Here's a fabulous demo album when you are tired of the usual Dire Straits and Eagles. As well as being great music, it checks all the boxes to show off your system - timbre, dynamics, tonal colours, detail and resolution.
I first heard of Talk Talk in the early '80s when I was in University in London. Talk Talk were part of the new wave of British pop. A bit cringe-worthy like synth-pop band Duran Duran. They had early pop hits such as "Today", "Dum Dum Girl", etc.
However, in the mid-80s, they moved towards experimental music. As they got more and more inventive, they became less commercial. Nevertheless, their first break-out album, Colour of Spring was a huge success for them. To me, it is the Talk Talk seminal album as it still had some elements of pop which makes the music attractive and the beginnings of their more progressive post-rock style which makes the music much more interesting.
I don't think that there is a single weak song in the entire album. Each track has a different pulse and a different attractor - starting with the first track Happiness is Easy, taking us back to a simpler time 30 years ago. The childrens' choir here is beautifully uplifting.
The Colour of Spring deserve a great system - so that you can clearly hear every word of Mark Hollis' singing and you can hear the ethereal cloud of Steve Winwood (!!) on Hammond Organ through the power of sounds from the rest of the band.
