Talking Heads -- Album Reviews

Talking Heads -- Complete Discography

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'77 (1977)

More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978)

Fear of Music (1979)

Remain in Light (1980)

The Name of This Band is Talking Heads (1982)

Speaking in Tongues (1983)

Stop Making Sense (1984)

Little Creatures (1985)

True Stories (1986)

Naked (1988)

'77 -- Talking Heads -- Review

Talking Heads: 77 (1977)

Rating: 11

"Be a little more selfish, it might do you some good!"

Best Song: Tentative Decisions

Worst Song: First Week/Last Week...Carefree

       A wonderful debut. It doesn't reach quite the heights of the band's later work, and the production isn't nearly as special as it eventually would be (don't worry, Eno will be here soon!), but the songwriting is already at a high level, and the band is already startlingly sharp in their precision. This is essentially an album of nothing more than quirky, catchy guitar-pop songs, but they're nearly all classics on one level or another, and there's a surprisingly great deal of diversity to be found here.

       Not to mention that the album's guitar work is uniformly brilliant. Most reviewers seem to skip over this fact, opting instead to fawn over the band's guitar style on the famed live album The Name of This Band is Talking Heads. Don't get me wrong, the '77 tracks found on Name of This Band are wonderful, but the guitar interplay here is just as excellent. The only difference is that the guitars aren't mixed nearly as loud, leading to a good deal of people glossing over them. But don't! -- the riffage on tracks like "New Feeling", "Don't Worry About the Government", and "Psycho Killer" is of a jaw-dropping quality. The band also indulges in a great deal of instrumental experimentation here that they would eventually abandon, for better or worse. You get some nice steel drums on the opening "Uh-Oh! Love Has Come to Town" (giving the track a wonderfully bouncy reggae feel), some tasty saxophone solos on "First Week/Last Week", some barroom piano here and there...it works wonderfully, and these little instrumental touches often provide a great boon to helping distinguish the various tracks and making them stand out even more.

       Highlights include the classic "Psycho Killer" (it of the infamous "oh-ho-ho-ohhhhhhhhhHHHHHHHH, AY-AYE-YEAH-YEAH-YEAAHH-OOOOOOOOoooooo" chorus) which has, for some odd reason, become one of the band's best known songs; the aforementioned pop of "Love Has Come to Town; and the AWESOME "Pulled Up", featuring some of the best New Wave riffs imaginable along with one of Byrne's most inspired deliveries ever.

       Hell, this whole album features some of Byrne's most inspired deliveries ever. Aside from "Pulled Up" and "Psycho Killer", he's also excellent in the hysterically quirky "Happy Day" (I love how it almost sounds like he's in serious physical pain as he squeals "it's such a happy...DAYYY-AY" in such a disturbing way, giving the otherwise pleasant ballad a touch of menace and dark irony) and the wondrously geeky love song "The Book I Read".

       On the bizarrely anthemic, multi-part "No Compassion" (which just so happens to feature a brilliant mid-song instrumental breakdown and some of the album's very best guitar lines), Byrne takes on the guise of one who is constantly looked to for answers, and he doesn't necessarily like this position. "Talk to your analysts!" he sings, "Isn't that what they're paid for?" He plays a similar character during the WONDERFUL "Tentative Decisions", another song that one could easily describe as anthemic. David dishes out romantic advice in the way that only he can as martial drumbeats, skitchy guitar lines, and infinitely catchy backing vocals (good luck getting the chorus out of your head -- I've been humming "Oh, the boys...want to talk..." for a good two weeks) accompany him. A criminally underrated track, and in my opinion, it's secretly one of the band's very best.

       Yes, it's a great album. A few songs might be a little forgettable ("Who Is It", "The Book I Read", and "First Week/Last Week" don't do a whole lot for me in particular) and the sound gets a *bit* samey after a while, but the vast majority of the material here is pretty freaking delightful. It might not be their greatest album, but it just might be their most fun. Get it soon.

Talking Heads -- More Songs About Buildings and Food -- Review

  

More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978)

Rating: 12

"I wouldn't live there if you paid me to"

Best Song: With Our Love

Worst Song: I have no idea.

       As you probably know, after the debut the band met a young producer by the name of Brian Eno. For those not in the know, Eno is one of the most brilliant and influential figures in pop music history, a force to be reckoned with as both a producer for many other successful artists (Devo, U2, and obviously Talking Heads) and in his own solo career (a series of reviews dedicated to said career will be written in due time). His influence on the Heads is immeasurable, and a great deal of their best material came as a result of his own direct involvement. While not nearly as revolutionary as the later Talking Heads/Eno collaborations, More Songs About Buildings and Food is a major step forward for the band. Eno took the quirky guitar-pop of the debut and forced the band to partake in an endless series of overdubbing sessions. Thus, the sound of the album is ridiculously dense with chugging guitar rhythms, synth effects, and bass grooves, and it works excellently, especially when compared to the relatively spare sound of '77. 

