The 1981 Listening Post - The Psychedelic Furs - Talk Talk Talk

 The Psychedelic Furs - Talk Talk Talk

#272

By Chris Roberts

The Psychedelic Furs

Talk Talk Talk

Genre: New Wave Post Punk Alt Rock

Allen’s Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Chris’ Rating: 2.74 out of 5

Highlights:

Pretty In Pink

The Furs weren’t as big as The Cure, The Smiths or Depeche Mode, but they had multiple modern rock hits strung out over the entire decade. “Pretty In Pink,” Love My Way,” “Heartbreak Beat,” “Ghost In You,” and “Heaven” are ones I know without looking them up. I don’t have strong feelings about most of these hits. Even in the 80’s or 90’s, the Furs never hooked me into caring about them as much as say, The Cult, The Smithereens or Cocteau Twins. The one exception is “Pretty In Pink.” The only reason I care, is related to the John Hughes movie named after the song. It’s not a great movie, nor has it aged well. But I saw a test screening at Paramount Pictures (where I’d work a few years later). Also, many scenes were filmed on location at my high school. And, I saw the film again, on Valentine’s Day, with my first real girlfriend. So when I hear that song (or OMD’s “If You Leave”) there’s many positive associations.

It wasn’t until I listened to Talk Talk Talk, the Furs second album, that I realized I don’t like Richard Butler’s voice. Allen Lulu covered it better than I ever could in his review of the Furs debut album. Most of the time, I can warm up to weird vocals with a few listens. I even got used to (and kinda love) the cookie monster singing in my metal. I realized, I can deal with one song from the Furs. But ten? That’s too many.  On Talk Talk Talk, the best thing I could say is also the worst thing: every song just reminds me of “Pretty In Pink.” And I’m actually getting pretty tired of “Pretty In Pink.”

I tried digging into some lyrics, to see if I could find something else to talk about, and I realized. This is even worse. Richard Butler sounds like a big asshat. He wants to sleep with you, but he’s not going to dance, or bother with seduction. Forget that. More likely, he’s going to talk shit about you afterward, how you’re not really interesting, and he’s sort of over you anyways. Love works only one way. Richard Butler’s way. There’s no shortage of dicks in rock, and “don’t care, whatever” sums up the nineties, but Butler ALSO has an annoying voice. Imagine if Neil Young performed Limp Bizkit’s material.

It’s a shame, because the Furs fuzzy jangle is otherwise legit and holds up well. The album is less new wave and more post punk than I’d guessed. The original album version of “Pretty In Pink” is a blast. “Mr. Jones” and “Into You Like A Train” really rock. The saxy first minute of “All This and Nothing” conjures up some excellent rainy-day melancholia. “Dumb Waiters” caterwauls for a few glorious moments before Butler opens up his mouth. 

But overall, I’m left wondering if the Furs might have had more success with a different frontman. That test screening of Pretty In Pink? Molly Ringwald ended up with Ducky. I thought it was better, but I guess I don’t know everything.

https://open.spotify.com/album/2fwQTAo511xnTWUYJ1Gnrh?si=0Qug8QTeRle0o3G9Rxh6Nw