Four minutes into the song After The Flood, a 75-second gap awaited a solo. Hollis reached for the Variophon, a German, breath-controlled synthesizer which made Talk Talk's distinctive brass-banshee/distressed-elephant sounds. "They were the most unreliable machines ever made," notes Tim. "Originally, Mark had a part for the solo which spanned the whole section and was just two notes. He played it through a very large amplifier and the Variophon was clearly malfunctioning, jumping between octaves randomly and producing all sorts of internal feedback. We listened back to it and thought, This is too much, and stripped it down to one note. That was the only possible solo that could go there. I was out in the studio tweaking the amplifier and I heard this one note roaring back through the amp and I remember thinking, This is the end. This is as far as we can go. After one note there's no notes. This will be the last album we make.
The shear integrity of Tim's comment from a contextual point of view is staggering. This and the interview with Hollis about this album makes listening to this record even more special. Thank you so much for sharing.
The drums are perfect. How something so simple can be so compelling for the ENTIRE song is....miraculous. The whole song, the whole album, feels like magic.
Miles is famous for his "less is more" approach, and the importance of the silence between the notes he decided to play. Hollis' path was exactly that: if you listen to his one and only solo album after Laughing Stock, it seems like he is retiring the music until there is only silence.
Mark Hollis specifically cited Miles Davis' album Sketches of Spain a key influence in the turn of sound that led to Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock. There's definitely a lot of similarities in the approach to melody and atmosphere!
Although not my favorite song, After the Flood is the pinnacle of Talk Talk along with Taphead and New Grass. The complexity and perfection in the execution make the music one of the most incredible I've ever heard and put Talk Talk on a level that for me not even Spirit of Eden was able to place.
The real enjoyment will be when you get to listen to this album from start to finish. I’ve been listening since it was released and am no less enthralled after all these years.
After Ascension day's abrupt ending we get a quiet trickle of sounds slowly building to be overwhelmed by that distorted guitar with Hollis's vocals either side and that truly epic fade out. This Album works best when listened to from start to finish without skipping tracks. In my opinion both Depeche Mode and Talk Talk had the bravery to go beyond the mainstream music that is churned out and produce not only songs but whole albums that dare to try something new and untested and that is why these 2 bands will always be the ones i come back to time and time again.
It's always fascinated me how Talk Talk started and how they developed during their career. I have barely seen any other group changing this much. The Beatles maybe in a way.
I wonder how intentional it was for the guitar in this track to sound like animals' squealing because it's always made me think of the sampling of animal sounds from the It's My Life album.
@KevinStriker - Very close! Apparently it wasn't a guitar but a synthesizer that had also been used for animal noises on 'Such A Shame', and it was malfunctioning while recording the part for _this_ song. Have a look further up in the comments for Jack Cale's for more details!
@@muzikkification - Sure is! I remember it did take me a while to warm to it, though (after hearing the song and album for the first time in the mid 90's, when I was in my mid 20's) 🙂
I love After the Flood, a wonderful track on an amazing album. Im so lucky i found Talk Talk right at the start in 82, saw them live and its interesting how their music evolved and i grew up from my early teens. Hollis vocals always were used more like an instrument and were more about evoking a feeling, an emotion. Though the lyrics were always poetic and provided imagery it almost got to the point where tgeir meaning was secondary. As time went by the songs more revolved around ecology and spirituality. Im sad this was their last album, but it feels like they'd reached an inevitable conclusion. I dont think it would have been Hollis' s choice to release any singles, given their past issues its likely it was a record conpany devision. And though i love this track it was a mistake to edit it down to try and make a single of it. If you havent already you must play Mark Hollis album, again in its entirety as it deserves it. I know you havent played The Partys Over, but i still think it stands up as a classic new romantic style album from the early 80s, and Today as its quintessential single. I also suggest searching TH-cam to find out where it all began. There's Mark Hollis solo track from 1979, Crying in the Rain, which to me was more a sign to where Talk Talk and Mark Hollis would end up than early Talk Talk. Also, if you want a laugh check out the song Talk Talk Talk Talk by The Reaction circa 1977, Hollis's first band a garage punk band. This track is the original song that would become Talk Talk. As Guy Garvey (Elbow lead singer) said: "Mark Hollis started from punk and by his own admission he had no musical ability. To go from only having the urge, to writing some of the most timeless, intricate and original music ever is as impressive as the moon landings." RIP a musical genius, too often used and rarely more derserved.
A critique on certain harsh heartless dogmatic belief , I think. And to casualties of war. Great review btw. I hear water bubbles 🫧 in the track…And I just now read someone mentioning hearing animal distress, so … that as well (@KevinStriker)
I nearly never hear lyrics with my first listen. I hear the over all sounds of the piece and the sounds of the words. I found myself in the mood for this tune. I am waiting for you to tell me what it was about. (I don't know enough about Miles Davis to have an opinion.)
Sublime. I can listen to this many times over (and have already!) and not be sick of it. That noise part always reminded me of an 8-bit computer loading something from cassette. I know it's not, but when I first heard it as a naïve 7-year-old, that was my first reaction.