       The opening "Thank You for Sending Me an Angel" demonstrates this new style with a surprisingly high level of force. The name of the game here is momentum, as the band pummels (okay, that might be a bit too harsh of a word for Talking Heads, but you get the idea) over a powerful drumbeat and what is quite possibly the album's best vocal melody. It's nothing more than two straight minutes of pure exuberance, and it's a GREAT start to the whole affair. I'm especially fond of those ridiculously empowering guitar strums during the chorus -- "Yes you can *BANG* walk! You can *BANG* talk just like me!".

       "With Our Love" is another obvious highlight, featuring a great vocal melody along with some BRILLIANTLY layered guitar work and an amazing bass line. I also love how the first verse/chorus of the track is completely happy and chipper, but the second repetition of this section (which is musically identical to the first) comes across as moody/eerie/anthemic/whatever simply by the addition of a hardly noticeable, slightly ominous synth line. That's Eno for you -- completely redefining what a song is like by merely adding a subtle change in sound.

       "The Good Thing" combines some hilariously academic, geeky lyrics with a strangely inspiring chorus (Tina's backing vocals work excellently here) and a wonderful ending as the band jams out behind Bryne screaming "Watch me wooork!" over and over again. And don't forget about the subtly brilliant "Warning Sign"! Byrne's vocal melody isn't especially memorable here, but the instrumental texture is fantastic. The bizarre, echoey drum sound works together with a small army of disorienting guitar lines and an incessantly catchy bass groove to absolutely wonderful effect. Oh, and the creepy filter on David's voice is another excellent touch. "The Girls Want to Be with the Girls" would be notable enough just for being one of the first-ever LGBT anthems, but it also includes some wonderfully bouncy keyboard and an excellent guitar-driven after-chorus.

       The lyrics in "Found a Job" are some of the band's wackiest ever -- it's the story of a couple who save their marriage by creating their own television show; however, the contents of the show are left to the listener's imagination. Of course, the fact that "Judy's in the bedroom inventing situations" is a prominent line in the chorus gives us a hint, but who knows. The song's lyrics aren't the only objects of note, however; the guitar interplay here is at an all-time-high for the band, and the lengthy coda where Jerry and David jam over a wonderful steel drum melody is one of the greatest moments in all of Head-dom.

       "I'm Not in Love" isn't an especially memorable tune, but it seems that Eno noticed this and decided to dress it up in as dense an arrangement as possible -- as a result, the track still works, if only because the band flat-out COOKS during the instrumental sections. I also like the oft-hated "Big Country"; maybe it's just because the mere idea of Talking Heads doing a country song makes me slightly giddy, but I definitely enjoy the song more than not. Sure, the live version on Name of This Band is a definite improvement, but at least the original has some wonderful slide guitar work, eh?

       There are some other highlights here ("Stay Hungry" is another especially good one), but you get the idea -- this is a classic album through and through. The only reason it gets a slightly lower score than you might expect is that it's very samey throughout and the highs, while wonderful, aren't *quite* classic enough to put it over the edge. And, for the record, Eno produced ANOTHER post-punk album in 1978 that's even better than this one, but...that's a story for another time (I've got a gut feeling it'll come up again at some point in the future....*wink, wink*) . The band was soon to leave the world of minimalistic guitar rock behind, but their time in the genre was certainly not a waste. An excellent effort.

Fear of Music -- Talking Heads -- Review

Fear of Music (1979)

Rating: 12

"It'll be over in a minute or two..."

Best Song: Life During Wartime, Electric Guitar, or Memories Can't Wait

Worst Song: Air

 

       A major left-turn -- whereas the previous albums were pretty much nothing more than extraordinarily well-done, happy guitar-pop, this album seems to mark the point where Eno's vision exceeded the band's. The guitar interplay of old, while still certainly present, is nowhere near the foremost element of the Heads' sonic palette on Fear of Music. The album's cover is actually pretty indicative of its sound -- dark, stark, and a little creepy, something like a paranoid conspiracy theorist's Dark Side of the Moon. Echo effects abound throughout the LP, and Byrne's voice seems to weave itself in and around all sorts of sounds. His "raving maniac" shtick reaches an absolute peak here, and it fits -- just look at the title! He's afraid of everything: animals, cities, drugs, war, his own memories, the air, heaven, and even paper....yes, paper.

