Talk Talk - Laughing Stock ALBUM REVIEW
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- Опубліковано 6 вер 2024
- Listen: • After The Flood
Talk Talk's swansong is a gorgeous and timeless fusion of rock, jazz, classical, and ambient music. R.I.P. Mark Hollis
More classic reviews: • Classics
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TALK TALK - LAUGHING STOCK / 1991 / VERVE / POST-ROCK, CHAMBER JAZZ, AMBIENT POP
CLASSIC/10
Y'all know this is just my opinion, right?
Colour of spring - Spirit of Eden - Laughing stock are a trilogy of masterpieces.
The trilogy is probably Spirit, Laughing and the his eponymous solo LP.
Very much well put!!! 👍
Well, we can talk about a tetralogy, don´t we? the four of them are awesome
You bet ya!
@@BuckFutton I'd agree with this, i have all on vinyl and they are masterpieces. I also have Colour of Spring which is also amazing but it's really just a glimpse of what was to come. RIP Mark you were a legend
I’ve never clicked on a video faster in my life, Talk Talk are one of the very best ever
"Ascension Day" and "New Grass" are some of the best things that I have ever, ever listen in my life.
Spirit of Eden better
Ishan Rosha yes same
@@devontewilson216 I do prefer Spirit of Eden, but both are absolute masterworks
@@TheFifaBaouss Totally agree
Imagine if people talked about the album in the comment section
you can say i'm a dreamer
really wish we could have people out here having music discussion like his comment sections used to instead of a bunch of clout chasing Fantano fanboys (not his fault) that really only listen to probably about 15 different artists that could be considered Fantano-core trying to get a few meaningless likes. this record deserves better.
actually i take it back guys this comment section is surprisingly not horrible but this video also doesn’t have as many views as it should :/
Big Chillin you mean; imagine if people talked talked about the album in the comment section
Keep dreamin'!
this album is beyond. new grass has to be one of the most beautiful songs ever written
It’s in my living will as my funeral song
New grass. True beauty
extremely vulnerable and naked sounding
I'm pretty certain Chris Hawkins played it on his 6 Music show as I was driving to work the day it was announced Mark Hollis had died.
New Grass is up there with the absolute bestest most besterests. Mark Hollis' best music seems to combine Feldman/Webernesque pointillistic majesty with Gerald Finzi's melodicism. It's a ruddy marvel. Drums in 3/8 over chords which alternate 7/4, 9/8, 7/8. Try playing the chords and melody whilst singing the lyrics, tough. Could only have been composed via collage.
Crazy how Hollis also made one of the greatest art pop albums as well as helping invent post rock
I really hope he does Aja by Steely Dan at some point as well
tyjakejer Yes please
I say this every time I recommend the album. The band that helped give us Gwen Stefani butchering a great new wave song also basically pioneered an entire genre of popular music.
the 1984 album is insanely detailed and forward thinking in its production. exquisite art pop. sorta reminded me of julia holter or even fka twigs.
Sharing it’s spot with Slint’s Spiderland
"I Believe in You" by Talk Talk from Spirit of Eden helped me get through my mother's death from overdose more than any other piece of art has ever helped me get through anything
I'm so sorry you went trough that:(
Lucas Larsen thank you friend ❤️
Hey no problem, hope everything is better now:)
I believe Mark wrote this song in response to his brother Ed's own downward spiral into addiction. Sadly, Ed died of overdose just before its release. A song of pathos & beauty.
The power of music eh? 'Spirit if eden' Is music for the soul.
love this album
x_ItzKillerx ?
Have a good day Volks!
Didn't expect to see you here!! hope you're doing great bro
x_ItzKillerx CRINGE
@@xItzKillerx imagine using a subreddit 1) when one didn't need to be used and 2) using it incorrectly
"Ascension Day" and "New Grass" are some of the best things that I have ever, ever listen in my life.
Ascension Day legit might be the best song ever.
New Grass too
I turned 2's up today
@@TheFifaBaouss New Grass is my fav as well. That organ bro...
I vote Tap Head. Love that intro bass (or is it a baritone?) line.
That hits hard, ngl.
I hope anthony knows how much i truly appreciate classics week and how much great and even life changing music hes turned me on to over the years from it
Number 9 agreed, why I listened to neutral milk hotel and burial, 2 of my favourite artists now
Mica-Spangled RYM is a fantastic place to find new music and incredible artists, but if you spend enough time there you’ll discover there is a certain general taste that influences ratings. It’s the reason Radiohead is placed 3 times on the top 20 albums of all time. Radiohead is my fav but it seems excessive even to myself
This
can we talk about how the guitar solo on 'after the flood' is ONE NOTE. probably the most unique solo i've ever heard.
