History Revisited
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''History Revisited: The Remixes'' is a 1991 album comprising
remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...
es of hit
Talk Talk Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981 by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drums), Paul Webb (bass), and Simon Brenner (keyboards). Initially a synth-pop group, Talk Talk's first two albums, '' The Party's Over'' (198 ...
songs. It followed the successful greatest hits collection ''
Natural History Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
'', released the year before. The band itself did not take part in the making of the album and condemned its release; consequently, they sued their former record label
EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
for using Talk Talk material without permission.


Background

Talk Talk formed in 1981 and released four albums with
EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
. Around the time of ''
Spirit of Eden ''Spirit of Eden'' is the fourth studio album by English band Talk Talk, released in 1988 on Parlophone Records. It was compiled from a lengthy recording process at London's Wessex Studios between 1987 and 1988, with songs written by singer Mar ...
'' (1988), the band attempted to extract themselves from their
recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...
with EMI. 18 months of litigation followed. Ultimately, Talk Talk won the case on appeal, and in 1990 they left EMI and moved to
Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...
. Soon after, EMI released the compilation ''Natural History'', a retrospective of Talk Talk's career up until that point. The compilation was surprisingly successful: it spent 21 weeks on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
, peaking at #3,Tim Rice, Paul Gambaccini, and Jonathan Rice, ''The Guinness Book of British Hit Albums'', 7th ed. (Guinness World Records Limited, 1996). and went on to sell over one million copies worldwide.James Neiss,
Talk Talk
," ''Record Collector'', December 1991.


Remixes

To promote ''Natural History'', EMI reissued the singles " It's My Life", " Life's What You Make It", "
Such a Shame "Such a Shame" is a song written by Mark Hollis for the English band Talk Talk's second album '' It's My Life'' (1984). It was released as the album's second single and went on to become a top 10 hit across Europe. Overview "Such a Shame" was ...
", and "
Living in Another World "Living in Another World" is a song by English band Talk Talk. It was recorded for the band's 1986 album '' The Colour of Spring'' and was the second single from the album, making the top 40 in Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Flanders. ...
" in 1990 and 1991. New
remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...
es for the singles' 12-inch and CD formats were commissioned and all four reissues peaked within the top 100 of the UK Singles Chart. The new remixes, prepared by relatively unknown musicians outside of the band, became the basis for ''History Revisited''. They were collected together and three more tracks were added to complete the compilation: new remixes for past singles "
Talk Talk Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981 by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drums), Paul Webb (bass), and Simon Brenner (keyboards). Initially a synth-pop group, Talk Talk's first two albums, '' The Party's Over'' (198 ...
" and "Dum Dum Girl" and a remix of "Happiness is Easy" that Talk Talk members Lee Harris and
Paul Webb Paul Douglas Webb (born 16 January 1962), also known by the stage name Rustin Man, is an English musician. He was the bassist for the English band Talk Talk. Biography Webb attended The Deanes School in Thundersley, Essex, with drummer Lee ...
had made in 1986. The remixes collected on ''History Revisited'' modified the source material liberally. According to EMI publicity at the time, they are "Talk Talk through the dance keyhole, taking the diverse sounds of their eighties output and giving it a nineties groove." Keith Aspden, the band's manager, observed, "They haven't just remixed what is already there. They have practically replaced all the instruments with new
poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, '' Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug ...
dance sounds from other people's records, even including an African chant."History Revisited: Pop remix faces legal challenge
" ''The Independent''.
He commented, "It's a distortion—more like ''History Reinvented''".


Critical reception

''History Revisited'' was released throughout the world in March 1991. It spent two weeks on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at #35. Barry Mcllheney of '' Q'' magazine called the album an "interesting example of how anyone with a good tune under their belts can be made instantly danceable with the application of the correct knobs at the appropriate moments." James Neiss of ''
Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine focussing on rare and collectable records, and the bands who recorded them. It was founded in September 1979 and distributes worldwide. It is promoted as "the world’s leading authority o ...
'' thought otherwise, saying, "Talk Talk got most of their complex originals right first time around. The songs simply don't work with a different beat slung underneath." Writing for '' Select'', Nick Griffiths thought the remixes ruined the band's original material. Chris Woodstra of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
gave it a poor rating, saying, "A nice companion piece for fans, but probably the least essential of their catalog."