       As silly as these lyrical ideas may seem, they actually work well in context; the continual theme of paranoia and fear works well to make all the songs fit together quite smoothly. Of course, this also leads to a mild case of the dreaded disease "Same-itis". One can only take so much of Byrne's caterwauling and Eno's eerie synth treatments. I suppose that's why I like the more unique tracks the best -- "Life During Wartime" is a deserved classic, a ridiculously fun dance groove with a wonderful guitar riff. Sure, David's ravings are as present as ever, but in context they seem almost empowering -- there's something wonderfully ironic about him warning victims of war that "this ain't no disco!" while singing what is essentially a New Wave-tinged disco song. I also love the GORGEOUS "Heaven", where the band sets aside their worries for a moment and focuses on creating one of the greatest ballads of the 70s. And it's not like the lyrics aren't interesting -- David humorously notes that a place as perfect as Heaven is "a place where nothing ever happens", and he even manages to bring romance into the whole situation. Of course, I'm not exactly sure what the "When this kiss is over..." section has to do with Heaven, but it does add a good deal of emotion and beauty to the song, so who am I to complain?

       "Electric Guitar" is a track that no one seems to make sense of, featuring a hilariously fractured melody and some of the absolute strangest production I've ever heard from Eno. Admittedly, I hated it the first five or so times I gave it a listen, but now I think it's one of the album's greatest moments -- those synth blurbs are almost triumphant in their absurdity, and the "This is a criiiime....against the staaaage!" hook in the chorus is as catchy as an outfielder. I'm also fond of "Memories Can't Wait", which is a great deal more typical of the album than the other tracks I've mentioned as of yet. Hell, I'd say that "Memories" sums up Fear of Music better than any other song here -- great guitar riffs, INTENSE synths, downright frightening Eno effects ("I'm sleeping, I'm...flat on my BACK-back-back-back-back"), a wonderfully manic performance from Byrne ("I'M IN HERE...AAAAAAALLL THE TIIIIIME"), and one of the most anthemic endings I've ever heard in a Talking Heads song.

       Yet another highlight is "Drugs", a relatively unaccessible track that's certainly worth getting into. Byrne's delivery is REALLY cool (I feel like I'm beating a dead horse by continually congratulating the man's vocal talents, but MAN, I love hearing him sing), but the real star of the show here is the production. Sampled voices pop in and out (ah, cue another Dark Side comparison), creepy keyboard lines slowly unfurl themselves, and Byrne's vocals echo, twist, and collide all over the place, leading to a track that's just as befuddling and addictive as its titular subject. There's also the album's opener "I Zimbra", the band's first ever world-beat experiment (and a major sign of things to come). David and the band scream a load of nonsense (literally -- the lyrics are all gibberish) over a boogieing bongo rhythm, manic bass lines, and a series of wonderfully interlocking guitar lines from Byrne, Jerry, and none other than guest guitarist Robert Fripp. It's an incredible groove, and a wonderfully energetic way to kick off the album.

       Everything else is fairly interchangeable to me. I don't *hate* the rest of the songs, but with the exception of the OUTSTANDING piano-rocker "Cities", most of the other tracks seem to fall into background music territory fairly easily for me (I never feel guilty about skipping "Air" or "Paper", for example). Nevertheless, this is an extremely solid addition to the Heads pantheon, and one that I endorse heartily. It's not an easy listen at first (some listeners will definitely find it too cold and paranoid), and it's a somewhat low 12, but every decent collection of 70s music should have more than enough room for this.

Remain in Light -- Talking Heads -- Review

Remain in Light (1980)

Rating: 14

"Same as it ever was..."

Best Song: Any of the first four tracks

Worst Song: The Overload

 

       I don't even know what to say. The thought of reviewing Remain in Light has single-handedly scared me away from writing any more reviews for a good five months. Considered by many to be the greatest album of the 80s, there are literally hundreds of reviews out there already saying the exact same things that I would like to say. I could easily sum up the review in one quick quote -- if you don't own it, you should. That's it. But of course, I could never do that, and thus I'm stuck, just waiting to tell you something you probably already know. At any rate, Eno's back again, and his production here is quite possibly the highlight of his entire career; hell, I'd say that this is the best thing ever released with the words "Brian Eno" listed somewhere on the packaging (it's at least in a dead heat with Before and After Science).

