The Colour Field - Virgins and Philistines (Chrysalis, 1985)
Saturday, September 10, 2022
Some interesting musicians travel within their world and never repeat themselves. Terry Hall is such an artist. Although now he is back with The Specials, he’s an artist that explores his territory, and their last album, Protest Songs, is very different from the first two Specials recordings. His insight is profound and often reads like a British New Wave film from the early or mid-1960s. He is never nostalgic because the angst in his music is right in one’s face. Terry Hall’s voice is plaintive, sad, and with a sense of disappointment because happiness is touchable but never obtainable. With all that, he’s a very observant and witty songwriter. Although I greatly admire his band after The Specials, Fun Boy Three, I think The Colour Field is his masterpiece group.
Virgins and Philistines, the album, is Hall, Toby Lyons, and Karl Shale, with numerous side musicians such as the late Pete de Freitas from Echo and the Bunnymen. Terry wandered from Ska to World Music through his previous bands, but Colour Field is deeply rooted in British pop music with touches of Burt Bacharach (and even the great Los Angeles band Love) thrown in the mix. Cruel Circus tosses in Talk to the Animals, which fits perfectly in its song structure. The baroque approach, especially with the electric organ, gives the songs a heaviness yet maintains a lightness.
The song The Colourfield is a beautiful addition of oboes, strings, and acoustic guitars, with a harpsichord type of keyboard work with a grand piano. One can say that this is very much an Echo and the Bunnymen arrangement/song, but the Terry Hall vocal makes it unique. Sadly, my vinyl edition of this album doesn’t have Windmills of Your Mind, which is a Michel Legrand masterpiece. The Colour Field’s version is simple and very beautiful. You can hear it on Spotify/Apple Music. Never fret; many great songs are on the American edition of Virgins and Philistines. This is straightforward pop, but with left turns and darkened highways in one’s presence—a fantastic piece of work.