Band response and lawsuit

Talk Talk leader
Mark Hollis Mark David Hollis (4 January 1955 – February 2019) was an English musician and singer-songwriter. He achieved commercial success and critical acclaim in the 1980s and 1990s as the co-founder, lead singer and principal songwriter of the band ...
was very unhappy when he found out about ''History Revisited''. He told ''
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
'':
I've never heard any of this stuff and I don't want to hear it . . . but to have people putting this stuff out under your name which is not you, y'know, I want no part of it. It's always been very important to me that I've got on with the people we've worked with. People's attitude has always been really important to me. So much of why someone would exist on one of our albums is what they are like as a person. So to find you've got people you've never given the time of day to going out as though it's you . . . it's disgusting.Steve Sutherland,
Talk Talk: Silencing the Scams
," ''Melody Maker'', September 1991.
Before it was released, Hollis sent letters requesting that the compilation be stopped, but EMI did not respond. In November 1991, Talk Talk sued EMI, delivering four
writ In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrant (legal), Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, and ''certiorari'' are commo ...
s against their former record label.''Encyclopedia of Rock Stars'', 1st ed., s.v. "Talk Talk." The band claimed that material had been falsely attributed to them and that they were owed money from unpaid royalties. Talk Talk won the case in 1992, and EMI agreed to withdraw and destroy all remaining copies of the album.David Stubbs,
Mark Hollis: Talking Liberties
," ''VOX'', February 1998.
Manager Keith Aspden hoped that the case would set a precedent for future recording contracts. ''
Laughing Stock ''Laughing Stock'' is the fifth and final studio album by English band Talk Talk, released in 1991. Following their previous release ''Spirit of Eden'' (1988), bassist Paul Webb left the group, which reduced Talk Talk to the duo of singer/mult ...
'', released in 1991, ended up being Talk Talk's final studio album. EMI released several more Talk Talk compilations throughout the 1990s and 2000s, though ''History Revisited'' remains out of print.


Track listing

#"
Living in Another World "Living in Another World" is a song by English band Talk Talk. It was recorded for the band's 1986 album '' The Colour of Spring'' and was the second single from the album, making the top 40 in Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Flanders. ...
– '91" – 4:40 #*Remixed by
Julian Mendelsohn Julian Mendelsohn is an Australian record producer, audio engineer and mixer. Early life After completing school in Australia, Mendelsohn moved to the United Kingdom. He secured his first job in 1974 at Milner Sound Fulham Rd. Chelsea, run by ...
#"
Such a Shame "Such a Shame" is a song written by Mark Hollis for the English band Talk Talk's second album '' It's My Life'' (1984). It was released as the album's second single and went on to become a top 10 hit across Europe. Overview "Such a Shame" was ...
" – 5:41 #*Remixed by Gary Miller #"Happiness is Easy (Dub)" – 7:02 #*Remixed by Paul Webb and Lee Harris #"Today" – 3:24 #*Remixed by Gary Miller #" Dum Dum Girl (Spice Remix)" – 4:59 #*Remixed by
Justin Robertson Lionrock was a British big beat group, comprising record producer Justin Robertson, MC Buzz B, and producer, engineer, programmer and synthesist Roger Lyons. Lyons replaced recording engineer Mark Stagg in 1995. Their biggest chart success cam ...
#" Life's What You Make It" – 6:14 #*Remixed by BBG #"
Talk Talk Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981 by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drums), Paul Webb (bass), and Simon Brenner (keyboards). Initially a synth-pop group, Talk Talk's first two albums, '' The Party's Over'' (198 ...
" – 5:22 #*Remixed by Gary Miller #" It's My Life (Tropical Rainforest Mix)" – 5:58 #*Remixed by Dominic Woosey and JJ Montana #"Living in Another World (Curious World Dub Mix)" – 7:48 #*Remixed by 4 to the Floor #"Life's What You Make It (The Fluke Remix)" – 6:16 #*Remixed by Fluke


References

{{Authority control Talk Talk remix albums 1991 remix albums Parlophone remix albums EMI Records remix albums Music controversies