I always heard it as a distorted harmonica but maybe Im wrong
That solo is just absolutely mind blowing, so unique and genius. Makes me feel as if the curtain of time is being torn
Found this somewhere the other day, I believe it's a quote from a Mojo interview with Tim Friese-Greene. "Four minutes into the song After The Flood, a 75-second gap awaited a solo. Hollis reached for the Variophon, a German, breath-controlled synthesizer which made Talk Talk's distinctive brass-banshee/distressed-elephant sounds. "They were the most unreliable machines ever made," notes Tim. "Originally, Mark had a part for the solo which spanned the whole section and was just two notes. He played it through a very large amplifier and the Variophon was clearly malfunctioning, jumping between octaves randomly and producing all sorts of internal feedback. We listened back to it and thought, This is too much, and stripped it down to one note. That was the only possible solo that could go there. I was out in the studio tweaking the amplifier and I heard this one note roaring back through the amp and I remember thinking, This is the end. This is as far as we can go. After one note there's no notes. This will be the last album we make."
@@syboltfriso1242 dang thanks for fishing this up. I love the end of the quote so much.
I remember Mark Hollis saying in an interview how after he was finished with Laughing Stock he would just listen to one note repeatedly, like striking one guitar chord and listening to that
Don't remember it correctly, I think there is a 20min interview on youtube where I heard it ages ago
Holy shit this album is so unreasonably good. After the Flood has to be my favorite moment in all of post rock.
There is no bad moment on the album, none.
After The Flood is one of the most contemplative and eerily gorgeous songs ever made, I wish it was more celebrated but even then, it deserves all the accolades it gets
Would be the first song I turned on for eight months straight after I first heard it. I never will forget this album for as long as I live, I love it to death.
Yes! I was hoping he would review Talk Talk this year. Not talked about enough
Not talked talked about enough
@@O12port799 beat me to it 🤣
@@O12port799 It's talked about plenty....comments round here are a testimony to that.
Guess as it's almost 30 years old those who lived it is discovered it some years later don't need to talk about it....they've long known what a classic it is.
Yesssss! Talk Talk is one of my fav bands of all time, and Mark Hollis’ solo album is incredible as well. Hollis really was a genius. R.I.P.
This album, plus Spirit of Eden, are masterpieces. Hollis uses silence and quiet so masterfully.
New Grass is one of the best songs ever. (Also fun fact: the drums were sampled in UNKLE and Thom Yorke's 'Rabbit in Your Headlights'.)
And also Trout Mask Replica. Not the silence in common but also a true masterpiece. No doubt man. Nice day ;)
The transition from Myrrhman into Ascension Day is friggin' incredible
I worked for a Rock FM station in my hometown and 'Colour Of The Spring' had at least 4 tracks that got a lot of airtime. Then came 'Spirit Of Eden' and I could feel the band had taken a path with no return. Later, 'Laughing Stock' would confirm it. These three albums are among my all time favourites.
New Grass is probably the only song that consistently makes me cry, such a monolith of song
When you're here early enough, the comments actually talk talk about the album itself. Instead of memes
PG ...did you have to
Remember this is one of the most Beautiful records ever, and mostly everyone agrees, so is one of those few times where most of people here are serious and make interesting comments, this album deserves it.
PG true
shut up pussy
Mark Hollis was a genius, he is sadly missed even if we heard little from hi after talk talk.
He retired from music after putting out a solo project that was originally intended to be the last Talk Talk album. Mainly to spend more time with his family. All in all I think he was happy with what his career turned out to be.
@@eamonsherris-watt6118 Agreed. He hated the way the music industry worked so it was probably best for him to retire. I know for a fact that I will be enjoying his contribution till the end of my days. What a legacy this man has left behind...
@@eamonsherris-watt6118 he was also on AV1 by allinson / browne. also a great album
I wonder what he did for work afterwards, or whether music sales and royalties had him settled for life.
@@k-leb4671 I believe he was teaching.
YEEEEEESSSSSS THIS IS MY FAVORITE RECORD, THANK YOU MELON
I love how you could put Ascension Day into Radiohead's Moon Shaped Pool and other than Mark's vocals not much would stand out from the rest of the album.
They were truly ahead of their time with this one.
