SPIRIT OF EDEN

Talk Talk's Spirit of Eden is the band's most highly praised album in the progressive community and the beginning of their end in the synth-pop world, which unfortunately, meant their demise. The album certainly is a far cry from the pop music that the band started with, however, not having heard very much of that it's difficult (personally) to compare. This album is a heavy mix of ambient, almost post-rock music with a heavy-hearted voice and a variety of instruments. This works both for and against the album as it moves along, feeling at points very strong and at other points very seemingly random as the album slowly trudges along.

This is definitely not an album for those who like the rock in their prog rock. The slow, meandering songs will likely bore people who love something upbeat and uptempo like Yes or any of their contemporaries. Starting with the slow moving The Rainbow, the album begins. Some slow guitar work which one would expect to explode into full motion... but never does. Eden follows on as more of the same and kind of an extension to the first song. Desire picks up a little bit when the singer finally decides to do some shouting, but it comes off as rather random, as this is the first time the music ever really picks up in pace or volume. It's a welcome change, however, and this will be done a couple more times on the second side.

By the time we reach Inheritance the album as truly taken on the ''more of the same'' feel. The ambient music takes over and melodies become hard to discern if you're not paying so much attention that a vein could pop out of your head. Nearing the end, Wealth brings the album to an appropriate close with some more slow ambient music.

Really, this album is more about the mood than it is about anything else. That's how it seems to come off anyway. In a kind of gloomy yet almost victorious kind of way this is the kind of music that can make your eyes droop into a comatose stare while contemplating the mysteries of the universe while still managing to bring forth a single tear in light of the beauty of everything. This is pretty music, music which is intricately crafted around long held chords which evokes mood rather than a tapping toe. While this may be very appealing to some, it's very clear that this kind of music is very threatening to others. The music itself is not bad at all - it is taken very seriously and played with an incredible amount of caution as though the musicians had guns to their heads to make sure everything was totally clean. The musicianship and music here are very good... but that doesn't keep it from becoming boring at points.

Not for everyone, this is an album who requires a very certain listener. People who love slow, moody music will get a kick and a half out of this while others may simply find the album a chore to sit through. Therefore, this album gets 2 stars. Fans of this kind of music as well as people who like post-rock should enjoy it.

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