Missing Pieces (Talk Talk album)

Missing Pieces
Compilation album by Talk Talk
Released	2001
Recorded	1990–1991, 1998
Genre	Art rock, experimental rock
Length	55:27
Label	Pond Life
Talk Talk chronology
The Collection (2000) Missing Pieces (2001) Introducing ... Talk Talk (2003)

Missing Pieces is a 2001 compilation album by Talk Talk. The first six tracks are the A- and B-Sides of the three CD singles released in 1991 for their final album Laughing Stock. Four of these are versions of album tracks, with the addition of the otherwise uncollected B-Sides "Stump" and "5:09". The final track, "Piano", was recorded pseudonymously by Mark Hollis (as "John Cope", the title of the B-Side of their 1988 single "I Believe In You" from the album Spirit of Eden) for the 1998 album "AV 1" by Allinson / Brown, which was produced by former Talk Talk producer Phill Brown. According to Hollis, it was designed to cycle indefinitely for a Dave Allinson/Phill Brown art exhibition and is presented twice in a row on the CD.^[1] Missing Pieces was released in 2001 to a generally mixed to positive reception. It is now out of print.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Leonard's Lair

Leonard's Lair gave 3/5 stars, with "5:09" listed as the album highlight.^[2] The mixed score was because "if many more tenuous releases see the light of day there's a danger of that impression being cheapened." Allmusic also gave it a 3/5 star review, despite the review being more positive.^[3]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Notes	Length
1.	"After the Flood"	Mark Hollis & Tim Friese-Greene	A-Side (Outtake)	4:14
2.	"Myrrhman"	Mark Hollis & Tim Friese-Greene	B-Side	5:36
3.	"New Grass"	Mark Hollis & Tim Friese-Greene	A-Side	9:36
4.	"Stump"	Mark Hollis, Tim Friese-Greene & Lee Harris	B-Side	4:45
5.	"Ascension Day"	Mark Hollis & Tim Friese-Greene	A-Side	6:04
6.	"5:09"	Mark Hollis & Tim Friese-Greene	B-Side	5:14
7.	"Piano"	John Cope (Mark Hollis)		14:40

Personnel

• Lee Harris – drums
• Mark Feltham – harmonica
• Martin Ditcham – percussion
• Mark Hollis – vocal, guitar, piano, organ
• Tim Friese Greene – organ, piano, harmonium
• Levine Andrade, Stephen Tees, George Robertson, Gavyn Wright, Jack Glickma, Garfield Jackson, Wilf Gibson – viola
• Simon Edwards, Ernest Mothle – acoustic bass
• Roger Smith, Paul Kegg – cello
• Henry Lowther – trumpet, flugel horn
• Dave White – contra bass clarinet

Production

• Phill Brown – engineering (Tracks 1–6), production (Track 7)
• Tim Friese-Greene – production (Tracks 1–6)
• James Marsh – cover art

References

1. "Such a shame: The Within Without interview with Mark Hollis, September 1998 ...". Within Without. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
2. "Talk Talk - Missing Pieces". Leonardslair.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-03-23.
3. Kellman, Andy. "Missing Pieces - Talk Talk". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-03-23.