Great write-up, you may convince me to give it another listen. I just don't like the sound of the album, and prefer the versions recorded on Stop Making Sense. . .
Monumental record by a great North American band. The Name of This Band is Talking Heads (1982) containing live recordings of the supporting tour, with Adrian Belew, Nona Hendryx, & Bernie Worrell in tow, is also quite delectable. Thank you.
Yeah, an all timer holds up better than all the others end to end thanks to Eno. Saw them at Montreux 82 got the poster same year as SRV (unlisted) got the big deal in the Casino Bar with Bowie (put him on Let's Dance) and Jackson Browne (gave Stevie and DT his studio free in LA to record Texas Flood) so JB isn't a money guy he's a music guy. They were hanging out. I was in Vienna playing harp with Dana Gillespie (Bowie Main Man artist and British music icon look her up) so history was made that year. But the Heads were turning pop music into some serious art. Probably the most engrossing concert I've ever been to, and I've seen a lot of concerts. Just felt a part of it no separation between audience and the band. I wrote in My Year at Islands Records 83 what a let-down the rest of their career was for me. I had the pre-release next record walking through Central Park with my proto-type Panasonic Walkman listening knowing I was one of the only people to hear it. (Island was their European label.) Walking East to West sunny summer evening one year later. And they burned down the house! I never warmed up to it. Still haven't. DJ'd And She Was later on in the 80's at Area but it was commercial music. Catherine Wheel was the last great pure art album of course ENO did Bush of Ghosts so in the same vein. The True Stories movie and all of David's actions are arty still to this day. But the band and the movie Stopped Making Sense to me. I just can't, the big suits and all just seemed so twee, even saw them a couple of more times but no. They'd gone Kiss cartoon on me, felt betrayed. I wanted to follow!!! But it was over once everyone was in on the joke. Both the band and David went on and forward nicely being icons themselves. But for us, who wanted the merger to continue, ART Rock was dead, dead, dead. No Wave was no more. I played Life During Wartime in a cover band in NJ and it was heads over the Police or any other erudite 80's music. Felt great to play and I played CBGBs down the road 3 times and hung at the Mudd Club (saw Alan Vega!) Sorry you hit a nerve.
In summary the best rock album ever made other than maybe a Beatles record. Groundbreaking!
Absolutely a 10 out of 10 album for me, not just one of the best albums of the '80s but of all time; a radical, outstanding and enduring piece of creative work.
You articulate in meticulous detail elements I would have simply called 'funk' in addition to your descriptors 'experimental' and 'new wave'!
P.S. I’m not so surprised to hear that Toni Basil directed that video - she is a choreographer after all, and it was all about David Byrne emulating the dance moves in the background footage. A woman of many talents… sadly the irritating earworm ‘Mickey’ was not one of them!
Great write-up, you may convince me to give it another listen. I just don't like the sound of the album, and prefer the versions recorded on Stop Making Sense. . .
(Side note: there's a good cover of "Once In A Lifetime " by Angelique Kidjo which I learned about last year: https://www.npr.org/2018/06/04/616145303/ang-lique-kidjo-connects-the-talking-heads-with-her-african-roots )
Kidjo covered the whole album, some of her covers from Remain In Light are incredible.
THE classic Talking Heads album - the only one I return to - and I'm surprised every time I do - this is great!
Monumental record by a great North American band. The Name of This Band is Talking Heads (1982) containing live recordings of the supporting tour, with Adrian Belew, Nona Hendryx, & Bernie Worrell in tow, is also quite delectable. Thank you.
Yeah, an all timer holds up better than all the others end to end thanks to Eno. Saw them at Montreux 82 got the poster same year as SRV (unlisted) got the big deal in the Casino Bar with Bowie (put him on Let's Dance) and Jackson Browne (gave Stevie and DT his studio free in LA to record Texas Flood) so JB isn't a money guy he's a music guy. They were hanging out. I was in Vienna playing harp with Dana Gillespie (Bowie Main Man artist and British music icon look her up) so history was made that year. But the Heads were turning pop music into some serious art. Probably the most engrossing concert I've ever been to, and I've seen a lot of concerts. Just felt a part of it no separation between audience and the band. I wrote in My Year at Islands Records 83 what a let-down the rest of their career was for me. I had the pre-release next record walking through Central Park with my proto-type Panasonic Walkman listening knowing I was one of the only people to hear it. (Island was their European label.) Walking East to West sunny summer evening one year later. And they burned down the house! I never warmed up to it. Still haven't. DJ'd And She Was later on in the 80's at Area but it was commercial music. Catherine Wheel was the last great pure art album of course ENO did Bush of Ghosts so in the same vein. The True Stories movie and all of David's actions are arty still to this day. But the band and the movie Stopped Making Sense to me. I just can't, the big suits and all just seemed so twee, even saw them a couple of more times but no. They'd gone Kiss cartoon on me, felt betrayed. I wanted to follow!!! But it was over once everyone was in on the joke. Both the band and David went on and forward nicely being icons themselves. But for us, who wanted the merger to continue, ART Rock was dead, dead, dead. No Wave was no more. I played Life During Wartime in a cover band in NJ and it was heads over the Police or any other erudite 80's music. Felt great to play and I played CBGBs down the road 3 times and hung at the Mudd Club (saw Alan Vega!) Sorry you hit a nerve.
In summary the best rock album ever made other than maybe a Beatles record. Groundbreaking!
Absolutely a 10 out of 10 album for me, not just one of the best albums of the '80s but of all time; a radical, outstanding and enduring piece of creative work.
You articulate in meticulous detail elements I would have simply called 'funk' in addition to your descriptors 'experimental' and 'new wave'!
Thanks so much for checking the post out! 🙏
P.S. I’m not so surprised to hear that Toni Basil directed that video - she is a choreographer after all, and it was all about David Byrne emulating the dance moves in the background footage. A woman of many talents… sadly the irritating earworm ‘Mickey’ was not one of them!