TALK TALK - SPIRIT OF EDEN - EX/NM - Vinyl LP

	£		28
	$		37

TALK TALK

"SPIRIT OF EDEN"

Vinyl LP

1988 original release vinyl LP on the PARLOPHONE record label Cat n# PCSD 105   Made in ENGLAND

The album cover is in  EX/NM condition. no splits or tears, there is some light creases, the inner credits/lyric sleeve ia also in EX/NM condition, no tears or splits.

The vinyl itself is in EX/NM condition. there are some papercuts seen under a 1500watt strong light, these are not visible to the naked eye they have got there mainly by taking the LP out of the hard inner sleeve, therefore due to the quiet nature of the music you can hear some clicks and pops when the LP is played..this LP has not been played more than two or three times at the most and still looks as new and shiny as the day it was bought.

DISCOUNT RATES FOR MULTIPLE LP'S
These rates are calculated taking into consideration the Shipping/Postage for the destination of the LP's
UK  -  discount of £1.70 for each additional LP after the first at full price, NO ADDITIONAL SHIPPING ADDED
EUROPE - discount of £1.30 for each additional LP after the first at full shipping price, NO ADDITIONAL SHIPPING ADDED AFTER THE FIRST
REST OF THE WORLD -  no discount of £0.0 for each additional LP after the first at full shipping price, NO ADDITIONAL SHIPPING ADDED AFTER THE FIRST

If you are not fully satisfied you may return this album with  a full refund inc postage.

If you need anymore information and pictures please get in touch, thanks.

Sorry if the shipping charges seem a bit high, the reason being i use heavy/strong packaging

THIS IS AS GOOD EXAMPLE OF WELL LOOKED AFTER OLD LP RECORD

Full track list

Side One

1. "The Rainbow"   9:05
2. "Eden"   6:37
3. "Desire"   7:08

Side Two

4. "Inheritance"   5:16
5. "I Believe in You"   6:24
6. "Wealth"   6:35

Spirit of Eden consists of six songs. The first three, "The Rainbow," "Eden," and "Desire," don't have audible breaks between one another, as they were written as a single piece.[27] There is a forced silence of just over 30 seconds between "Desire" and "Inheritance". The original compact disc released throughout most of the world reflects this, while the North American version and reissues are divided into six tracks. Working titles of the songs were "Modell," "Camel," "Maureen," "Norm," "Inheritance," "Snow in Berlin," and "Eric."

THE BAND

Lee Harris – drums
Paul Webb – electric bass
Tim Friese-Greene – harmonium, piano, organ, guitar
Mark Hollis – vocals, piano, organ, guitar
Martin Ditcham – percussion
Robbie McIntosh – dobro, 12 string guitar
Mark Feltham – harmonica
Simon Edwards – Mexican bass
Danny Thompson – double bass
Henry Lowther – trumpet
Nigel Kennedy – violin
Hugh Davies – shozygs
Andrew Stowell – bassoon
Michael Jeans – oboe
Andrew Marriner – clarinet
Christopher Hooker – cor anglais
Choir of Chelmsford Cathedral  .

Spirit of Eden is a 1988 album by the English band Talk Talk. It was written by Mark Hollis and Tim Friese-Greene, and performed by numerous musicians using a diverse combination of instruments. It is widely regarded as a masterpiece. One critic recently wrote: "Spirit of Eden has not dated; it's remarkable how contemporary it sounds, anticipating post-rock, The Verve and Radiohead. It's the sound of an artist being given the keys to the kingdom and returning with art."[1]

The album emerged from a demanding recording process: often working in darkness, the band recorded many hours of improvised performances, edited them down heavily, then arranged the remaining pieces into an album using digital equipment. The end product includes elements of rock, jazz, classical, and ambient music. The album was released on the Parlophone record label, an imprint of EMI.

Critics often view Spirit of Eden as a departure from Talk Talk's previous albums. Compared to their 1986 hit The Colour of Spring, it was commercially unsuccessful. Many critics, however, praise the album and consider it influential to the post-rock movement of the 1990s.

Background
Talk Talk, led by singer Mark Hollis, formed in England in the early 1980s. From the start, Hollis cited jazz and classical artists like Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Béla Bartók, and Claude Debussy as major musical influences. But Talk Talk's first two albums, The Party's Over (1982) and It's My Life (1984), did not readily reflect such influences; critics compared the band to contemporary New Wave groups, especially Duran Duran. Hollis partly attributes the shortcomings of their early music to a financial need to use synthesizers in place of acoustic instruments.

