Talk Talk - Missing Pieces
(Pondlife)
I could barely contain my excitement when I found out about this Talk Talk rarities and
outtakes collection; barely a minute had passed before I ordered myself a copy. For those
not in the know, Talk Talk's final two albums (Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock) are
two of the most highly-ranked records in my personal pantheon. With these, Mark Hollis
abandoned the synth-pop sound that made him successful and created these two albums,
which inspired countless post-rock bands of the 1990's. After 1991's Laughing Stock he
was silent until 1998's amazing Mark Hollis solo album presented a whole new side to
his genius.
The new Missing Pieces collection compiles a few oddities that were initially released on
the limited edition 3-CD box set that came out about 10 years ago. Long unavailable, the
two "new" tracks ("Stump" and "5:09") explore the experimental side of Talk Talk even
more. "Stump" is a noisy, almost industrial clattering that is not unlike some of O.Rang's
work. The textures are rougher, sound as if they were cobbled together from the outtakes
of other Laughing Stock tracks. "5:09" IS cobbled together from outtakes of other
Laughing Stock tracks; the familiar "New Grass" guitar riff is the centerpiece, albeit
backwards.
The final track of Missing Pieces is "Piano," actually available on the overlooked
Allinson/Brown CD from a few years ago. The piece is a long, solo piano piece by "John
Cope" (Mark Hollis) that drifts quietly among Music for Airports-ground. The same
delicate understatement on Hollis' solo album is here, thought it lacks the emotion found
in his compositions. It's certainly pleasant though, and it's a must for Hollis-completists,
especially as the Allinson/Brown album is pretty hard to find now.
Why did Missing Pieces disappoint me? There is nothing actually new for me on the CD.
In addition to these three tracks (which I already had on their original releases), Missing
Pieces contains "Myrrhman," "New Grass," "After the Flood" and "Ascension Day"
from Laughing Stock. When I saw the track listing I expected rare outtake versions from
the Laughing Stock recording sessions. Except for the alternate "After the Flood" (which
is also on the limited box set mentioned above), these tracks are identical to the versions
on the album.
To those that don't have Laughing Stock, this album would serve as a slightly uneven
introduction to the work of Mark Hollis and Talk Talk. To those of us that are
borderline-obsessive, it's a re-sequenced CD with nice new James Marsh cover art. But
rather than hunting down that rare box set, these more marginal works in the Talk Talk
canon can now be available to you.
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