Talk Talk: The Party's Over 1982 + It's My Life 1984

 

Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981, led by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drums), and Paul Webb (bass). Initially a synth-pop group, Talk Talk's first two albums, The Party's Over (1982) and It's My Life (1984), reached top 40 in the UK and produced the international hit

singles "Talk Talk", "Today", "It's My Life", and "Such a Shame". They achieved widespread critical success in Europe and the UK with the album The Colour of Spring (1986) and its singles "Life's What You Make It" and "Living in Another World". 1988's Spirit of Eden moved the group towards a more experimental sound informed by jazz and free improvisation, pioneering what became known as post-rock; it was critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful.
                         

With the exception of a handful of common threads -- chief among them the plaintive vocals and haunting lyrics of frontman Mark Hollis -- there is little to suggest that the five studio LPs that make up the Talk Talk oeuvre are indeed the work of the same band. After beginning their career with records

virtually epitomizing the new wave era that spawned them, the British group never looked back, making significant strides with each successive album on its way to discovering a wholly unique and uncategorizable sound informed by elements of jazz, classical, and ambient music; their masterful final recordings, while neglected commercially, possess a timelessness rare among music of any genre, and in retrospect they seem the clear starting point for the post-rock movement of the 1990s.
                      

After Laughing Stock, Talk Talk disbanded in 1991; Hollis said that he wished to focus on his family. Paul Webb rejoined Lee Harris, and the two went on to form the band .O.rang, while Tim Friese-Greene

started recording under the name Heligoland. In 1998, Mark Hollis released his self-titled solo début Mark Hollis, which was much in keeping with the minimalist post-rock sound of Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock, but he retired from the music industry shortly afterwards.Webb also collaborated under the name of Rustin Man with Portishead lead singer Beth Gibbons and released Out of Season in 2002, Drift Code in 2019 and Clockdust in 2020. Harris also featured on the Bark Psychosis 2004 album, ///Codename: Dustsucker.
                         

Talk Talk's influence upon musicians has exceeded the band's visibility among the general public. Along with the band Slint, Talk Talk are credited with inventing "post-rock" in their last two albums,

Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock. The artists who have praised the band or cited them as an influence include Pearl Jam's Jeff Ament, Tears for Fears, Matthew Good, Radiohead, Doves,Elbow, Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree. The bands Placebo, Weezer, the Divine Comedy and the Gathering covered their song "Life's What You Make It" and No Doubt scored a global hit with a cover of "It's My Life" in 2003 which reached number 20 on the UK charts.
                        

Mark Hollis died on 25 February 2019, aged 64.

                                

TALK TALK - THE PARTY'S OVER 1982

                         

The Party's Over is the debut album by Talk Talk. It was released in 1982 and produced by Colin Thurston, who was a former engineer for David Bowie but was better known for producing Duran Duran's first two albums.
                         

Talk Talk – The Party's Over
Label: EMI – CDP 7463662, EMI – CDP 7 463662
Format: CD, Album, Stereo
Country: UK
Released: Mar 1987
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop

TRACKS

                       

01. Talk Talk    3:20
02. It's So Serious    3:19
03. Today    3:28
04. The Party's Over    6:10
05. Hate    3:56
06. Have You Heard The News?    5:05
07. Mirror Man    3:18
08. Another Word    3:12
09. Candy    4:40

LINE - UP

Bass – Paul Webb
Design – Bill Smith
Drums – Lee Harris
Keyboards – Simon Brenner
Vocals – Mark Hollis

MP3 @ 320 Size: 89 MB
Flac Size: 246 MB

TALK TALK - IT'S MY LIFE 1984

                    

It's My Life is the second studio album by English band Talk Talk, released in 1984. Mike Oldfield's bass player, Phil Spalding made an uncredited appearance on the album, substituting for Paul Webb on "The Last Time" – "Paul was exclusively a fretless bass player and they needed a fretted bass on this particular track."
                          

Talk Talk – It's My Life
Label: EMI – 7243 8 56797 2 8, EMI – RETALK 101
Format: CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered
Country: Europe
Released: Sep 1997
Genre: Electronic, Rock, Pop
Style: Synth-pop

TRACKS

                          

01. Dum Dum Girl    3:50
02. Such A Shame    5:35
03. Renée    6:22
04. It's My Life    3:53
05. Tomorrow Started    6:00
06. The Last Time    4:23
07. Call In The Night Boy    3:47
08. Does Caroline Know    4:30
09. It's You    4:42

LINE - UP

Bass – Paul Webb
Drums – Lee Harris
Guitar – Robbie McIntosh
Keyboards – Ian Curnow, Tim Friese-Greene
Percussion – Morris Pert
Piano – Phil Ramocon
Trumpet – Henry Lowther
Vocals – Mark Hollis

MP3 @ 320 Size: 105 MB
Flac Size: 270 MB