Although critics did not favour the band's early output, the first two albums were commercially successful in Europe. This gave Talk Talk the money needed to hire additional musicians to play on their next album, The Colour of Spring (1986). The band no longer had to rely on synthesizers. Instead, musicians improvised with their instruments for many hours, then Hollis and producer Tim Friese-Greene edited and arranged the performances to get the sound they wanted. A total of sixteen musicians appeared on the album. The Colour of Spring became Talk Talk's most successful album, selling over two million copies and prompting a major world tour.[2] At the same time, minimalist songs like "April 5th," "Chameleon Day," and the outtake "It's Getting Late in the Evening" pointed towards the band's next direction.[3]

For the success of The Colour of Spring, EMI rewarded Talk Talk with an open budget and schedule for the recording of their next album, Spirit of Eden.[5] Talk Talk was given complete control over the recording process; their manager and EMI executives were barred from studio sessions.[6] Recording for Spirit of Eden began in 1987 at Wessex Studios, London and took about a year to complete.[7]

Contract dispute with EMI
By early March 1988, the band had finished recording Spirit of Eden and had sent a cassette of the album to EMI. After listening to the cassette, EMI representatives doubted that it could be commercially successful. They asked Hollis to re-record a song or replace material, but he refused to do so. By the time the masters were delivered later in the month, however, the label conceded that the album had been satisfactorily completed.[8]

Despite their reservations towards Spirit of Eden, EMI chose to exercise their option to extend the recording contract with Talk Talk. The band, however, wanted out of the contract. "I knew by that time that EMI was not the company this band should be with," manager Keith Aspden told Mojo. "I was fearful that the money wouldn't be there to record another album."[9] EMI and Talk Talk went to court to decide the issue.

The case centred around whether EMI had notified the band about the contract extension in time. As part of the agreement, EMI had to send a written notice within three months after the completion of Spirit of Eden. The band said that EMI had sent the notice too late, arguing that the three month period began once recording had finished; EMI argued that the three month period did not begin until they were satisfied with the recording. Justice Andrew Morritt ruled in favour of EMI, but his decision was overturned in the Court of Appeal of England and Wales.[8] Talk Talk were released from the contract and later signed to Polydor.

Marketing and release history
Spirit of Eden's moody, experimental nature made it a challenge to promote; one critic said it "is the kind of record which encourages marketing men to commit suicide."[10] Tony Wadsworth, Parlophone's marketing director at the time, told Q: "Talk Talk are not your ordinary combo and require sympathetic marketing. They're not so much difficult as not obvious. You've just got to find as many ways as possible to expose the music."[11] Evaluating some masterpieces of the eighties in a 2004 article for The Guardian, John Robinson calls Spirit of Eden, like David Sylvian's Brilliant Trees, "triumphant, [but] completely unmarketable."[12]

Although the band did not originally plan to release a single, EMI issued a radio edit of "I Believe In You" in September 1988 (the previously unreleased "John Cope" was included as the B-side). The single failed to breach the UK Singles Chart Top 75. Around November, Tim Pope directed a music video for "I Believe In You", featuring Hollis sitting with his guitar, singing the lyrics. "That was a massive mistake," said Hollis. "I thought just by sitting there and listening and really thinking about what it was about, I could get that in my eyes. But you cannot do it. It just feels stupid."[11]

The band did not tour in support of the album. Hollis explained, "There is no way that I could ever play again a lot of the stuff I played on this album because I just wouldn't know how to. So, to play it live, to take a part that was done in spontaneity, to write it down and then get someone to play it, would lose the whole point, lose the whole purity of what it was in the first place."[13] They would never tour again.

Spirit of Eden was released worldwide in 1988. It did not enjoy nearly as much commercial success as The Colour of Spring. The album spent five weeks on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at #19.[14] The album cover depicts a tree festooned with seashells, snails, birds, and insects. It was illustrated by James Marsh, who did Talk Talk's artwork throughout their career. The booklet provides reproductions of Hollis' handwritten lyrics. The album was digitally remastered by Phill Brown and Denis Blackham in 1997. A hybrid Super Audio CD (without surround sound) surfaced in 2003.
Musical style
Although the album is noted for its tranquil soundscapes, Graham Sutton of Bark Psychosis notes "Noise is important. I could never understand people I knew who liked Talk Talk and saw it as something 'nice to chill out to' when I loved the overwhelming intensity and the dynamics."[15]
Mark Hollis' lyrics contain religious and spiritual references. Though Hollis acknowledges that his lyrics are religious, he says they are not based on a specific religion, preferring to think of them as "humanitarian."[17] "I Believe in You" has been described as an "anti-heroin song."[18] When asked whether the lyrics are based on personal experience, Hollis replied, "No, not at all. But, you know, I met people who got totally fucked up on it. Within rock music there's so much fucking glorification of it, and it is a wicked, horrible thing."[16]
Critical reception
Spirit of Eden has been acclaimed by numerous music critics, though it has also received mixed and negative criticism. Markus Berkmann of The Spectator was uncertain about the album: "It is either a work of immense merit and bravery or a load of bilge, and I cannot decide which."[19] Roy Wilkinson of Sounds, although rating the album highly, thought that the second side was not as good as the first and that the lyrics were a weak point.[20] Chris Dafoe of The Globe and Mail was largely unimpressed: "At its best, this can be evocative and slightly unsettling. More frequently, however, it sounds like dreary New Age miserablism. Yawn Yawn."[21] In the 1992 Rolling Stone Album Guide, J.D. Considine rated the album 1 star out of 5: "Instead of getting better or worse, this band simply grew more pretentious with each passing year. . . . by Spirit of Eden, Mark Hollis's Pete Townshend-on-Dramamine vocals have been pushed aside by the band's pointless noodling." Pitchfork named Spirit of Eden the 34th best album of the 1980s.[22]

