History Music / SpiritOfEden

''Spirit of Eden'', released in 1988, is the fourth album by British group Music/TalkTalk. [[NewSoundAlbum A radical departure in sound and style]] from both the energetic SynthPop of their first two records and the pastoral art pop of their third, the album approaches a far more [[AvantGardeMusic avant-garde]] style rooted in Mark Hollis' influences in experimental jazz, ethnomusicology, and impressionist ClassicalMusic. The resulting sound would be a major influence on (if not the outright TropeMaker for) PostRock, which Talk Talk would further dive into on [[Music/LaughingStock their follow-up]].

* PerishingAltRockVoice: Hollis' vocal style radically changes on this album, becoming far more willowy than before and with the LargeHam moments limited to the occasional crescendo. He would carry this style over to ''Music/LaughingStock'' and his 1998 solo album as well.

* SpiritualSuccessor: In a 2004 article for ''The Guardian'', John Robinson describes this album as one to ''Brilliant Trees'' by Music/DavidSylvian, being a radical NewSoundAlbum from a NewWaveMusic veteran that shifted to a much more experimental, atmospheric, and uncommercial approach that focused on "organic" instruments, an overall lush sound, and heavily introspective lyrics.

* NotChristianRock: By Hollis' admission, the album lyrics are deeply religious and reflect his own spiritual outlook, but he himself intended for the lyrics to be seen as audiences as universally humanitarian rather than as an ascription to any particular creed, much less Christianity.

* LongestSongGoesFist: The longest song on the album, the nine-minute "The Rainbow", acts as the opening track.

* LongestSongGoesLast: {{Inverted|Trope}}; the longest song on the album, "The Rainbow", acts as the ''opening'' track.

The result led to a struggle between the band and Creator/{{EMI}} over the album's uncommercial sound, with EMI asking Talk Talk to re-record or insert new material, but Hollis resisted. The two eventually compromised by releasing an edited version of "I Believe in You" (backed with an edit of "Eden" and the non-album cut "John Cope") as the album's sole single. A Tim Pope-directed music video was hastily shot for the release, consisting solely of Hollis lip-syncing to the song in a dark room, replicating the environment the album was first put together in; the video ended up being Talk Talk's last. The band further made marketing the album difficult by refusing to tour for it, believing that its freeform style would translate poorly to live performances.

Despite this, EMI decided to extend the band's contract. Talk Talk, however, had come to the conclusion that EMI was the wrong label for them to be on, and immediately disputed this extension, resulting in a high-profile court case that revolved around whether or not the extension notification had been sent too soon. The band's contract stipulated that an extension notice must be sent no later than three months after the completion of their last required album: EMI argued that "completion" was defined by whether they felt the album was satisfactory, but Talk Talk believed that the album was completed once recording sessions wrapped up. Courts initially ruled in EMI's favor, but the Court of Appeals later overturned the jurisdiction and provided a new verdict in Talk Talk's favor, thus freeing them from their contract. They would go on to sign with Creator/PolydorRecords for their fifth and final album, ''Music/LaughingStock''.

* PerishingAltRockVoice: Hollis' vocal style radically changes on this album, becoming far wispier than before and with the LargeHam moments limited to the occasional crescendo. He would carry this style over to ''Music/LaughingStock'' and his 1998 solo album as well.

* SpiritualSuccessor: In a 2004 article for ''The Guardian'', John Robinson describes this album as one to ''Brilliant Trees'' by Music/DavidSylvian, being a radical NewSoundAlbum from a NewWaveMusic veteran that shifted to a much more experimental, atmospheric, and uncommercial approach yet ended up becoming critically acclaimed in the long run.

''Spirit of Eden'', released in 1988, is the fourth album by British group Music/TalkTalk. [[NewSoundAlbum A radical departure in sound and style]] from both the energetic SynthPop of their first two records and the pastoral art pop of their third, the album approaches a far more [[AvantGardeMusic avant-garde]] style rooted in Mark Hollis' influences in experimental jazz, ethnomusicology, and impressionist ClassicalMusic.

When EMI finally heard the end result, they were horrified by its nakedly uncommercial sound and asked the band to make the album more commercially accessible, be it through re-recording songs or adding in new ones. Hollis rebuffed their efforts, but eventually compromised by releasing an edited version of "I Believe in You" (backed with an edit of "Eden" and the non-album cut "John Cope") as the album's sole single. A Tim Pope-directed music video was hastily shot for the release, consisting solely of Hollis lip-syncing to the song in a dark room, replicating the environment the album was first put together in; Hollis immediately came to view the video as "a huge mistake," and it consequently ended up being Talk Talk's last. The band further made marketing the album difficult by refusing to tour for it, believing that its freeform style would translate poorly to live performances. True to EMI's worries, "I Believe in You" stiffed at No. 75 on the UK Singles chart, and the album itself only reached No. 19; thought it eventually went silver, this performance was a major disappointment compared to ''The Colour of Spring'' just two years earlier.

