It’s My Life (40th anniversary)

Talk Talk’s second album, It’s My Life, may have been overlooked since its initial rise to fame in the 1980s, with hits like ‘Such A Shame’ and ‘It’s My Life’, which scored big in the US. The track ‘It’s My Life’ is often played on 80s radio stations in the US. Talk Talk’s last two sublime albums, Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock, have been recognised as brilliant by most reviewers, and while It’s My Life is not quite up to the impossibly lofty achievements of the band’s last two albums, there are several indications of what is to come, and the band’s swift development from a techno-pop band on their first album is evident. 

In 2024, a 40th anniversary half-speed master was released, cut by Matt Colton at Metropolis Studios, with oversight from drummer Lee Harris and Charlie Hollis, son of the band’s creative frontman and singer, Mark Hollis. This new version offers a wonderful opportunity to revisit this remarkable album and reflect on how it foreshadowed the brilliance that would follow in later albums.

While the song ‘It’s My Life’ may be the best remembered and most played song of the album, it is far from the best track on it. The album’s other hit and single, ‘Such A Shame’, is for me one of the highest quality pop songs of all time. Its catchy melody, coupled with Mark Hollis’ sublime vocals as always, stands out. The beginning of this track bears a slight resemblance to the strange and erratic opening track from their later album, Spirit of Eden. However, when Mark’s evocative vocals cut in, you are immediately captivated by the melodic nature of the song. Additionally, it features a very prominent and catchy bass line. Midway through, the song is interrupted by Talk Talk’s trademark melodic yet distorting passage, which became more apparent in their later albums, and is a hallmark that Radiohead later adopted for their own songs.

In the third track, ‘Renee’, we, more than on any other track, can hear the full brilliance of Mark’s voice and how melodic his vocals are – like warm honey flowing down soft velvet and never staining regardless of how much he pushes his vocal cords. Sublime!

The fourth track, ‘It’s My Life’, ends side one. Mark’s lyrics are, as always, rather cryptic, and on this song, the words – I’d tell myself, what good you do?// Convince myself//It’s my life, don’t you forget//It’s my life, it never ends (it never ends).

I believe most people overlook the fact that he is talking to himself when he sings – “It’s my life, it never ends.” It conveys a beautiful message about the significance of one’s life and time, reminding him not to waste it on someone unworthy of his attention, as if he’s trying to persuade himself to remember this so he can take action.

On side two, we are exposed to the more experimental tracks of this album.

‘Tomorrow Started’ is one of the best tracks on the album, along with ‘Such A Shame’. Extremely melodic, sublime vocals and an interesting percussion, great acoustic guitar and another soon-to-come Talk Talk trademark – a total pause of sound mid-track. Later, out of the blue, there’s a short but poignant trumpet solo. 

The almost overlooked ‘Does Caroline Know’ is a fantastic, low-key track. The opening congas are joined by an incredible and prominent bass line, and then Mark’s vocals—what’s not to love?

Any Talk Talk album is worth having, so anyone reading this magazine should own all their albums. If you don’t already have this album, it’s worth getting, and even if you do own it, this new version should pique fans’ curiosity about an even better recording of the album. The music and Mark’s sublime, evocative vocals alone are well worth more than every penny of the album’s cost. Whenever I enter a bar, and they play ‘Such A Shame’, I smile, always order another cocktail, and stay a little longer. Cheers, and enjoy.

Editor’s Note: Links to online versions of It’s My Life are from the earlier 1997 remaster of the 1984 original.

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