THE COLLECTION

As with most (but not all) Talk Talk compilations, this set focuses on the band's earlier pop centric albums. The usual suspects such as "It's my life", "Talk talk" (2 versions), "Life's what you make it", etc., are rolled out in random fashion over 16 tracks. A couple of relative rarities are thrown in for good measure, including a 12" mix of "Happiness is easy", but these as these are already available on other compilations, they hardly offer an excuse to buy this set.

The music is of course superb, being sophisticated pop prog at its very best. There is an atmosphere and excellence to the music of Talk Talk which takes it beyond the simple material of the pop charts, and even sets it apart from peers such as 10CC. The band's albums are however well crafted affairs, where the selected singles sit easily with the remaining album tracks. To extract the successful singles and place them one after the other is to lose the continuity of the source albums, leaving a satisfactory, but superfluous collection of singles.

Those seeking to skim the surface of this fine band will enjoy this collection. Those wondering why they are listed on this site are strongly advised to avoid this collection and look elsewhere in the band's discography for the answer to that.