       Every instrument is manipulated to the point of it hardly sounding like its original incarnation; it sounds like an album delivered from an alien planet. If it had somehow gone unreleased over all these years and the band were to put it out next week and act as if it were a brand new album, the musical press would wet itself over the "forward-thinking, futuristic" ideas contained herein. It literally hasn't aged a day, simply because it really isn't based on any trends; the synthesizers here sound nothing like the New Wave-y, poppy synths that have become synonymous with the 80s. We're dealing with a truly before-its-time album, one that I predict will sound just as fresh and unique fifty years from now.

       And on top of all the sonic experimentation, it's just a flat-out fun album to listen to. Obviously the chorus of "Once in a Lifetime" is one of the greatest moments in pop history, but tracks like "The Great Curve" and "Crosseyed and Painless" are completely accessible pop songs, just pop songs that have been twisted, rearranged, and tinkered with to the point of complete perfection -- you can listen to the album thirty times and still be discovering new ideas, melodies, and noises.

       Of course, not everything is completely catchy radio fare -- the opening "Born Under Punches" can be a bit overwhelming at first, due to Byrne's "manic, raving preacher" shtick and the disorienting nature of the percussion. Not to mention that the chorus and various vocal melodies can seem a bit atonal until the ending, when all the song's disparaging elements and fragments come together; oh yes, the glorious cascading vocals and triumphant chants of "AND THE HEAT GOES ON!" that take up the last half of the track might just be the Heads' shining moment as a band.

       "Listening Wind" and "Houses in Motion" might be viewed as relatively mellow and dull, especially compared to the catchy dance-grooves that make up the album's first half, and while I don't like them quite as much as I do those, I still enjoy them quite a bit. "Wind" in particular is a great track with a memorable chorus, chilling synth textures, and a fascinatingly eerie, uneasy mood. The spoken-word "Seen and Not Seen" can also be slightly off-putting, although the groove that backs up Byrne's story is PHENOMENAL, and the story itself (about how humanity subconsciously either accepts or attempts to change the way they look) is rather thought-provoking.

       The only track that doesn't completely work for me is the band's Joy Division tribute "The Overload" -- it's too dreary to be enjoyable, and too bland to be depressing. The production is still plenty interesting, but as far as experimental closers to Talking Heads albums go, I'll take "Drugs" any day. Other than that, though, I'd be hard-pressed to find anything wrong with Remain in Light. It's an extremely high 14, almost a 15, and easily my favorite album of the 80s. Go into it with an open mind, but give it a shot -- adventurous listeners will be rewarded. There's certainly nothing else like it.

The Name of This Band is Talking Heads -- Talking Heads -- Review

The Name of This Band is Talking Heads (1982/2004)

Rating: 12

"Make a clean break, wipe that love away!"