Legacy
Some music critics consider Spirit of Eden and its 1991 follow-up Laughing Stock influential to post-rock, a music genre that developed in Britain and the United States in the 1990s. In a review of Bark Psychosis' album Hex, where the term post-rock was coined, Simon Reynolds opined that Hex aspires to the "baroque grandeur" of Spirit of Eden.[23] Andy Whitman of Paste magazine argues that Spirit of Eden represents the beginning of post-rock: "The telltale marks of the genre—textured guitars, glacial tempos, an emphasis on dynamics, electronica, ambience and minimalism—were all in place, and paved the way for bands like Sigur Rós, Mogwai, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Low, and latter-period Radiohead." Simon Harper of the Birmingham Post adds, "Certainly, their combination of jazz, classical, rock and the spacey echoes of dub, using silence almost as an instrument in its own right, lends itself to the vernacular of post-rock, and there can be little argument that Tortoise and their Chicago-based compatriots would hardly sound the same were it not for the staggering achievements of Hollis and Tim Friese-Greene."[24] Music historian Piero Scaruffi believes that with Spirit of Eden, Talk Talk "invented a new form of music, one in which a complex atmosphere is created out of slow, inorganic, inarticulate streams of simple sounds. The six lengthy, free-form, brooding and cataleptic ruminations . . . pioneered 'slo-core'."[25] Numerous bands and artists, ranging from Catherine Wheel to Sarah McLachlan, have praised Spirit of Eden or have cited it as an influence in their own music

REVIEW
Before Spirit of Eden was released Talk Talk were a big part of the 80's new-wave scene. Surprising everybody the trio went from playing gleeful pop music to suddenly creating a whole new genre, post-rock. Spirit of Eden is arguably the first post-rock album to ever be released but the problem is that three years later Talk Talk released Laughing Stock which is considered to be a monumental post-rock album by several post-rock fans and critics. Spirit of Eden was supposedly a bust by numerous critics, not to mention that it suffers from being overshadowed by Laughing Stock. Talk Talk?s record label forced them to release a single off of their album so they released I Believe in You and it was extremely unsuccessful, soon after the release of the single Spirit of Eden was quickly forgotten.

While Spirit of Eden is a post-rock influenced record it shows some minor influences of jazz and ambient. The jazz influences are mainly shown off by various piano chords that are easily detected throughout the album. The ambience of the album is displayed by numerous keyboard dynamics that slowly build up as each song progresses.

Talk Talk use plenty of instruments on this album including organs, violins, flutes, sparkling guitars, and a heavy dose of bass and drums. There are no extended solo?s or quick paced riffs, Spirit of Eden relies on a patient listener that is willing to sit threw a lot of ambient build up before a song actually comes together. When songs are going threw their climax there are beautiful textures of instruments creating a soothing and extremely laid-back feel. All that Spirit of Eden wants you to do is kick back, close your eyes, and let the music sink in.

The Rainbow (8:02)
A melancholy violin starts things up and is quickly accompanied by a strange brass sounding instrument and a slight breezy sounding effect. If you kick back and close your eyes the song almost makes you feel like you?re sitting under the tree and staring at the same ocean that?s shown on the front cover. After another minute of ambience you start to hear some odd scratching noises and then some old fashion/western guitar chords come in and explode out of nowhere. A folky harmonica line is then played along with a thumping bass and drum beat. An extremely mellow and care free feel is now established and at three and a half minutes into the song Mark Hollis comes in and sings in his soft and hushed tone. The laid-back western guitar licks play throughout the song and Hollis continues to wail out undecipherable words in a soothing and relaxing voice. The song closes out with a zestful harmonica solo completely taking you by surprise and adding a lot of spice onto the music.
4.5/5