The phrase length is ten beats, or three slow beats followed by two (the chord changes). Realised it today, some 30 years after I first heard the album.
Sonically fantastic , it just makes me think of Mark Hollis' early departure from this world , I have a half smiling , half weeping face. Really underated band. 😍
@@JustJP Hey Justin, as for David Sylvian, here's a little story you'll like: On my first date with an ex-girlfriend in the early '90s, we were sitting outside her apartment and she asked me, "Who's your favorite musician?" And I said, "Oh, you won't know him, his name is David Sylvian." She jumped up, ran to her apartment, came back with a huge stack of CDs and said, "Mine too!"
Great reaction to a great track. My association with the 'guitar solo' is a power drill, trying in vain to penetrate something - perhaps the listener's head...
Hi JP. DP from UK. Many say this is one of the band's stand-out tracks, but I'm one of The Disappointed. Nine and a half minutes of woozy jam. There's just not enough music in there; Mark seems half asleep, and that white noise solo.... In Spirit of Eden there was some brilliant, structured instrumentation. Here it's just undercooked for me. I do like your comparison of Mark's singing and Miles Davis' trumpet though.
I’m okay with this one. The instruments are in tune with themselves and each other, Hollis is singing alright, and there are some interesting sounds and dissonances that I like. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ I wasn’t fond of the timbre of the snare and some of the sounds used for the orchestration. Thanks for the shout out. Although, I‘m just plagiarizing you and Manny from JPMP. 😊
I love your comments about this song its my favourite song.I am 52 my sister introduced to TALK TALK at 15yrs old.
Four minutes into the song After The Flood, a 75-second gap awaited a solo. Hollis reached for the Variophon, a German, breath-controlled synthesizer which made Talk Talk's distinctive brass-banshee/distressed-elephant sounds. "They were the most unreliable machines ever made," notes Tim. "Originally, Mark had a part for the solo which spanned the whole section and was just two notes. He played it through a very large amplifier and the Variophon was clearly malfunctioning, jumping between octaves randomly and producing all sorts of internal feedback. We listened back to it and thought, This is too much, and stripped it down to one note. That was the only possible solo that could go there. I was out in the studio tweaking the amplifier and I heard this one note roaring back through the amp and I remember thinking, This is the end. This is as far as we can go. After one note there's no notes. This will be the last album we make.
On the compilation Missing Pieces there is more of that strange solo in a very experimental piece of soundscape
Cheers I must check that out!
The shear integrity of Tim's comment from a contextual point of view is staggering. This and the interview with Hollis about this album makes listening to this record even more special. Thank you so much for sharing.
@@eyesofchildyes agree. They tried everything to its limits it seems
Masterpiece of this album. Perhaps the pinnacle of all Talk Talk'music. Mark was a genius.
The drums are perfect. How something so simple can be so compelling for the ENTIRE song is....miraculous. The whole song, the whole album, feels like magic.
Yeah! The drums sound like they're floating through the song! 🤩
Lee Harris could make a metronomic rhythm sound organic
Hands down my favourite Talk Talk track honestly it’s fucking great and New Grass. So glad your getting into this album
Miles is famous for his "less is more" approach, and the importance of the silence between the notes he decided to play. Hollis' path was exactly that: if you listen to his one and only solo album after Laughing Stock, it seems like he is retiring the music until there is only silence.
Amazing. Just amazing point. Thank you.
Mark Hollis specifically cited Miles Davis' album Sketches of Spain a key influence in the turn of sound that led to Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock. There's definitely a lot of similarities in the approach to melody and atmosphere!
That guitar solo is sooooo…😍
Only that it's a malfunctioning synth! 😉
I reckon I could possibly get a similar sound from my Zvex Fuzz Factory. Must try it some day.
Although not my favorite song, After the Flood is the pinnacle of Talk Talk along with Taphead and New Grass. The complexity and perfection in the execution make the music one of the most incredible I've ever heard and put Talk Talk on a level that for me not even Spirit of Eden was able to place.
The real enjoyment will be when you get to listen to this album from start to finish. I’ve been listening since it was released and am no less enthralled after all these years.
After Ascension day's abrupt ending we get a quiet trickle of sounds slowly building to be overwhelmed by that distorted guitar with Hollis's vocals either side and that truly epic fade out. This Album works best when listened to from start to finish without skipping tracks.
In my opinion both Depeche Mode and Talk Talk had the bravery to go beyond the mainstream music that is churned out and produce not only songs but whole albums that dare to try something new and untested and that is why these 2 bands will always be the ones i come back to time and time again.
It's always fascinated me how Talk Talk started and how they developed during their career. I have barely seen any other group changing this much. The Beatles maybe in a way.
DEAD TO RESPECT TO RESPECT TO BE BORN!!!!!! LEST WE FORGET WHO LAY!!
Over and over again...now with the dam in Ukraine...'lest we forget who lay...
I wonder how intentional it was for the guitar in this track to sound like animals' squealing because it's always made me think of the sampling of animal sounds from the It's My Life album.
Great insight. Animals and the water bubbles.