Best Song: Love -> Building On Fire/Memories Can't Wait/Heaven

Worst Song: I'm Not in Love

       The gap between Remain in Light and Speaking in Tongues was filled in by this, the band's first live album. It's been slightly overrated over the years, but I can't deny its power; this is a document of a brilliant band at the height of its powers. Name of This Band isn't a single, complete show; it's actually a compilation of several different Heads performances over the first four years of the band's existence. This definitely makes for an interesting listen, as the tracks are sequenced chronologically -- the tightly-wound guitar interplay of '77 leads into the mild synth touches of More Songs and Fear of Music, but the real shock comes when we hit the Remain in Light tour, as stalwarts like Adrian Belew, Bernie Worrell, and Nona Hendryx (along with a number of other backing members) join the band and effectively create a massive, all-encompassing dance-machine that just barely resembles the nerdy pop-rock shtick of the earlier tracks. 
       The album starts off with an absolute bang, a mini-set the band recorded live in the studio featuring tracks from 77. The group's energetic, David's vocals are in wonderful shape, and the interplay between David and Jerry's Fenders is even more mind-blowing than it was on the album -- in short, it's pretty much early-Heads-heaven. There's even a non-album rarity that made its way on here; it's called "A Clean Break (Let's Work)", and it's positively brilliant. Why it was left off of 77 is anyone's guess -- it's probably the best track here, topping even the infamous "Psycho Killer" in melody, performance, and sheer enthusiasm. The riffs are absolutely AWESOME, David's vocals are AWESOME ("Wipe that love awaaaaaAAYYYYYYY!"), and all in all it's easily one of my favorite Heads songs. Of course, this entire set of performances isn't quite perfect -- "Who Is It" is completely unnecessary, "The Book I Read" is pretty underwhelming (I was never crazy about it to begin with, but for some reason I really end up disliking the song in this context; chalk it up to my quirks, I guess), and "Pulled Up", while still great, doesn't quite match up to its studio incarnation. Everything else is gold, though.
       The album then takes a slight turn for the worse. It doesn't help that my two least favorite tracks from the 77 performance are placed right in a row at the end of the set, but the next few songs (all recorded during the More Songs About Buildings and Food era) after this dry spell also do a great deal of damage to the album's pacing. I like this version of "The Big Country" quite well out of context, but in context it sorta drags; same with "I'm Not in Love" and "The Girls Want to Be With the Girls" -- I like both of these songs, but the way they're structured in the album's overall flow just doesn't work well for me at all. It all gets really samey really quickly, and since none of these tracks are downright classics from a songwriting standpoint, it gets a little old. I do enjoy this early version of "Drugs", though; it's called "Electricity", and it replaces the creepy production and vocal effects of the original with a more traditional, riff-rocking style to great effect. "Found a Job" is next, and while I do miss those steel drums during the outro, it works just fine.
       The style completely shifts with the next few tracks, thankfully; I can't quite place my finger on it, but the rejuvenated guitar tones and added synth layers utilized by the band on the Fear of Music tour breathes a new layer of life into the album, one which it thankfully keeps for the rest of its running time.  There are some completely competent renditions of "Mind" and "Air" here, but the real meat comes in the three-track-stretch of "Love -> Building On Fire", "Memories Can't Wait", and "Heaven". "Building On Fire" is yet another non-album track, and it's nearly as good (if not just as good) as "A Clean Break"; the guitar lines are killer, the bridge is hilariously fun ("We go 'tweet! tweet! tweet! tweet! tweet! tweet! tweet! tweet! tweet!' like little birds!!"), and the main "It's not loooove!" hook in the chorus is ridiculously pleasing to the ear. "Memories" is done up in a hard-rocking, uber-dramatic fashion to great effect, and "Heaven" is given the room to breathe in a live setting that it never quite had on the original. Oh, and Byrne's delivery on the last verse is absolutely HEART-WRENCHING.
       And so ends the first disc. The second disc is completely different -- here we get a look at the Remain in Light band, a gigantic conglomerate with all sorts of guest musicians. Adrian Belew is a particularly inspired choice; his guitar effects help spice up nearly every song, and he's an invaluable addition to the group. Things start out well enough with another rendition of "Psycho Killer" followed by a decent run-through of "Warning Sign" and a particularly inspired "Stay Hungry". "Cities" is next, and...uh...what's that in the chorus? Oh yeah, that's Nona Hendryx singing backup. She sounds a little off-key, I'll admit, but she's in the background for the most part, so...she's fine. Besides, "I Zimbra" is next!
       ...aaaand she completely ruins it by shrieking like a dying wildebeest throughout it. Okay, she doesn't completely ruin it; the guitar interplay is AWESOME here, as Jerry, Adrian, AND David all swap licks and atmospheric touches. The vocal melody, however, is essentially left lying dead on the floor -- why couldn't they get Eno to sing backup on tour instead of HER? I mean, I guess she's fine as an over-the-top soul singer -- she was a member of the band Labelle back in the early 70s (most famous for the infamous "Lady Marmalade"), and as such, she's actually pretty great in "Take Me to the River" -- but when she tries to sing on something like "Houses in Motion" or "Once in a Lifetime" it's just flat-out painful.
       I can't blame her, though -- part of the allure of something like "The Great Curve" on Remain in Light was in Eno's intricately-constructed vocal arrangements, and those would be nigh-impossible to recreate in a live setting. And the guitars and rhythm section serve these tracks just fine -- yet another feat one would consider quite difficult given Eno's production, but the band members take up the job admirably. Of course, I'd be hard-pressed to call any of these repurposed songs better than their originals, and they generally work more in a "Wow, they were able to decently recreate *insert Light song here* in a live setting! How impressive!" way than in a "Wow, this is an awesome song! I feel the need to listen to this regularly!" way. That said, certain tracks are pretty cool -- the groove on "Crosseyed and Painless" is pretty freaking great, and this version of "Drugs" is flat-out AMAZING, combining the creepy effects found on the studio version with the liveliness and rocking guitar lines of the "Electricity" rendition found earlier in the album. "Take Me to the River" is a load of fun too, as the band delivers a more straight-forwardly thumping version than the quirky, awkward original.
       So it's not quite uber-essential listening, but it's still an interesting artifact of one of the best live bands ever. The first disc is certainly more pleasurable than the second, but I would whole-heartedly recommend the entire thing to any fans of the band. I'm not quite as in love with it as everyone else seems to be, but there's some great stuff to be found on here. Get it after you get a few studio albums, but still definitely get it.