Eden (7:39)
Some gloomy brass instruments are played along with a subtle yet deep bass line. Scratchy guitar bleeps make their way into the music almost unnoticeably, and similar to The Rainbow, Eden goes threw just about one minute of ambience before slowly building up. The scratchy guitar sounds fade off in the background as a simple drum beat is played over a glimmering guitar line. Hollis eventually makes his way into the song and sings in a depressing and hopeful tone as the guitars vanish and there is just a drum beat. Both Hollis and the glimmering guitar switch on and off throughout the song and nothing really happens for a good three to four minutes. The climax of the song bursts out of nowhere and it consists of two noisy guitars clashing together to create a shiny, somewhat jarring sound. The song finally comes to a close with unraveling piano chords along with a slight drum line. All in all the song is filled with glistening guitars and sparkly sounds but it gets sort of boring and it doesn?t really go anywhere until the bombardment of clinging guitar sounds.
3/5

Desire (7:17)
Talk Talk do something that they rarely do on Spirit of Eden, and that is rock out. A mournful harmonica groove starts things up and then some aimless keyboard dynamics play creating a jazzy and relaxing feel. Piano chords quickly make their way into the music joined by some twangy guitar hooks and a hushed maraca jingle. Hollis makes his way into the song at two minutes muttering ?desire" over ethereal dynamics and hushed guitar sounds. With Desire Talk Talk basically abandoned their subtle addition of instruments throughout a song and a crowded and edgy chorus comes and gets you out of nowhere. The guitars hit you hard along with Hollis?s loud and boisterous tone. After a few minutes the song goes back to pure ambience and then builds back up into a loud and rocking chorus. Towards the end of the song silence comes in and all you can make out is a few jazzy piano scales. This is without a doubt the harshest and most spontaneous song off of Spirit of Eden but it delivers a hard rocking chorus and while it isn?t very well written it?s still fun to listen to.
3.5/5

Inheritance (5:24)
This is the shortest and most electronica influenced song off of the album. Jazzy piano arpeggios kick things off and a simple drum line comes in to accompany it. Shortly after this Hollis comes onto the scene and sings in a refined yet beautiful voice. If you put together the jazzy piano chords and Hollis?s soft tone the music becomes extremely gloomy yet jazzy at the same time. Towards the middle of the song a flute solo is played along with another brass sounding instrument that resembles the recorder. Keyboard dynamics now make their way into the mix and the piano chords magically reappear along with Hollis. The climax of the song is beautiful and although the instrumentation is quite simple this song is a mellow and brief gem. With about twenty seconds left in the song Hollis suddenly stops singing and an awkward silence takes place leading you into the next song.
4/5

I Believe in You (6:16)
Unlike every other song on the album, things start off with a peppy drumbeat. Glistening guitars along with snazzy piano chords come into the mix and in result Talk Talk almost sound like an old jazz band. Some windy noises are played in the background and Hollis comes in singing in his familiar ?depressed boy" voice. The atmosphere of the song quickly shifts from a jazzy feel to a mysteriously dark and gloomy feel. Towards the middle of the song Hollis shuts his mouth and a graceful array of windy/ocean like special effects come in. I Believe in You takes you to a different place, a subtle drumbeat accompanies the ocean influenced effects and the song substitutes a climax for a beautiful array of glistening electronic effects. The song finally comes to a close with loud, spacey synths and this is the jazziest and most experimental song off of the album.
4.5/5

Wealth
The album closes with the bleakest, and possibly the most ambient song off of the album. Oddly enough the music starts out with Hollis whispering lyrics into the microphone sounding depressed yet laid back. He fades in and out throughout the course of the song and meshes in extremely well with the rest of the music. This can be either a good or a bad thing but the song is propelled by a spiritual organ chord and some jazzy piano scales. Midway through the song some aimless electronic bleeps come in and this is the most interesting part of the music. Towards the end of the song the instruments tend to quiet down and Hollis closes things out with just him and the church influenced organ. Talk Talk go out in style and end Spirit of Eden with forty-five seconds of good old silence. Overall I believe that this is an ideal closer for a relaxing and mildly depressing album. The simple sounding organ chords mixed in with Hollis?s soft and crooning voice creates a melancholy and ambient tone.
4/5

Talk Talk provide us with some gloomy, reflective, and beautiful music. There are at least ten guest instrumentalists that appear on the album and while up to six or seven instruments play at the same time they mesh together so smoothly that you won?t even notice. Spirit of Eden is not exactly an essential post-rock album but if you?re into this type of music then you?ll without a doubt enjoy it.
 

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