Talk Talk - The Very Best Of (2LP)

Released in 1997 on EMI, The Very Best of Talk Talk is one of those compilations that actually tells a story rather than just ticking boxes. It sketches the band’s journey from sleek early 80s synth pop into the slow-blooming, atmospheric world that would eventually make them cult heroes. If you came to Mark Hollis through a mate’s battered cassette of The Colour of Spring or stumbled in via No Doubt’s later cover of It’s My Life, this set pulls the threads together with a steady hand.

The obvious drawcards are here. It’s My Life still shimmers, all buoyant synths and fretless bass, with Hollis sounding both resigned and hopeful in the same breath. Such a Shame remains the European favourite that never quite had its full due in the UK, its insistent shuffle and lyrical bite ageing suspiciously well. Talk Talk, the band’s namesake single, gives you that early Colin Thurston gloss, all clipped drums and new romantic angles. Then there is Life’s What You Make It, a UK hit that arrived with that piano motif like a lighthouse beam, cutting through 1986 radio with something sturdier and wiser than most of its neighbours. Living in Another World still feels vast, a wind tunnel of harmonica, organ and tension that somehow resolves into something tender.

What makes these songs hold up is the internal push and pull between precision and feel. By the time Tim Friese-Greene became the band’s studio foil, the arrangements had grown deeper and moodier, and you can hear that shift even within the singles. The rhythms are patient, Lee Harris’ drumming is careful and dialled in, Paul Webb’s bass lines are tasteful rather than showy, and Hollis’ voice, all pale smoke and resolve, carries a weight that pop rarely bothers to hold. The Very Best of Talk Talk has to present that in radio-sized parcels, but it still sneaks in the sense that things were moving toward something more searching.

That “something” became Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock, records that later defined a corner of post-rock before the term had really settled. Compilations are always awkward around that period, though you do get a window via the single edit of I Believe in You, a hymn-like piece whose stillness makes its point without bluster. The story behind Spirit of Eden has become lore, recorded largely in the dark at Wessex Studios with engineer Phill Brown, musicians improvising for hours so Hollis and Friese-Greene could carve out a song later. A best-of cannot recreate that environment, but it can point you toward it, which this one does quietly and respectfully.

If you are deciding between Talk Talk compilations, some swear by 1990’s Natural History, which even hit the UK top three and helped spark a renewed run on the band’s catalogue. This 1997 set feels more balanced to me, a little less tied to the moment, and the sequencing is kind. It flows from punchy early singles through the expansive Colour of Spring tracks and into the late-period calm without jolts. You still miss deep cuts like April 5th or New Grass, but then you are asking a best-of to be an album, and that is not quite the brief.

Collectors will have their own angle. Spend enough time in a Melbourne record store and you learn that Talk Talk vinyl never lasts long in the racks, especially clean copies of The Colour of Spring, Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock. If you type The Very Best of Talk Talk vinyl into a search bar, you are probably weighing up whether a singles set will scratch the itch or whether it is time to go all in on the studio runs. No wrong answers. If you prefer to buy Talk Talk records online, you will find plenty of good reissues, and most reputable shops dealing in vinyl records Australia will steer you toward the right pressings. Fans hunting for Talk Talk albums on vinyl usually end up with the core trio, then circle back to a set like this to round out the picture.

Mark Hollis passed away in 2019, and listening now you can hear the care he took with space and silence even in the pop years. The Very Best of Talk Talk is not a substitute for the albums, and it does not try to be. It is a strong map, a reminder that the distance between a chart single and a hushed masterpiece is shorter than you think when the same compass guides both. If you are new, start here and let the songs point you further. If you know, you already understand why these tracks still feel like hard-won truths.