Speaking in Tongues -- Talking Heads -- Review

Speaking in Tongues (1983)

Rating: 8

"Stop making sense!"

Best Song: This Must Be the Place

Worst Song: Girlfriend is Better

       After the hyper-obsessive, ultra-intense sessions for Remain in Light were finished and the critical praise started rolling in, the band was stressed out to the max. They all proceeded to diverge and create a load of various solo projects (Byrne and Eno released their ultra-influential My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, Jerry released his underrated solo debut The Red and the Black, and Tina and Chris joined forces and became the surprisingly successful Tom Tom Club) until they eventually got back together three years later...without Eno. Now, no one is quite sure exactly why Eno left, although most seem to think that Byrne fired him as a way of preserving the band's identity -- none of the other members were as head-over-heels in love with Brian as Byrne was, and I'm guessing that David decided to drop Eno as a way of keeping in-fighting down. Besides, after Remain, where were they going to go with Eno? What else could they do? They had reached the very top of the mountain, as far as groundbreaking sonic experimentation was concerned. And thus, they decided to go in the exact opposite direction...they SOLD OUT.   

       Okay, that's a bit of an overstatement, but there's some truth to it -- the music video for "Once in a Lifetime" was a MAJOR MTV hit, becoming one of the most famous music videos ever, and the silly dance-pop of the Tom Tom Club had introduced some of the band members to a decent degree of popularity. I can't blame them for wanting to capitalize on their success, I just...wish they had done it in a more interesting way. This is nothing more than 50 straight minutes of bouncy dance-pop, "The Great Curve"-for-dummies, a poor man's Prince. It's all listenable, mind you (and certain songs, like the awesome, bluesy "Swamp" and the infamous "Burning Down the House" approach excellence), but it's also mostly forgettable. Of course, it was popular, and this album is the main reason that most average Joes recognize the name "Talking Heads", and for that I suppose I'm grateful, but I don't see myself throwing this one on very much in the future. 

       It also doesn't help that every song here is 5 or so minutes long (I suppose that's a suitable amount for a dance song, but still), leading to a very tiring experience. I could list some songs out for you, but I really don't see the point -- they're all bouncy, slightly catchy (well, except "Girlfriend is Better" -- I don't like that one at all), and generally pleasant background music, but from the people responsible for Fear of Music you would expect a little more than that. No thank you. (Oh, but "This Must Be the Place" is a deserved classic, a strangely beautiful, introspective near-ballad. Make sure to track down that one, "Burning Down the House", and "Swamp". You're welcome.) 

Stop Making Sense -- Talking Heads -- Review

Stop Making Sense (1984)

Rating: 11

"Hi! I've got a tape I wanna play."

Best Song: Burning Down the House or Crosseyed and Painless

Worst Song: Genius of Love

       Okay, first things first -- if you haven't seen Stop Making Sense, stop reading this review and watch it immediately. This album is essentially nothing more than a straight audio recording of the infamous concert film, and while the soundtrack is great in its own right, it's truly something to behold when you're watching the real thing. Directed by Jonathan Demme of Silence of the Lambs fame, it's easily the best concert movie ever made, Last Waltz-be-damned. It's filmed excellently, the band is at its peak in playing prowess (they were nine members strong at this point), and the setlist is a wonderful combo of the band's entire career up to this point. By all means, see it, even if you're not a Heads fan. 

        As far as the album itself is concerned, it's fine; it may not be as powerful without actually seeing the band put all of this stuff together, but it still makes for a great listen. And for those of you who already own Name of This Band, there's definitely some stuff of interest on here for you as well. First off, you get several renditions of tracks from Speaking in Tongues (which all sound better here than they did in their original incarnations); the ridiculously energetic "Burning Down the House" is a clear highlight, but "Swamp" and "Slippery People" groove along mightily as well, and "This Must Be the Place" is as delightful as ever. You'll also get a wonderful acoustic rendition of "Thank You for Sending Me an Angel" (which was unfortunately one of the few tracks from the band's early epoch not to make it onto Name of This Band),  a ditty from Tina and Jerry's Tom Tom Club side project called "Genius of Love" (okay, this one's not so great), and a wonderfully catchy rarity called "What a Day That Was" which you can't find anywhere else. 

       Everything else can be found on Name of This Band, but it's not like these versions are completely worthless; for one, the expanded band sounds a good bit tighter here than they did back then, and as such, songs like "Once in a Lifetime" and especially "Life During Wartime" (man, this version of "Wartime" is incredible) sound quite a bit improved from their previous incarnations...but nothing compares to the BRILLIANT rendition of "Crosseyed and Painless", which might just improve on the original. Yeah, that's right -- the live band sounds even better than Eno's production. Impressive.

