist. McIntosh is well known as a session guitarist and member of The Pretenders from 1982 until 1987. In 1988 he began doing session guitar work for Paul McCartney joining his band fu ...
adding guitar, and Steve Winwood, who played organ on the hit "Living in Another World", alongside "Happiness is Easy" and "
I Don't Believe in You "I Don't Believe in You" is a song by English band Talk Talk, released by Parlophone in 1986 as the fourth and final single from their third studio album ''The Colour of Spring''. The song was written by Mark Hollis and Tim Friese-Greene, and pro ...
".


Reception

''The Colour of Spring'' became the band's highest selling non-compilation studio album, reaching the
Top 20 A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...
in numerous countries (topping the Dutch charts), including the UK, where it reached No. 8 and stayed in the UK charts for 21 weeks.David Roberts ''British Hit Singles and Albums'', Guinness World Records Limited It did not quite match the sales of its predecessor in the United States but was nonetheless their last album to enter the ''Billboard'' 200, reaching number 58. With the international hit " Life's What You Make It", Talk Talk expanded their fan base. The song became the band's fourth of four American hits, along with 1982's "
Talk Talk Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981, led by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drums), and Paul Webb (bass). The group achieved early chart success with the synth-pop singles " Talk Talk" (1982), " It's My Life", and " ...
" and 1984's " It's My Life" and "
Such a Shame "Such a Shame" is a song written by Mark Hollis for the English band Talk Talk's second album '' It's My Life'' (1984). It was released as the album's second single and went on to become a top 10 hit across Europe. Overview "Such a Shame" was ...
". The album was included in the book ''
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics ...
''.


Track listing


Personnel

Credits per album notes. ;Talk Talk * Mark Hollislead vocals,
piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
(tracks 3, 5, 6, 7), Variophon (tracks 1, 4 and 7), organ (track 4), Mellotron (track 6),
electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...
(track 8),
melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usua ...
(track 8) * Lee Harrisdrums (except 4, 7) *
Paul Webb Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...
bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
(tracks 2, 4, 5, 6, and 8),
backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...
(tracks 3 and 5) ;Additional personnel *
Tim Friese-Greene Timothy Alan Friese-Greene is an English musician and producer. He worked with the band Talk Talk from 1983 to their breakup in 1991. He currently releases solo albums under the name "Heligoland". He is the grandson of filmmaker Claude Friese-Gre ...
producer, piano (tracks 1, 2, and 8), Kurzweil Synthesizer (tracks 1, 4 and 7), organ (tracks 3, 6 and 8), Variophon (tracks 4 and 7), Mellotron (track 3) * Ian Curnow — synthesizer solos (tracks 2 and 6) *
Martin Ditcham Martin Ditcham is an English drummer, percussionist and songwriter. Ditcham is a prolific session musician, working with artists such as Henry Cow, Status Quo, Elton John, The Rolling Stones, Roger Daltrey, Sade, Mary Black, Nik Kershaw, Ch ...
— percussion (tracks 1, 3, 5, 6 and 8) * Mark Felthamharmonica (track 5) * Alan Gorrie — electric bass (track 1) *
Robbie McIntosh Robbie McIntosh (born 25 October 1957) is an English guitarist. McIntosh is well known as a session guitarist and member of The Pretenders from 1982 until 1987. In 1988 he began doing session guitar work for Paul McCartney joining his band fu ...
— guitar (tracks 1, 2, 5 and 8), Dobro (tracks 4 and 6) *
Morris Pert Morris David Brough Pert (8 September 1947 – 27 April 2010) was a Scottish composer, drummer/percussionist, and pianist who composed in the fields of both contemporary classical and jazz-rock music. His compositions include three symphonies, p ...
— percussion (tracks 1, 2, 5, and 8) * Phil Reis — percussion (track 1) * David Rhodes — guitar (tracks 3, 5, and 6) *
David Roach David Roach may refer to: *David Roach (American football) (born 1985), American football safety *David Roach (saxophonist) (born 1955), British classical saxophonist *David Roach (comics), British comics artist * David Roach (athletic director) (b ...
soprano saxophone (tracks 2, 4, and 5) * Gaynor Sadler — harp (track 2) *
Danny Thompson Daniel Henry Edward Thompson (born 4 April 1939) is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist. He has had a long musical career playing with a large variety of other musicians, particularly Richard Thompson and John Mart ...
— acoustic bass (track 1) * Children from the school of Miss Speake — children's choir (track 1) * Ambrosian Singers
choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...
(track 8) * Steve Winwood — organ (tracks 1, 2, and 5) ;Technical * Dennis Weinrich — engineer * Dietmar Schillinger — engineer * Paul Schroeder — engineer * Pete Wooliscroft — engineer * James Marsh — cover art


Charts


Certifications


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colour of Spring, The Talk Talk albums 1986 albums EMI Records albums Progressive pop albums Experimental pop albums Art pop albums