[BestEverAlbums]

Today's album of the day

Spirit Of Eden by Talk Talk (View album | Buy this album)

Year: 1988.
Country:
Overall rank: 132
Decade rank: 17
Year rank: 3
Discography rank: 1 (out of 13 albums on BEA)
Average rating: 84/100 (from 1003 votes).



Tracks:
1. The Rainbow
2. Eden
3. Desire
4. Inheritance
5. I Believe In You
6. Wealth

indicates a top-rated track.

Top voted comments:

"When most guitar based music was embracing dance music or marketing their angst as Grunge anthems, Talk Talk release this little album of deconstructed intimacy. Spirit Of Eden may have seemed foreign but it made perfect sense to the Talk Talk evolution, that had been slowly progressing over three previous albums.
Album number 4 arrived like a frozen winter, the fourth and final season to complete the growth cycle. Upon its arrival it now become obvious that we'd actually arrived back at the beginning. Eden was invisible to the outside world, so far removed that it seemed completely out of place. The result was a revelation. In retrospect this was a vision of the current world, re-imagined as a protected place .A place where even the quietest voice is heard. Without distraction we discover Eden, a place where our inner child lives and

In choosing to become a witness we accepted an invitation to walk inside anothers spiritual journey, where truth can finally speak freely. Our commitment is one of complete meditation. A clear mind is needed to hear.
The Voice of vulnerability sings candidly into the open. Beautiful formations escape from the wandering cries and whispers. Somehow this album still sounds accidental and unrehearsed. It is a moment of time passing, that never becomes captured. Strength is born from sadness and loss, expressed with all the innocence of childhood. Honest confessions are not without doubt, but, never once is self pity indulged.

Spirit Of Eden requires your care. It isn't somewhere to escape. It is the declaration of an inner voice. It returns us to the essence our ourselves."
- maitredj (Rating: 100/100)
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"Fun fact on this album:
EMI actually tried to sue talk talk for Spirit of Eden after claiming it was not "commercially satisfactory."
One of the most beautiful records ever produced and that is what happens! Why is there so much wrong with the music industry? :("
- steve_o_619 (Rating: 100/100)
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About album of the day: The BestEverAlbums.com album of the day is the album appearing most prominently in member charts in the previous 24 hours. If an album, or artist, has previously been selected within a x day period, the next highest album is picked instead (and so on) to ensure a bit of variety. A full history of album of the day can be viewed here.

[DommeDamian]

A majestic and definingly graceful example as well as reminder of that great way to experience an album; by letting it take you to another place. The birth of post-rock that is Spirit of Eden, do that to me every time. I mean, technically, Heroin by Velvet Underground was the first post-rock song (pre-post rock = rock?), but Talk Talk escalated and purified what was previously created, to make something I would argue is even more sparse and glorious allaround.

It has me wondered, what post-rock is supposed to mean. Without looking at the definition, and thinking this is the album that started it all, it sounds like if rock music (and that meaning all subgenres: punk, metal, folk rock etc) is a colossal defining event, then … what about the aftermath!?! And it was kinda there it hit me; music like this isn’t grand, eventful or performative. It’s natural, unaffected by its musical and cultural circumstances, airy, subtle and rational. Sure, there are some noisy parts here and there, principally the showdown in Desire, but just like nature, there’s nothing illogical about it once you, yanno, get it. Spirit of Eden is if experimental rock loosened its attitude, art rock dropped its antics, and psychedelic rock became a minimalistic circle of heaven. Spirit of Eden is also a complex album in its dynamic instrumentation and structures, but the meditative state that it puts you in, makes you overlook it as of how immersive the music is. Sometimes I forget where the music pauses and restartes as it flows like a delicious river. The track Inheritance sounds like something out of a classical opera, except Talk Talk is performing it through a ghostly manner on a bright field of grace. I Believe In You starts pretty straightforward but soon becomes a study in sound, with quality and flow. Mark Hollis was an awesome vocalist, whose voice cannot be replicated. Most of the time, I don’t know what he is saying, but sort of like an album like Heaven Or Las Vegas, the mere existence and effect of him is what’s necessary to drive these compositions home. There’s as much wobble and vibrato as there are words, it makes it his style and sort of adds a bit of aquatic mood to the album’s vibe. The feeling of revisiting Spirit of Eden after a long time, is like visiting an isolated cottage you have vague memories of, and starting to appreciate all the small elements in not only your current position, but the way it turns your day-to-day life into something quite indescribable. In its peak, Spirit of Eden will give you a special feeling of being free (even if Mark distinctly sings on Wealth “Take my freedo-om”).

For everybody reading, I recommend you find a small beach, with no people, during summer, walk slowly alongside it, with Spirit of Eden in your headphones. But don’t expect it to mindblow you, just let it play. Then when the sun goes down, listen to its little brother Laughing Stock. I personally prefer this one as the adventurous moves it takes, captivates me a bit more in the heart.
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My Top 100 :
www.besteveralbums.com/thechart.php?c=4...amp;page=1

My music:
- www.hyperfollow.com/dommedamian

[HoldenM]

Maybe the closest any album has brought me to the divine or sublime.

Track picks
1. The Rainbow
5. I Believe In You
6. Wealth
_________________
Inversion Verses
https://thesplitinfinitives1.bandcamp.com/album/inversion-verses