New Album Review: Talk Talk – Natural Order 1982 – 1991

Freddie Matthews writes from London: Talk Talk are one of the pioneering Synthpop and New Wave bands from London. In the early years Talk Talk were generally associated with the New Romantic music scene which also included bands like Duran Duran and Roxy Music. The lead singer, often praised for his remarkable voice, was Mark Hollis. He first met the other band members, Paul Webb, Lee Harris and Simon Brenner, in the late 1970s and they went on to form Talk Talk in 1981. Soon after that they were signed to EMI records. Talk Talk were often compared to Duran Duran but not just for their musical style but surprisingly because of the similarities: the repeat double names and that they were both signed to the same record label and also shared a producer in Colin Thurston. That seems to be a bit strange in 2013 but back in the early 1980s it was perfectly acceptable and normal to have the same producer as your label stable mates. Talk Talk released their beauty of a first single ‘Mirror Man’ and debut album ‘The Party’s Over’ to critical acclaim in 1982, despite the album only selling about 60,000 copies, which took them almost 3 years to achieve.  It wasn’t until 1984-5 that Talk Talk experienced any international success with the album ‘It’s My Life’ and its Top 20 single: the song that’s still played on many radio stations to this day, Life’s What You Make It. Three albums later: The Colour Of Spring in 1986, Spirit Of Eden in ’88 and Laughing Stock, the final Talk Talk album in ’91 the band split for an array of reasons, from Hollis wanting more family time to the other band members wishing to branch out onto their own projects.  Surely they could have done that as well as Talk Talk? Or maybe the band had run its course. There are many other artists who have cited Talk Talk as influential in their music careers, including: Sigur Ros, Portishead, Catherine Wheel, Slowdive, Radiohead, Elbow and Death Cab For Cutie. What Talk Talk had was a whole new approach to a whole new sound. This new compilation album Natural Order is the Yin to Natural History’s Yang. It’s the side to Talk Talk we rarely encountered. The tracks on Natural Order ‘aren’t’ Talk Talk’s greatest or commercial hits, as on Natural History. Natural Order is Talk Talk laid out bare for our aural enjoyment. The album is more stripped back than ever before and you don’t have to be an uber-fan to understand this approach. The track listing on Natural Order was curated by Mark Hollis. He also decided on the order, artwork and was involved in the mastering process. Despite the band folding almost 22 years ago this is still a project taken very seriously indeed. The collection of songs works perfectly together, almost as if this collection were once an actual album. If you’re Talk Talk uber fan there’s nothing new here but if, like me, you know all their biggest hits but didn’t delve into each of the 5 albums, then why not start your Talk Talk journey here, as this compilation is a mighty fine listen. Songs worth a listen are: Renee – I know this song but hadn’t heard this stripped back version before; For What It’s Worth, with its beautiful piano arrangement and Hollis’ vocal weaving between the instrumentation as if it’s finding a new direction. This song sounds timeless. I wouldn’t argue if I were told it was written 3 months ago. Wealth is the height of sensitivity despite coming from a very different style and scene. On Natural Order, Talk Talk show off a whole new and very impressive side of their music back catalogue. It’s a very honest, heartfelt and pleasurable listen from one of the most consistent, creative and influential bands of the 1980s. 7/10 –End–

Comments are closed.