Talk Talk - 12 x 12 Original Remixes (1999)

UK Import (re-released in 2001 under the title Remixed)

Today at blog headquarters we're celebrating the 12th anniversary of The CD Project, which started back on September 15, 2010 when I posted a few random thoughts about Paul Simon's Graceland album. Twelve years and 1800 CDs later, I was able to find a fantastic dance remix CD with the number '12' in the title and here we are.

Talk Talk is one of those groups that makes me facepalm as I say to myself, "you know, the older I get, the better they were!" I listened to the group back in the '80s, but, for some reason, not as much as I probably should have. The 12 x 12 in the title of the disc refers to the fact that this compilation consists of 12 tracks which appeared on 12" singles in the '80s. I had my fair share of 12" remix singles back in the '80s, but none from Talk Talk. To be honest, I gave up on the group after It's My Life and that's on me. Singles here were originally released 1982-1986. Such A Shame appears twice here but I won't nitpick.

According to Discogs, there are only 4 discs in the 12 x 12 series, including one 'promo-only' release. The Thomas Dolby 12 x 12 compilation previously appeared on the blog.

Tracks: 

1. Talk Talk (Extended Mix) - 4:33 - #75 pop, #63 dance, #26 rock 
2. Today (Extended Mix) - 4:32
3. My Foolish Friend (Extended Mix) - 5:29
4. It's My Life (Extended Mix) - 6:18 - #31 pop, #1 dance, #23 rock
5. Such A Shame (Extended Mix) - 7:00 - #89 pop, #12 dance
6. Dum Dum Girl (12" Mix) - 5:22
7. Without You (12" Mix) - 5:54
8. Life's What You Make It (Extended Mix) - 6:54 - #90 pop, #22 dance, #26 rock
9. Living In Another World (Extended Remix) - 8:58
10. Pictures Of Bernadette (Dance Mix) - 8:06
11. Happiness Is Easy (12" Mix) - 7:01
12. Such A Shame (Dub Mix) - 6:33

It's My Life is not only my favorite Talk Talk song, it's one of my favorite sings of the entire eighties. Other top picks are the mixes of Talk Talk, Dum Dum Girl, Today, Life's What You Make It, and Pictures Of Bernadette.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None 

Previously revisited for the blog: 

Natural History (1990)

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First post, 2010: Paul Simon - Graceland (1986)
1st anniversary, 2011 (post #378): Electric Light Orchestra - Time (1981)
2nd anniversary, 2012 (post #694): Seal (1994)
3rd anniversary, 2013 (post #948): Fun Boy Three - Really Saying Something: The Best of Fun Boy Three (1997)
4th anniversary, 2014 (post #1127): Ultravox - Quartet (1982)
5th anniversary, 2015 (post #1231): Soul Hits of the '70s: Didn't It Blow Your Mind, Vol. 5 (1991)
6th anniversary, 2016: no post
7th anniversary, 2017: no post
8th anniversary, 2018 (post #1461): Pat Metheny - Watercolors (1977)
9th anniversary, 2019 (post #1524): Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever (1989)

10th anniversary, 2020 (post #1594): Various Artists - Windham Hill - The First Ten Years (1990)

11th anniversary, 2021: no post

Blog post #1800

Talk Talk - Natural History (1990)

A "best of" compilation of songs from the group's four albums released 1982-1988, plus a b-side and two live bonus tracks. Talk Talk worked in moody, minor key synthscapes; sometimes it works for me, sometimes not. Over time, the band moved from New Wavish synthpop to straight ahead pop to prog rock. When you do stuff like that, it's hard to develop a following - those moves are more fulfilling for the artist than for fans. Singer/group leader Mark Hollis never really liked the business end of the recording world so he naturally didn't like the EMI label profiting from re-releasing his work as a compilation:

A compilation album is not my idea of an album. I don't like compilation albums and I didn't like that one. It certainly wasn't the selection of tracks I would have liked even if there had to be one. But, at the end of the day, they had every right to do it so…

(from Melody Maker, September 7, 1991)

Nonetheless, Talk Talk only released five studio albums but have released no fewer than 14(!) compilations. Hollis may be a contrarian after my own heart, but he's also got one of the more distinctive voices of the eighties - I always enjoy his vocals. In any case, only about half the songs here have been ripped to files.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks:

	Year	UK	US
Today	1982	14
Talk Talk	1982	23	75
My Foolish Friend	1983	57
Such A Shame	1984	49	89
Dum Dum Girl	1984	74
It's My Life	1984	46	31
Give It Up	1986	59
Living In Another World	1986	48
Life's What You Make It	1986	16	90
Happiness Is Easy	1986
I Believe In You	1988	85
Desire	1988
Life's What You Make It (Live bonus track)	1990
Tomorrow's Started (Live bonus track)	1990

It's My Life is not only my favorite Talk Talk song, it's one of my favorite eighties songs (it's also the group's only US Top 40 single). Other top picks are Talk Talk, Dum Dum Girl, Give It Up, Life Is What You Make It, and I Believe In You.

For more information on the brief life of the CD longbox,
go visit The Legend of the Longbox.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD:  I had a cassette dub of the group's debut album, The Party's Over, and I bought the LP of It's My Life. Not long after I had purchased the album, I was at a high school pool party near graduation. They had a Houston rock radio station playing (probably 101 KLOL) and I was stopped in my tracks when I heard the single It's My Life played alongside Ozzy and AC/DC. Never heard it again on that station, but I was pleasantly surprised that afternoon.

I had this very bumper sticker (with metallic skull) on the back of the Markmobile, circa 1984.