The Colour of Spring

"Chameleon Day" redirects here and is not to be confused with Chameleon Days.

The Colour of Spring is the third studio album by English band Talk Talk, released on 17 February 1986. Written by Mark Hollis and producer Tim Friese-Greene, the album combines elements of jazz and art pop in an effort by Hollis to embrace more organic instrumentation and production values.^[7] Unlike previous Talk Talk albums, synthesizers are rarely featured on the album, being replaced by guitar, piano, and organ.^[8] The album went on to become Talk Talk's greatest commercial success, spawning the hit singles "Life's What You Make It" and "Living in Another World" and reaching the Top 20 in numerous countries (topping the Dutch charts), including the UK, where it reached No. 8 and stayed in the UK charts for 21 weeks.^[9]

The Colour of Spring
Studio album by Talk Talk
Released	17 February 1986
Recorded	1985, London
Studio	Battery, London[1] Videosonics Studios[2]
Genre	New wave[3] art pop[4] progressive pop[5] experimental pop[6]
Length	45:40
Label	EMI
Producer	Tim Friese-Greene
Talk Talk chronology
It's My Life (1984) The Colour of Spring (1986) Spirit of Eden (1988)
Singles from The Colour of Spring
"Life's What You Make It" Released: 6 January 1986 (UK) "Living in Another World" Released: 3 March 1986 "Give It Up" Released: 6 May 1986 "I Don't Believe in You" Released: 10 November 1986

Background

The Colour of Spring is commonly viewed as a bridge between Talk Talk's earlier, synthesized pop sound, and their later, more improvisation-based work. Despite the extensive use of synthesizers on the previous two albums, Hollis was vocal in his distaste for them, stating that they were used primarily for economic reasons and that “if they didn’t exist, I’d be delighted.”^[10] During the recording of the album, Hollis frequently listened to the music of composers such as Erik Satie, Claude Debussy, and Béla Bartók, with the latter being a particularly significant influence on the album.^[11]

Like other Talk Talk albums, outside musicians were heavily utilized. Guests contributing to the album include Robbie McIntosh adding guitar, and Steve Winwood, who played organ on the hit "Living in Another World", alongside "Happiness is Easy" and "I Don't Believe in You".^[12]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[13]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[14]
Mojo	[15]
Q	[16]
Uncut	9/10[17]

The Colour of Spring became the band's highest selling non-compilation studio album, reaching the Top 20 in numerous countries (topping the Dutch charts), including the UK, where it reached No. 8 and stayed in the UK charts for 21 weeks.^[9] It did not quite match the sales of its predecessor in the United States but was nonetheless their last album to enter the Billboard 200, reaching number 58.^[18] With the international hit "Life's What You Make It", Talk Talk expanded their fan base. The song became the band's fourth of four American hits, along with 1982's "Talk Talk" and 1984's "It's My Life" and "Such a Shame".

The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.^[19]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Happiness Is Easy"	6:30
2.	"I Don't Believe in You"	5:02
3.	"Life's What You Make It"	4:29
4.	"April 5th"	5:51

All tracks are written by Tim Friese-Greene and Mark Hollis.

Side two

No.	Title	Length
5.	"Living in Another World"	6:58
6.	"Give It Up"	5:17
7.	"Chameleon Day"	3:20
8.	"Time It's Time"	8:14
Total length:		45:40

Personnel

Credits per album notes.^[20]

Talk Talk

• Mark Hollis — lead vocals, piano (tracks 3, 5, 6, 7), Variophon (tracks 1, 4 and 7), organ (track 4), Mellotron (track 6), electric guitar (track 8), melodica (track 8)
• Lee Harris — drums (except 4, 7)
• Paul Webb — bass guitar (tracks 2, 4, 5, 6, and 8), backing vocals (tracks 3 and 5)

Additional personnel

• Tim Friese-Greene — producer, piano (tracks 1, 2, and 8), Kurzweil Synthesizer (tracks 1, 4 and 7), organ (tracks 3, 6 and 8), Variophon (tracks 4 and 7), Mellotron (track 3)
• Ian Curnow — synthesizer solos (tracks 2 and 6)
• Martin Ditcham — percussion (tracks 1, 3, 5, 6 and 8)
• Mark Feltham — harmonica (track 5)
• Alan Gorrie — electric bass (track 1)
• Robbie McIntosh — guitar (tracks 1, 2, 5 and 8), Dobro (tracks 4 and 6)
• Morris Pert — percussion (tracks 1, 2, 5, and 8)
• Phil Reis — percussion (track 1)
• David Rhodes — guitar (tracks 3, 5, and 6)
• David Roach — soprano saxophone (tracks 2, 4, and 5)
• Gaynor Sadler — harp (track 2)
• Danny Thompson — acoustic bass (track 1)
• Children from the school of Miss Speake — children's choir (track 1)
• Ambrosian Singers — choir (track 8)
• Steve Winwood — organ (tracks 1, 2, and 5)

Technical

• Dennis Weinrich — engineer
• Dietmar Schillinger — engineer
• Paul Schroeder — engineer
• Pete Wooliscroft — engineer
• James Marsh — cover art

Charts

Chart (1986) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[21] 71 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[22] 16 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[23] 1 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[24] 11 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[25] 7 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[26] 12 Scottish Albums (OCC)[27] 70 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[28] 25 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[29] 3 UK Albums (OCC)[30] 8 UK Album Downloads (OCC)[31] 36 US Billboard 200[18] 58

Year-end charts 1986 year-end chart performance for The Colour of Spring Chart (1986) Position European Albums (Music & Media)[32] 22 UK Albums (Gallup)[33] 79

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[34]	Gold	50,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[35]	Gold	50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[36]	Gold	100,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.