@KevinStriker - Very close! Apparently it wasn't a guitar but a synthesizer that had also been used for animal noises on 'Such A Shame', and it was malfunctioning while recording the part for _this_ song. Have a look further up in the comments for Jack Cale's for more details!
@@mightyV444 It's so genius
@@muzikkification - Sure is! I remember it did take me a while to warm to it, though (after hearing the song and album for the first time in the mid 90's, when I was in my mid 20's) 🙂
I love After the Flood, a wonderful track on an amazing album. Im so lucky i found Talk Talk right at the start in 82, saw them live and its interesting how their music evolved and i grew up from my early teens.
Hollis vocals always were used more like an instrument and were more about evoking a feeling, an emotion. Though the lyrics were always poetic and provided imagery it almost got to the point where tgeir meaning was secondary. As time went by the songs more revolved around ecology and spirituality.
Im sad this was their last album, but it feels like they'd reached an inevitable conclusion.
I dont think it would have been Hollis' s choice to release any singles, given their past issues its likely it was a record conpany devision. And though i love this track it was a mistake to edit it down to try and make a single of it.
If you havent already you must play Mark Hollis album, again in its entirety as it deserves it.
I know you havent played The Partys Over, but i still think it stands up as a classic new romantic style album from the early 80s, and Today as its quintessential single.
I also suggest searching TH-cam to find out where it all began. There's Mark Hollis solo track from 1979, Crying in the Rain, which to me was more a sign to where Talk Talk and Mark Hollis would end up than early Talk Talk.
Also, if you want a laugh check out the song Talk Talk Talk Talk by The Reaction circa 1977, Hollis's first band a garage punk band. This track is the original song that would become Talk Talk.
As Guy Garvey (Elbow lead singer) said: "Mark Hollis started from punk and by his own admission he had no musical ability. To go from only having the urge, to writing some of the most timeless, intricate and original music ever is as impressive as the moon landings."
RIP a musical genius, too often used and rarely more derserved.
A critique on certain harsh heartless dogmatic belief , I think. And to casualties of war. Great review btw. I hear water bubbles 🫧 in the track…And I just now read someone mentioning hearing animal distress, so … that as well (@KevinStriker)
I'd read several times that some of those water bubble noises were actually from a bong 😅
Something that doesn't get mentioned much for this track is the ambient bubbling type soundscape 'bed' that builds underneath the track. Gorgeous.
I nearly never hear lyrics with my first listen. I hear the over all sounds of the piece and the sounds of the words. I found myself in the mood for this tune. I am waiting for you to tell me what it was about. (I don't know enough about Miles Davis to have an opinion.)
Sublime. I can listen to this many times over (and have already!) and not be sick of it.
That noise part always reminded me of an 8-bit computer loading something from cassette. I know it's not, but when I first heard it as a naïve 7-year-old, that was my first reaction.
That totally is what I had always associated with that noise part myself! 😊
I'm just trying to imagine hearing this for the first time at age 7 😮
Perfect track, perfect album
The phrase length is ten beats, or three slow beats followed by two (the chord changes). Realised it today, some 30 years after I first heard the album.
Sonically fantastic , it just makes me think of Mark Hollis' early departure from this world , I have a half smiling , half weeping face. Really underated band. 😍
Like in many Talk Talk songs I again feel a lot of David Sylvian vibes here. Would have been great, if Sylvian and Hollis had collaborated.
Can you imagine :D
@@JustJP Hey Justin, as for David Sylvian, here's a little story you'll like: On my first date with an ex-girlfriend in the early '90s, we were sitting outside her apartment and she asked me, "Who's your favorite musician?" And I said, "Oh, you won't know him, his name is David Sylvian." She jumped up, ran to her apartment, came back with a huge stack of CDs and said, "Mine too!"
@@eikestolze9109 😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮Wow!
@@eikestolze9109 hahaha fantastic!
Utterly amazing
Bravooooo
Great reaction to a great track. My association with the 'guitar solo' is a power drill, trying in vain to penetrate something - perhaps the listener's head...
I like that thought Kap!
Hi JP. DP from UK. Many say this is one of the band's stand-out tracks, but I'm one of The Disappointed. Nine and a half minutes of woozy jam. There's just not enough music in there; Mark seems half asleep, and that white noise solo.... In Spirit of Eden there was some brilliant, structured instrumentation. Here it's just undercooked for me. I do like your comparison of Mark's singing and Miles Davis' trumpet though.
Agreed, it's annoyingly empty considering its ambitions.
Aye, get the Miles D comparison.
It simply does not get better than this. It doesn't. A 10/4 time signature for me, btw.
Yeah, that's real good. I'm gonna have to give these folks more of a listen.
I’m okay with this one. The instruments are in tune with themselves and each other, Hollis is singing alright, and there are some interesting sounds and dissonances that I like. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ I wasn’t fond of the timbre of the snare and some of the sounds used for the orchestration.
Thanks for the shout out. Although, I‘m just plagiarizing you and Manny from JPMP. 😊
Pants. 1/5
I'm curious: Under what kinds of songs would one find an actual *positive* comment from you, please?