Despite the album's demonstrable unmarketability though, EMI decided that they still had some level of faith in the band, and decided to extend their contract. Talk Talk, however, had come to the conclusion that EMI was the wrong label for them to be on, and immediately disputed this extension, resulting in a high-profile court case that revolved around whether or not the extension notification had been sent too soon. The band's contract stipulated that an extension notice must be sent no later than three months after the completion of their last required album: EMI argued that "completion" was defined by whether they felt the album was satisfactory, but Talk Talk believed that the album was completed once recording sessions wrapped up. Courts initially ruled in EMI's favor, but the Court of Appeals later overturned the jurisdiction and provided a new verdict in Talk Talk's favor, thus freeing them from their contract. They would go on to sign with Creator/PolydorRecords for their fifth and final album, ''Music/LaughingStock''.

''Spirit of Eden'' was surrounded by hectic circumstances, and its critical reception was equally turbulent. Reviewers were sharply split on what to make of the album: it was unlike anything anyone had heard before, to the extent where nobody knew ''what'' to call it. Many reviewers felt that it was a self-indulgent, pretentious, and unlistenable mess, while an equally large second camp considered it exhilarating and innovative in its approach. As time went on, [[VindicatedByHistory responses grew more and more favorable]], with many now considering it a major influence on (if not the outright TropeMaker for) PostRock, a genre that would become more prominent over the next ten years. Today, it's widely regarded as one of the greatest albums ever made: in 2006, ''Q'' magazine ranked it as the 31st best album of the 1980's, and 6 years later, ''Magazine/{{NME}}'' would place it at No. 95 on [[UsefulNotes/NME500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime its list]] of the 500 greatest albums of all time. This immense reappraisal would eventually lead music aggregator site ''WebSite/AcclaimedMusic'' to list it at No. 413 on the 2020 edition of its [[UsefulNotes/AcclaimedMusicAllTimeTopAlbums dynamic compendium]] of the most critically lauded albums. Alongside its direct successor, ''Laughing Stock'', ''Spirit of Eden'' is generally regarded by fans and critics as the crown on Talk Talk's career.

* NotChristianRock: By Hollis' admission, the album lyrics are deeply religious and reflect his own spiritual outlook, but he himself intended for the lyrics to be seen as audiences as universally humanitarian rather than as an ascription to any particular creed, much less Christianity.

''Spirit of Eden'', released in 1988, is the fourth album by British group Music/TalkTalk. [[NewSoundAlbum A radical departure in sound and style]] from both the energetic SynthPop of their first two albums and the pastoral art pop of their third, the album approaches a far more [[AvantGardeMusic avant-garde]] style rooted in Mark Hollis' influences in experimental jazz, ethnomusicology, and impressionist ClassicalMusic.

''Spirit of Eden'', released in 1988, is the fourth album by British group Music/TalkTalk. [[NewSoundAlbum A radical change in sound and style]] from both the energetic SynthPop of their first two albums and the pastoral art pop of their third, the album approaches a far more [[AvantGardeMusic avant-garde]] style rooted in Mark Hollis' influences in experimental jazz, ethnomusicology, and impressionist ClassicalMusic. Having already amassed a good amount of clout and money off of the smash success of ''The Colour of Spring'', Creator/{{EMI}} essentially gave the band carte blanche for their follow-up, an opportunity that Hollis immediately seized to finally bring his eternal musical goals to fruition. Locking out their manager and EMI executives from recording sessions, Talk Talk gathered together a variety of session musicians and improvised in near-complete darkness, illuminated only by oil projectors and strobe lights and with little to no verbal communication, thus giving everyone the ability to play as their hearts desired. The resulting audio was then digitally stitched together into usable songs, with Hollis inserting and taking out elements as he saw fit over the course of the editing process.

''Spirit of Eden'' was surrounded by hectic circumstances, and its critical reception was equally turbulent. Reviewers were sharply split on what to make of the album: it was unlike anything anyone had heard before, to the extent where nobody knew ''what'' to call it. Many reviewers felt that it was a self-indulgent, pretentious, and unlistenable mess, while an equally large second camp considered it exhilarating and innovative in its approach. As time went on, however, responses grew more and more favorable, with many now considering it a major influence on (if not the outright TropeMaker for) PostRock, a genre that would become more prominent over the next ten years. Today, it's widely regarded as one of the greatest albums ever made: in 2006, ''Q'' magazine ranked it as the 31st best album of the 1980's, and 6 years later, ''Magazine/{{NME}}'' would place it at No. 95 on [[UsefulNotes/NME500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime its list]] of the 500 greatest albums of all time. This immense reappraisal would eventually lead music aggregator site ''WebSite/AcclaimedMusic'' to list it at No. 413 on its [[UsefulNotes/AcclaimedMusicAllTimeTopAlbums dynamic compendium]] of the most critically lauded albums. Alongside its direct successor, ''Laughing Stock'', ''Spirit of Eden'' is generally regarded by fans and critics as the crown on Talk Talk's career.

* NoEnding: "Inheritance" abruptly cuts off after Hollis' final shout of "heaven bless you!"

* SiameseTwinSongs: The first side is composed as a unified suite, to the extent where European CD releases index it all as a single 22:50 track.

* ShoutOut: The first verse of "The Rainbow" namedrops acclaimed Irish hurler Jimmy Finn.