You ain’t wrong. When I first heard the record I could not believe it came out in 1991. It’s so ridiculously ahead of its time. Radiohead had just formed and were still doing the grungy alt rock thing.
Taphead reminds me a lot of A Moon Shaped Pool stuff as well. The guitar is really shaped Jonny's own playing style too.
New Grass will be my funeral song! My former band was pretty much considered “post rock”. Then after a few years our sound transitioned to a more aggressive sound. After we disbanded i wanted to find out who paved the way for post rock. Low and behold..Talk Talk! I was surprised. I only knew them from their song It’s my Life (like most people lol) Talk Talk is fuckin amazing. True pioneers and very brave. They created art. RIP Mark.
That’s crazy. It is my funeral song in my will
One of my favorite albums of all time. Although melancholy, it’s one of those records that always comforts me at my worst times.
This album changed me for sure
Waiting for that Heaven or Las Vegas classic review melon!
Cocteau Twins.
Treasure and Heaven or Las Vegas were my favorite albums I listened to this year. I was absolutely blown away.
Head Over Heels is the true sleeper classic
Im waiting for fantano to validate my opinion on the best band of all time
It's only logical. Amazing that Loveless, Laughing Stock and Heaven or Las Vegas all came from the UK within the course of a year or so.
Spirit of Eden and Laughing stock are two siblings imo. Just an incredible end to their career. Totally and utterly unique... those albums are always best. Laughing Stock has more in common with Miles Davis's spaced out "In a Silent Way" than any rock band. I advise any fans of Talk Talk to use that as a gateway drug if you're not already a Miles fan.
To me, Harvest Time by Pharoah Sanders is the most similar experience to Laughing Stock.
@@sakketin . oh yes. Great album too
I heard that Spirit of Eden is the blessed and happy child, while Laughing Stock is more depressed and nihilistic bastard one.
In the vein of miles Davis, I suggest the album "Pantherra", specifically the songs He Loved Him Madly and Rated X. Ridiculously good.
I JUST RELISTENED TO THIS THE OTHER DAY AND FELL IN LOVE WITH IT AFTER NEVER REALLY LIKING IT.
ANTHONY READ MY MIND
Walker Nickel I didn’t like this album. Then Anthony reviewed it positively and now I love it
meloncore
Melon, this has been my all time favorite album for many many years.
Thank you for giving it the light it deserves.
Laughing Stock is my favorite album of all time, and I was one of the very few who bought it on cassette when it came out. Almost 30 years ago. (sigh)
When Mark died, I cried and cried feeling like I had lost a close friend. For a couple of months, I played the entire album every day. My favorite tracks have always been "Ascension Day/After The Flood" (I count them as one) and "Runeii", but now "Myrrhman", which for some reason had never really caught my attention, has now grabbed me by the lapels and suddenly feels like the greatest thing ever.
I also bought this on cassette the week it came out. And I agree with everything.
It is an amazing record it opened my ears to all kinds of music. I'd just like to add that even though this was the last Talk Talk album Mark Hollis did release a solo album in 98 and it continued many of these musical adventures, in a more stripped back way.
After the flood is fucking amazing how am I just now hearing this??
Oh, to experience that for the first time again.
@@c11p i've listened to it about 55 times and i still get chills when the organs kick in
One of the best albums ever made.
@Lil Benz weird reaction
@Lil Benz no u
Ah yes, the epitome of "incredibly influential, timeless, and unique records that nobody knows about".
it took me 5 years of listening to this album to notice that the birds on the cover are in the shape of the Western continents
Omfg
Wow
Holy man
Anthony this review made my day. Talk talk is my favourite band of all time and seeing them on a classic review is the best thing I've seen this week. Thank you so much for this. Peace.
This album is seriously one of the greatest things I've ever listened to in my life until now. I'm discovering sounds every time I give it another re-listen. One of the works of art that I wouldn't even hesitate to call "masterpiece"
i recently fell in love with this album this past month and can't stop listening to it. it's a pleasant suprise to see this in my inbox melon
Holy shit. This is one of my favorite albums of all time. Thank you so much for covering it.
Absolute masterpiece of an album. 'Organic' is an essential descriptor, so many moments on the album feel like listening to a genuine musical ecosystem interact and grow. Thank you for this review.
If you haven't heard Hollis' 1998 solo follow-up, it's just been reissued. It's excellent and basically sounds like the next Talk Talk album, but is even more ambient and minimalist.
