Talk Talk - It's My Life
Feb. 15th, 2024 11:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nightlightsukI don't know the exact date that this was released, but February 1984 was apparently when it first appeared on the shelves so it's effectively 40 years... 40 DARN YEARS ARRGHH... since Talk Talk released their second album, "It's My Life." 9 songs that are kind of 80s synthpop, but somehow a bit more than that.
For me, Talk Talk is The Band(tm) and I've been a fan since 1991. Their music means a huge amount to me, to the point where I can say - without wishing to dwell on details - that I may well not be around if it wasn't for their songs. I first stumbled across them via their 1986 song, "Life's What You Make It" and that in turn led me to checking out a random 7 inch single, "It's My Life." Which I absolutely loved, but after that, I decided to track down their albums in order.
So... although the first album knocked my proverbial socks off, it was this second album (It's My Life) that absolutely cemented my love of the band. I was and still am a very big fan of synths, and this album is awash with them. The debut album was as well, but they were solid slabs of synth, whereas on this album it's done more subtly. They're more like textures rather than blasting synth leads. And hearing this after thinking the debut album was excellent, it was like "holy donuts! This is even better."
(And although synths still played a role on later albums, they mostly trimmed them out of the songs, so this was the last time they used them significantly.)
The bulk of the synth sounds were created by synth boffin Ian Curnow, and he used techniques with synths that nobody had done before. I can't remember exact details, but somehow he linked two Jupiter 8 synths together and found that by adjusting dials on one, it affected the other, creating the weird semi-guitar sound that is used on several of the tracks. Something that could be done fairly easily on modern keyboards now, but was a nightmare to do back in the 80s.
Sadly the main mover and songwriter for the band, Mark Hollis, died back in 2019. That hit me hard, because although he'd long, long since retired from the music scene, I always had that tiny little thought that maybe one day I'd meet him, maybe chat with him, or perhaps even work on a bit of music. (Very very unlikely, but while he was alive, I always had that tiny shred of hope.) Alas, it was not to be, though I do have a very nice hand written and signed letter from him, which I keep very safe.
For me, Talk Talk is The Band(tm) and I've been a fan since 1991. Their music means a huge amount to me, to the point where I can say - without wishing to dwell on details - that I may well not be around if it wasn't for their songs. I first stumbled across them via their 1986 song, "Life's What You Make It" and that in turn led me to checking out a random 7 inch single, "It's My Life." Which I absolutely loved, but after that, I decided to track down their albums in order.
So... although the first album knocked my proverbial socks off, it was this second album (It's My Life) that absolutely cemented my love of the band. I was and still am a very big fan of synths, and this album is awash with them. The debut album was as well, but they were solid slabs of synth, whereas on this album it's done more subtly. They're more like textures rather than blasting synth leads. And hearing this after thinking the debut album was excellent, it was like "holy donuts! This is even better."
(And although synths still played a role on later albums, they mostly trimmed them out of the songs, so this was the last time they used them significantly.)
The bulk of the synth sounds were created by synth boffin Ian Curnow, and he used techniques with synths that nobody had done before. I can't remember exact details, but somehow he linked two Jupiter 8 synths together and found that by adjusting dials on one, it affected the other, creating the weird semi-guitar sound that is used on several of the tracks. Something that could be done fairly easily on modern keyboards now, but was a nightmare to do back in the 80s.
Sadly the main mover and songwriter for the band, Mark Hollis, died back in 2019. That hit me hard, because although he'd long, long since retired from the music scene, I always had that tiny little thought that maybe one day I'd meet him, maybe chat with him, or perhaps even work on a bit of music. (Very very unlikely, but while he was alive, I always had that tiny shred of hope.) Alas, it was not to be, though I do have a very nice hand written and signed letter from him, which I keep very safe.
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Date: 2024-02-15 06:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-02-16 10:36 am (UTC)