Rhino Reissue of Talk Talk's "It's My Life" Coming October 4th

40th anniversary release overseen by Talk Talk drummer Lee Harris and Mark Hollis's son Charlie

Though most older fans today consider later albums "The Colour of Spring" (1986) and Spirit of Eden (1988) and to a lesser degree 1991's Laughing Stock to be Talk Talk's peak (though younger crowds especially prefer the last two albums), It's My Life from 1984 was the beginning of the band's rise to musical excellence (though critics mostly hated Spirit of Eden when it was first released and it was a commercial failure).

Rhino Records on October 4th will release a new half-speed cut of It's My Life by Matt Colton at Metropolis Studios, overseen by Talk Talk drummer Lee Harris and Charlie Hollis, son of Mark Hollis. The 180-gram black vinyl will be released alongside a CD reissue in new card packaging and arrive in stores on October 4th.

The band's influence on next gen bands can't be overstated. No Doubt's cover of the title tune here was probably the most successful outreach to the Top 40 charts.

Engineer Phill Brown and mastering engineer Dennis Blackham (a/k/a "Bilbo") digitally remastered Spirit of Eden back in 1997. We'd all love to get an "AAA" edition overseen by Phill who I interviewed at his cottage a few years back (the original was recorded analog multi-track, dumped to Mitsubishi digital multi-track and mixed to analog tape, so not strictly AAA but I'd like to see a vinyl release cut from the tape if possible.

Comments

2024-07-19 05:45:12 PM

Bruce Nelson wrote:

Hi, Michael.

On a completely different subject, Alison Palmer at Sota Turntables would like to send you a Pyxi phono preamp for review. You said you were interested in getting your hands on one. Contact her at accounting@sotaturntables.com.

Looking forward to a review!

From the middleman,

Bruce
2024-07-19 06:04:41 PM

Paul Robertson wrote:

Thanks Middleman?

Back to the actual story here, being the upcoming Rhino reissue of It’s My Life. So interesting, as I’m a fan of Talk Talk no doubt about that. The Colour of Spring literally knocked me off of my feet when it came out. The following 2 releases I learned to love, after my initial shock each time hearing for the first time. Regarding Spirit of Eden, you and me both that really would be great having a vinyl release cut from the tape. And I remember your interview with Phill Brown too. It was fascinating.

Thanks for the heads up about this!!
- 2024-07-19 09:57:42 PM
  
  Malachi Lui wrote:
  
  there was a 2012 'spirit of eden' mass market release cut from tape, later replaced by a 2019 cut from who knows what. deluxe treatment would be lovely for that album but keep in mind it was mixed from mitsubishi digital multi so there's only so much information to extract. the 96/24 DVD included in the vinyl reissues is superb
  - 2024-08-03 01:27:51 PM
    
    JT wrote:
    
    After years of trying I gave up looking for a UK original that played cleanly. Several visually NM copies - some quite stunning to look at - passed through my hands. All suffered with intrusive crackle on playback. I haven't read of manufacturing defects at the time or release, so I assume it's typically been a combination of the shallow DMM cut grooves and low quality consumer playback equipment among prior owners.
    
    A couple of years ago I picked up a US original (Ron McMaster cut) and A/B'd with the UK copy I had at the time.
    
    To my ears, in my system, the US pressing was fantastic - subtle differences from the UK pressing in tonal balance, slightly narrower soundstage, but good depth and texture - and most importantly was superbly quiet, which is surely vitally important for this album.
    
    Sold my UK original.
    
    As a bonus, the US pressing is cheaper than a NM UK pressing too!