If yall haven't heard, go listen to Bark Psychosis's Hex. It was the first album to be coined post-rock and has heavy inspiration from Talk Talk's last 2 albums
Talk talk are my favourite band ever. Thank you for covering this album, Anthony. R.I.P Mark Hollis
Shout-out to Mark Hollis' solo album. Every bit as beautiful as this album, imo
Yeah love the hell out of that album. It runs this and spirit mighty close.
This is true. I like your videos btw
Agreed!
Well said. Subtle beauty
do a classic review on 'This Heat - Deceit"
self titled is better
Alex Johnson self titled feels boring and undeveloped, half the album is just barely interesting drone
Deceit is a masterwork.
Talk Talk's last two records are great. However, I would say solo records by Japan's band members pushed the envelope and I think Talk Talk were influenced by the Sylvian and Karn records but in the process of recording Colour Of Spring, Spirit Of Eden, and Laughing Stock became the most important new wave band of that era by moving away from Synth pop an eclipsing post Japan output..except maybe Secrets Of The Beehive. Damn that is a great record.
I... agree
I remember the first time I heard that Talk Talk made a weird post-rock album. I was shook. Had to listen to it right away. To this day this still feels incredibly innovative and unique. Really nothing quite like it.
This album is very special indeed. So is Mark Hollis's subsequent and only solo record. The metamorphosis from the first album to these final masterpieces is unbelievable. Placing Hollis as a precursor to both Maynard and Yorke is high praise... and yet fully deserved.
"Life's what you make it" has to be one of my all time favourite songs. So good...
RIP Mark x
Yes Anthony! I asked for your opinion on Mark Hollis' work in a Q&A back in the summer and I'm so glad you finally got around to making this video, although I personally prefer Spirit of Eden. Lovely.
One of those love at first listens for me. Instantly one of my favorite albums. That doesn’t happen often.
Get high and play Myrrhman on decent speakers loud, and it fills the room like you’re underwater. Turn the lights off!
My wife and I do this about once a year with the whole album. Big speakers, lights dim, high as hell, lying on the couch just letting it wash over us. Rain Dogs is another one, but usually it's whiskey and the lights are on.
the first time i smoked was sitting under a tree at night with this album
Woah, I’m hearing/seeing some pretty great things about the album in both the video and the comments, I guess I’ll have to check it out!
You'd seriously do yourself a favor to check this out, it's mind blowing music
Day 251 of acknowledging that Anthony's comment section is a laughing stock
shut up libtard😂😂👌👌👌👌👌👌
Good one
I mean, how much time do you have? Sounds like you're a bigger part of it than most.
lol, 251. jazz away
and all the do is talk and talk
Thanks, Anthony. My #1 all-time album. I still recall the exact conditions of the day, the room, and the sound of the first time I heard both SoE and LS.
I’ve been waiting for this classic review for 5 years Anthony. Thank you thank you thank you
In 2020, Billboard music is the real laughing stock
This work is masterful to a degree that I didn’t know possible until I experienced it. I started sobbing out of no where listening to the end of Myrrhman yesterday, and I’ve heard the record several times. Otherworldly is an understatement.
I remember hearing the hits on the radio when I was a kid in the 80s, but I never bought the albums or followed their later post-rock evolution. After Hollis' passing last year I was prompted to check them out by a friend. I then spent about a month listening to nothing else. This music is a monumental work of art and I'm glad you're drawing people's attention to it.
That moment when your favorite album discovered last year gets reviewed for classics week, thank you Anthony ❤
One of my all time favorite records
Absolutely amazing album. Hopefully people go and listen to it.
" After The Flood " is an absolutely classic 🎶. This album should have been on Blue Note. Spirit Of Eden is better then laughing stock but both are must own.
After the flood is honestly one of my favorite songs ever
There are vocals on this but I don't know what they're about. Mark's voice was another instrument above all. One of the very few albums I can have my own thoughts to. The violin creaks in New Grass improve my life.
Been waiting for this a while. Love this album so much. Maybe my favorite rock album
I want a Maudlin of the Well - Bath or Leaving Your Body Map classic review.
Hell YEAH
yeeeeeeeeeeeee
I always saw a lot of impressionistic connections and kindred spirit between Laughing Stock and Part the Second
Dogshit and pretentious "metal" lol
Toby Driver said this album is a big inspiration for a song from his recent solo album, They Are the Shield. He posted a video talking about it actually, search for Talk Talk Toby Driver.