       There's also a beautifully stripped-down performance of "Heaven", a decent run-through of "Take Me to the River", and a perfectly fine "Found a Job". Oh, and Byrne even attempts an acoustic version of "Psycho Killer" that works far better than it has any right to.

       Okay, there's not much for me to say here, honestly -- as far as negatives go, there might be a few too many tracks from Speaking in Tongues, and since nearly everything on here features the band in full-out-arena-dance mode, it starts getting a little monotonous by the last half of the album. But hey, if you're a fan of Speaking in Tongues or a MASSIVE fan of Name of This Band who's dying for more live Heads, you'll be all over this. Anybody else? Eh, just watch the movie. 

Little Creatures -- Talking Heads -- Review

Little Creatures (1985)

Rating: 8

"We're on the road to nowhere"

Best Song: And She Was

Worst Song: I'm not sure. 

       Yaaaaaawn. After Stop Making Sense became the biggest thing since sliced *insert pun on the word "bread" here*, the band decided they didn't want to go back to being underground sonic experimentalists. As such, they recorded this, an album of straightforward, bland pop tunes. Sure, they're well-made, but there really isn't much to say here. "And She Was" is actually great, an uptempo number (then again, everything here's uptempo) that actually bothers to include some memorable hooks and melodies. And isn't that bridge where the whole band shouts "hey, HEY! HEY! HEY! hey! HEY HEYYY!" just wonderful? If the whole album was as good as "And She Was", I'd probably like it as much as everybody else seemingly does.

       And everybody seems to love it a lot. This is the band's highest-selling album, which does nothing more than prove just how mindless most music listeners are -- a band as great as Talking Heads has to release a super-accessible, boring pop album in order to get any major mainstream success. But hey, that's just how average people are, right? The critics probably attacked this thing, didn't they?...

       ...well, nope. It was actually voted best album of the year by that yearly Pazz & Jop album-reception-tallying-thing (if you've never heard of it, it's essentially the magazine equivalent of Metacritic). Allmusic gave it 4.5 stars, Rolling Stone gave it a positive review, and even the consensus of the Web Review Community is that it's a fairly great album, one worthy of comparison with '77. Um...no. Well, at least, not in my opinion.

       I guess I should talk about the songs, but I feel like the description of every track would be the same. The stuff here is generally pleasant background music, but I would never listen to any of these tracks (save maybe "And She Was") if not for having to review them. The whole thing just swirls around in my head as a bland, unintelligible group of very 80s pop songs, and forgettable ones at that. 

       "Creatures of Love" is a decent country-tinged song that tackles the subject of sex in the most hilariously bland way possible. I mean, I suppose I should be proud of Byrne for even mentioning the subject, but if he's just going to view it as "okay" and as a way to produce "little creatures", then I don't know why he would even bring it up. Then again, his completely uncaring attitude about sexuality is admittedly funny, so I suppose it's entertaining. The song really isn't though; all I can say about it is that it sounds like mid-80s Talking Heads doing a country song. Yeah.

       "Give Me Back My Name" features a cool sonic texture, but the song itself is essentially melody-less. I suppose the basic tune of "Stay Up Late" is good enough, but the lyrics are so stupid that it's almost hard to listen to. The gist of the song is that Byrne is so obsessed with his baby that he wants to stay up all night with it, but his goofy delivery and the even goofier lyrics make it sort of a pain to listen to...and the god-awful hip-hop break in the bridge doesn't help matters. Lead single "The Lady Don't Mind" is a little better; the keyboard tone is straight out of Let's Dance, Byrne's delivery is fairly nice, and the horn section is a nice touch. Heck, I'd go as far as saying that it's actually catchy, so...good job, guys!

       The closing "Road to Nowhere" is kind of a highlight; the band brings back the martial drumbeat  from "Tentative Decisions" (man, I should be listening to '77 right now...) and throws in a ridiculously odd choral intro, giving the song something of a regal feel. I mean, the melody is as forgettable as everything else on here, but it's not bad! "Walk It Down" is also one of the better tracks here, full of groovy synths and featuring a nice chorus. And the little filter that Byrne sings through here is pretty cool-sounding, admittedly. 

       But everything else? Meh. It's all just in one ear and out the other, and while you could do much worse than this album, you could also do a lot better. Grab the highlights on iTunes, but don't get the album itself unless you're a big fan of 80s pop (and even if you are a fan of 80s pop, you'd do better just to get True Stories anyway).

