High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Laughing Stock was Talk Talk's fifth and final studio album. Released in 1991, it was the only album the band released on the jazz-based Verve Records, after acrimoniously leaving EMI. Like its predecessor, Spirit of Eden, the album featured improvised instrumentation from a large ensemble of musicians, including as many as seven violists on occasion. The recording sessions have attained near-mythical status among underground music fans; Tape Op magazine ran an extensive article detailing the demanding recording sessions, marked by Mark Hollis' perfectionist tendencies, and his use of candles and incense to set the mood. Original bassist Paul Webb had left the band prior to recording.Reviews of the album were generally good; many tended to emphasise the fact that it spanned several genres, with some noting a stylistic kinship with Miles Davis' contemplative In a Silent Way album. Like Spirit of Eden, the lyrical themes are often religious.