This is a 10/10 album, one of my favorite albums of all time
Oh wow I didn't think he would ever review Talk Talk
Yes!!! Thank you! Love this one
I grew up with Talk Talks music, as they're my mum's favorite band, and I was born in 1980. Thank you for reviewing them. I love them so much 💓
I'm so glad this album is getting some more recognition. Talk Talk is, without a doubt, my favorite band, and I am sincerely certain that that isn't going to change anytime soon.
Simply one of the greatest rock albums ever. Beautiful. Thanks for reviewing this, now more people will find out about this absolute masterpiece
I love this album and it is very well made but Colour of Spring is my favorite Talk Talk album. I never hear people talk about that album. It's so good.
One of the greatest art pop records of all time
I like your description of the melancholic strings at the end of Myrrhman. They evoke similar imagery to me. And New Grass has got to be one of the most beautiful songs ever created.
Both this and Spirit are 10s
Runeii is probably the song I would choose to listen to if I were slipping away on my deathbed
Mark Hollis solo album is great too
Review Nine Inch Nails’ “The Downward Spiral’
Few songs have ever made me choke up the way new grass has. The sheer beauty of that song and this album are truly something to behold
Crazy to think where they started as a band and where they ended in terms of sound. Laughing Stock is a revelation. Killing it so far for Classics Week man.
You should do Television’s album ‘Marquee Moon’!!! Such an amazing rock album that demonstrates the staples of real rock and roll but it for some reason doesn’t get nearly as much attention as it deserves!! It would be SO perfect for classics week!!
Wow two albums in a row I love but now you have to address how Gwen Stefani threatened and forced them to give up their record deal and rights to “its my life” and how she threatened to kill their dogs if they talk talked. Keep asking questions
this is the most important album of my life. I discovered it when I was twenty, still listening to it twenty years later
One of my all time favourite albums.
Even though it isn't really a drum album, it's also one of my favourite albums in terms of its drumming. On After the Flood and New Grass, the beat is so hypnotically succinct, but flavoured enough by ghost notes. I can't get enough of it.
You'll recognize the drum beats of "New Grass" on the song "Rabbit In Your Headlights" by UNKLE feat. Thom Yorke.
@@dw89music73 Thanks for the heads up!
Albums you should do for classics week:
The flaming lips- the soft bulletin
Sweet trip- velocity design comfort
The strokes- is this it
Anyone else like
“Wait hol up lemme listen to dis shit again”
I appreciate the love for their early work here. Too many seem to write their synth-pop phase off as average and pretend like Talk Talk wouldn't already be a classic band without their artsier later albums.
That's what I think is so amazing about them.
They basically became famous twice for completely different reasons.
The new wave stuff is still awesome, and only adds to the incredible quality of this album. Where the hell did it come from? How did a guy who started out as a trendy post-punk wailer put out one of the most gorgeous and well-conceived albums of all time?
How would you describe this album with 1 word?
Transcendence
Beautiful
Interesting you and that Deep Cuts guy have both done this album. At the time Spirit Of Eden was the album that blew everyone away. It was totally out there on its own. Laughing Stock came out a few years later and didn’t have as much of an impact. I love the album but Eden is the more important album.
Any fan of this album should go online and look for the B sides contained in the singles: Stump, 5:09 and Piano Piece. Amazing just as much as the album.
What an absolute /mu/ classic.
Thanks for recommending this, it sounds like nothing I've heard before but it also feels right up my alley.
Ascension Day is such a great rocker even with it's very odd progression. After listening to it twice, even though I can't clearly describe any specific melody or pattern from memory the overall tone and atmosphere of the album is so distinct and memorable
One of the most beautiful albums ever.
If I ever had to put a peice of music to a DMT experience, it would be 'laughing stock' and 'Spirit of Eden'.
Mark Hollis is up there with Robert Wyatt, two poets of the musical world that delivered graceful music the less they compromised with convention.
Mark is dearly missed and I'm deeply sorry he only did his self-titled album after the demise of Talk Talk.
this is one of your better reviews, Anthony. well done.
I don’t know why more people don’t talk about the impact of the wall of silence between Ascension Day and After the Flood. To me, it’s one of the most visceral moments of the album. It completely validates what Mark Hollis said often in interviews, that silence is more interesting to him than notes or sound. So-called “walls of sound” can be powerful; a wall of silence is at least its equal in power and grossly underutilized.
One of my favorite albums of all time, I appreciate it you give it light, I thought maybe you never would
what a pleasant surprise
I prefer Spirit of Eden but this record is just as good. All of their records are great actually, even the earlier synth pop stuff.
Thanks for covering this topic! I really think this period of talk talk needs more praise. Mark Hollis Watershed is really special too.