The Colour of Spring

The Colour of Spring is the third studio album by English band Talk Talk, released in March 1986.

"Chameleon Day" redirects here. It is not to be confused with Chameleon Days.

The Colour of Spring
Studio album by Talk Talk
Released	March 1986
Recorded	1985, London
Studio	Battery Studios[1] Videosonics Studios[2]
Genre	New wave[3] art pop[4] progressive pop[5] experimental pop[6]
Length	45:40
Label	EMI
Producer	Tim Friese-Greene
Talk Talk chronology
It's My Life (1984) The Colour of Spring (1986) Spirit of Eden (1988)
Singles from The Colour of Spring
"Life's What You Make It" Released: 13 January 1986 "Living in Another World" Released: March 1986 "Give It Up" Released: May 1986 "I Don't Believe in You" Released: October 1986

Composition

Musically, The Colour of Spring was a major step away from the synthesised pop of early Talk Talk, with a greater focus on guitars, pianos, and organs on such songs as "Life's What You Make It", "Living in Another World" and "Give It Up". It had a sound described by the band as much more organic than their earlier records, with the improvisation that was to dominate on their later works already apparent in the recording process.

Cover

The album cover was designed by James Marsh, who also designed the band's other album covers. The cover depicts various moths crowded close together, two of which are positioned to form a face.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[7]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[8]
Mojo	[9]
Q	[10]

The Colour of Spring became the band's highest selling non-compilation studio album, reaching the Top 20 in numerous countries (topping the Dutch charts), including the UK, where it reached No. 8 and stayed in the UK charts for 21 weeks.[11] It did not quite match the sales of its predecessor in the United States but was nonetheless their last album to enter the Billboard 200, reaching number 58.[12] With the international hit "Life's What You Make It", Talk Talk expanded their fan base. The song became the band's third of three American hits, along with 1984's "It's My Life" and "Such a Shame".

Track listing

All tracks are written by Tim Friese-Greene and Mark Hollis.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Happiness Is Easy"	6:30
2.	"I Don't Believe in You"	5:02
3.	"Life's What You Make It"	4:29
4.	"April 5th"	5:51
5.	"Living in Another World"	6:58
6.	"Give It Up"	5:17
7.	"Chameleon Day"	3:20
8.	"Time It's Time"	8:14

Personnel

Credits per album notes.[13]

Talk Talk

• Mark Hollis — lead vocals, piano (tracks 3, 5, 6, 7), Variophon (tracks 1, 4 and 7), organ (track 4), Mellotron (track 6), electric guitar (track 8), melodica (track 8)
• Lee Harris — drums (except 4, 7)
• Paul Webb — bass guitar (tracks 2, 4, 5, 6, and 8), backing vocals (tracks 3 and 5)

Additional personnel

• Tim Friese-Greene — producer, piano (tracks 1, 2, and 8), Kurzweil Synthesizer (tracks 1, 4 and 7), organ (tracks 3, 6 and 8), Variophon (tracks 4 and 7), Mellotron (track 3)
• Ian Curnow — synthesizer solos (tracks 2 and 6)
• Martin Ditcham — percussion (tracks 1, 3, 5, 6 and 8)
• Mark Feltham — harmonica (track 5)
• Alan Gorrie — electric bass (track 1)
• Robbie McIntosh — guitar (tracks 1, 2, 5 and 8), Dobro (tracks 4 and 6)
• Morris Pert — percussion (tracks 1, 2, 5, and 8)
• Phil Reis — percussion (track 1)
• David Rhodes — guitar (tracks 3, 5, and 6)
• David Roach — soprano saxophone (tracks 2, 4, and 5)
• Gaynor Sadler — harp (track 2)
• Danny Thompson — acoustic bass (track 1)
• Children from the school of Miss Speake — children's choir (track 1)
• Ambrosian Singers — choir (track 8)
• Steve Winwood — organ (tracks 1, 2, and 5)
• Dennis Weinrich — engineer
• Dietmar Schillinger — engineer
• Paul Schroeder — engineer
• Pete Wooliscroft — engineer
• James Marsh — cover art

Charts

Chart (1986)	Peak position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[14]	16
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[15]	1
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16]	11
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[17]	7
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[18]	12
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[19]	25
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[20]	3
UK Albums (OCC)[21]	8
US Billboard 200[12]	58

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[22]	Gold	50,000^^
Netherlands (NVPI)[23]	Gold	50,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[24]	Gold	100,000^^
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. Unwin, Neville; Goodyer, Tim (April 1986). "Talkback". Home and Recording Studio.
2. Marsh, James; Roberts, Chris; Benjamin, Toby (2015). Spirit of Talk Talk (Paperback ed.). London: Rocket 88. p. 74. ISBN 9781906615956.
3. Terich, Jeff (2 March 2009). "The 90-Minute Guide: New Wave". Treble. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
4. Cashen, Calvin (8 March 2016). "Top art pop albums of the '80s". The Concordian. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
5. Steinberg, Jessica (3 October 2018). "Progressive rock musician Steven Wilson to play Israel". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
6. Terich, Jeff (12 August 2008). "Talk Talk: Laughing Stock". Treble. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
7. Woodstra, Chris. "The Colour of Spring – Talk Talk". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
8. Larkin, Colin (2009). "Talk Talk". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-199-72636-1. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
9. Eccleston, Danny (May 2012). "Lost Horizon". Mojo. London (222): 100. ISSN 1351-0193.
10. "Talk Talk: The Colour of Spring". Q. London (211): 119. February 2004.
11. David Roberts British Hit Singles and Albums, Guinness World Records Limited
12. "Talk Talk Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
13. The Colour of Spring (Liner notes). Talk Talk. EMI Records. 2012. pp. 2–5.CS1 maint: others (link)
14. "Austriancharts.at – Talk Talk – The Colour of Spring" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
15. "Dutchcharts.nl – Talk Talk – The Colour of Spring" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
16. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
17. "Charts.nz – Talk Talk – The Colour of Spring". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
18. "Norwegiancharts.com – Talk Talk – The Colour of Spring". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
19. "Swedishcharts.com – Talk Talk – The Colour of Spring". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
20. "Swisscharts.com – Talk Talk – The Colour of Spring". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
21. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
22. "Canadian album certifications – Talk Talk – The Colour of Spring". Music Canada. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
23. "Dutch album certifications – Talk Talk – Colour of Spring" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 24 August 2019. Enter Colour of Spring in the "Artiest of titel" box.
24. "British album certifications – Talk Talk – The Colour of Spring". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 24 August 2019. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type The Colour of Spring in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.

External links

• The Colour of Spring (Adobe Flash) at Myspace (streamed copy where licensed)