Spirit of Eden

Spirit of Eden
Studio album by
Talk Talk
Released12 September 1988[1]
Recorded11 May 1987 – 11 March 1988[2]
StudioWessex Sound, London
Genre
Length41:30
LabelParlophone (EMI)
ProducerTim Friese-Greene
Talk Talk chronology
The Colour of Spring
(1986) 		Spirit of Eden
(1988) 		Natural History
(1990)
Talk Talk studio album chronology
The Colour of Spring
(1986) 		Spirit of Eden
(1988) 		Laughing Stock
(1991)
Singles from Spirit of Eden
  1. "I Believe in You"
    Released: 19 September 1988

Spirit of Eden is the fourth studio album by English band Talk Talk, released in 1988 on Parlophone Records. It was compiled from a lengthy recording process at London's Wessex Studios between 1987 and 1988, with songs written by singer Mark Hollis and producer Tim Friese-Greene. Often working in darkness, the band recorded many hours of improvised performances that drew on elements of jazz, ambient, classical music, blues, and dub. These long-form recordings were then heavily edited and re-arranged into an album in mostly digital format. The results were a radical departure from Talk Talk's earlier synth-pop recordings, and would later be credited with pioneering the post-rock genre.[3]

Compared to the success of 1986's The Colour of Spring, Spirit of Eden was a commercial disappointment.[8] Despite its mixed reception, the album's stature grew more favourable in subsequent years, with contemporary critics describing Spirit of Eden as an underrated masterpiece.[9][10][11] In 2013, NME ranked Spirit of Eden at number 95 in its list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".[3]

  1. ^ Smith, Robin (10 September 1988). "News: Releases". Record Mirror. p. 11. ISSN 0144-5804.
  2. ^ "11 May 1987: Talk Talk commence recording Spirit Of Eden". Moving The River. 11 May 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference NME500 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Paste Staff (3 June 2024). "The 300 Greatest Albums of All Time". Paste. Retrieved 3 June 2024. ...the complex, pastoral post-rock of final two albums Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock.
  5. ^ Harvell, Jess (21 October 2011). "Talk Talk / Mark Hollis: Laughing Stock / Mark Hollis". Pitchfork. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  6. ^ "The 150 Best Albums of the 1990s". Pitchfork. 28 September 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2023. Directly inspired by Talk Talk's experimental rock seance Spirit of Eden...
  7. ^ Wide, Steve (22 September 2020). "Honourable Mentions: Talk Talk". A Field Guide to Post-Punk and New Wave. Smith Street Books. p. 70. ISBN 978-1-925811-76-6.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Thomson was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Larson was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "Why Talk Talk's 'Spirit of Eden' is a masterpiece". faroutmagazine.co.uk. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
  11. ^ "Talk Talk's Spirit of Eden is one of the great masterpieces of modern music". British GQ. 26 February 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2023.