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| Spirit of Eden's potently eerie but beautiful aural textures is worlds apart from the bubbly synth-pop hits—"It's My Life" and "Talk Talk"—that typified Talk Talk's early-'80s new wave sound. After scoring a bestseller in 1986's The Colour of Spring, EMI gave the band (Hollis, Friese-Greene, Webb, and Harris) a hefty recording budget for their next effort. Moving into an abandoned church, Talk Talk embarked on a lengthy 14-month recording session. When the group finally delivered Spirit of Eden, EMI execs—who had been refused advance access to the recordings—were shocked: The album's classical and freeform jazz influences and art-rock leanings broke from traditional pop expectations, resulting in something utterly uncategorizable! This record label nightmare elicited nary a commercial whimper, but quickly garnered huge critical accolades, nevertheless. Even more than a decade after the album's release, the organic, often stark, arrangements decorated by singer Mark Hollis' nasal and hauntingly plaintive vocals still command immediate attention. Listed as individual tracks, "The Rainbow," "Eden," "Desire" are really three parts to a single brooding 23-minute piece reminiscent of the more melancholy sections on Miles Davis' Kind of Blue. As "The Rainbow" and "Eden" unfold as contemplative lilts with moments of soft atonality, "Desire" percolates to an aggressive and percussive climax. Fans of late-'90s electronic music also take note: Spirit of Eden's transcendent ambience practically paved the way for later innovators such as Massive Attack, making this a truly forward-thinking album. --Bryan Yates (email)
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