number 26 on the UK Album Chart, and stayed on the chart for two weeks. Unlike Talk Talk's other albums, the album has never been remastered for CD, but on 11 October 2011, Ba Da Bing Records released a remastered version of Laughing Stock on vinyl, marking the first time that the album has been issued on vinyl in the United States. Pitchfork commented that the remastering on this re-release sounds "amazing, as good as the album's ever sounded, in any format. Which is crucial, because on some level Talk Talk's later albums are all about sound. How startling, isolated moments of sound, or a formless wash of sound, can wring emotions out of listeners as powerfully as any conventional melody." Artwork The cover art was designed by English visual artist James Marsh, responsible for most of Talk Talk's artwork. Marsh initially painted a cover depicting a group of threatened birds forming the shape of a larger bird in flight over a desolate landscape. However, Hollis later felt the artwork should feature a tree, to create a visual connection to Spirit of Eden. The final cover featured the same birds in a spherical tree forming the shapes of the Earth's continents. Later on, the first cover was used as the artwork for Talk Talk's three-single box set After the Flood. As with previous albums, the album's liner notes feature Hollis' handwritten lyrics for each of the songs. Russel Uttley of Peacock Design is credited with the layout design of the sleeve. Critical reception Upon release, Laughing Stock initially received mixed to generally favourable reviews from music critics. NME rated the album four out of ten, saying it "looks over its shoulder hoping that someone will remark on its moody brilliance or some such. It's horrible," whilst Jim Irvin of rival music magazine Melody Maker said, with this album, Talk Talk are "probably the most important group we have." In another contemporary review of Laughing Stock, Nick Griffiths of Select rated the album four stars out of five and referred to it as an "exercise in self-indulgence and nothing more. If you refuse to enter their playground for the world-weary then that's fine by them", as well as calling the album "perverse genius". Ian Cranna of Q also gave the album four stars out of five and noted that while the "melancholy mood, a rare thoughtfulness and the sense of sharing