Talk Talk - Colour of Spring (40th Anniversary Half-Speed Master)

Talk Talk's The Colour of Spring blooms again for its 40th anniversary, half-speed mastered and pressed on 180 gram vinyl.

By 1986, Mark Hollis and the band had moved well beyond the synth-pop of their early records. Working with producer and co-writer Tim Friese-Greene, they swapped drum machines and synth sheen for real instruments and real air, leaning on piano, organ, acoustic guitar and harmonica. The result is the bridge between the band that scored early-1980s hits and the one that would make Spirit of Eden.

"Life's What You Make It" is built on a stubborn, hypnotic piano figure and Lee Harris's tight, steady drumming, with Hollis singing as if each word costs him something. "Happiness Is Easy" opens the record with a gently rolling groove and a sense of hard-won calm, while "Living in Another World" surges forward with organ and harmonica, as close to a rousing anthem as the band ever came.

Then there is "April 5th", hushed and pastoral, perhaps the clearest hint of where Hollis was heading next.

Forty years on, it remains the most welcoming entry point into one of British music's most fascinating catalogues, and this anniversary pressing gives its organic textures the attention they deserve.