“Happiness Is Easy” by Talk Talk

"Happiness Is Easy" comes from The Colour of Spring, Talk Talk's third album, from 1986, the record where Mark Hollis set the synthesizer gloss aside for something that breathes: jazz and art pop, carried by guitar, piano and organ. Hollis wrote it with producer Tim Friese-Greene and sings it, and the credits run deep. Steve Winwood plays organ, as does Friese-Greene, Danny Thompson adds acoustic bass next to Alan Gorrie's electric, Robbie McIntosh plays guitar and Lee Harris the drums, with Martin Ditcham, Morris Pert and Phil Reis on percussion.

Then there's the choir, children from the Barbara Speake School, a flash of innocence against all that grown-up hush. The album became the band's biggest commercial success, reaching No. 8 in Britain and topping the Dutch chart.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.