True Stories -- Talking Heads -- Review

True Stories (1986)

Rating: 9

"This is your story"

Best Song: Wild Wild Life or Dream Operator

Worst Song: Papa Legba

       After Talking Heads finally went "big" with the major success of Speaking in Tongues and Little Creatures, Byrne decided that he wanted to branch out into a new medium. Thus, he decided to write, direct, and star in a bizarre, post-modern movie musical set in an imaginary Texas town. For the record, I've never actually seen the entire film, but from the parts that I have seen, it definitely looks...interesting. The movie also stars John Goodman, strangely enough, and yes, he sings. 

       At any rate, this album consists of all the songs included in the film, although here they're being performed by Talking Heads as opposed to the stars of the movie. And, I've gotta say...it's pretty good. I mean, most of the album admittedly seems like nothing more than "quirky-80s-dance-pop-by-numbers", and coming from a genius like David Byrne, that's a little disappointing, but this is really solid. 

       Well, mostly solid. "Puzzlin' Evidence" is certainly fun (the over-the-top choir shouting in the background is a nice touch), but it winds on for way too long, and in the end it's utterly forgettable. "Papa Legba" breaks away from the happy-synth-pop mould that the rest of the album falls into, but it does so in a dreadfully boring way; it's essentially a brain-dead version of "Listening Wind". I suppose there's some slightly interesting Spanish flavor in there, but...egh. Why in the world does the worst song on the album have to wind on for 6 minutes? 

       "Hey Now" is a definite improvement, though; it's a load of fun too, with its "Hokey Pokey"-esque melody and slight Latin flair, and it's smart enough to finish off at around the three-minute mark. The best thing here is probably the massive hit "Wild Wild Life". I must admit -- for years and years (literally since I was a little kid) I've heard this track, but I had NO IDEA it was by Talking Heads until I sat down and listened to this album for review. Ironically, I always thought it was called "Why Why Why", but I guess that's a side-effect of only hearing it through terrible supermarket speakers for years and years (fun fact: I've also heard "Once in a Lifetime" at a supermarket...oh, and I heard David Bowie's "Sound + Vision" at a Chinese restaurant one time; now that was odd).

       Whatever the case -- "Wild Wild Life" is an absolutely brilliant song, one of the better straight-forward 80s pop songs I've ever heard; the chorus is ridiculously catchy, the lyrics are fun, the energy is unbeatable...yup, it's a classic. Oh, and there's also the accordion-driven "Radio Head", which is actually fantastic. Yeah, it's just a fun, silly pop song (like everything else on here), but it's a really well-written silly pop song. And yup, Radiohead got their name from the track; I find it especially ironic that Byrne describes the titular object as "the sound of a brave new world", obviously referencing the famous dystopian novel of the same name. I don't see anything particularly dystopian about Pablo Honey, but I think "the sound of a brave new world" is about as perfect of a description of OK Computer or Kid A as any.

       "Love for Sale" is a fun, surprisingly rocking number with an ridiculously raucous vocal performance from Byrne, and "Dream Operator" is a...well, it's actually a really touching ballad. The rolling piano lines are gorgeous, the guitar is beautifully atmospheric in a way almost reminiscent of Television (think "Elevation" or "Guiding Light"), and David gives the prettiest performance he's given since "Heaven". It might actually be better than "Heaven", crazy enough. 

        And "People Like Us" is just as pretty as that! It's sort of a cross between a traditional country song (complete with some of the best steel guitar work this side of Apollo and a wonderful hint of fiddle) and a classic Heads tune like "Found a Job", and yes, that means lots of jittery guitar work and a wonderful sing-a-long melody. Great stuff! It might be a little long, sure, but it's great!

   There's also another touching, "Heaven"-esque ballad in the from of the closing "City of Dreams", and...that's your album! It's not a classic, but it's fun, it's catchy, and it's surprisingly cathartic in more than a few places. It should be one of your last Heads purchases, but if you like the band I don't see why you wouldn't like this.

       

Naked -- Talking Heads -- Review

Naked (1988)

Rating: 7

"BLIIIIND! BLIND! BLIND! BLIND! BLIIIIIND!"

Best Song: Mr. Jones

Worst Song: Hm...

       When judging Talking Heads' legacy, this album, their last, is hardly ever mentioned. Of course, there's a reason for this -- there is very little actual innovation going on here. Naked is a "Talking Heads-by-numbers" album if there ever was one. Cap'n Marvel brilliantly described it as "Remain in Light performed by the Buena Vista Social Club", and while I would argue that the songwriting here is more along the lines of Little Creatures, the Social Club comparison is extremely apt. The band basically took all of the grooves it had performed in previous albums and replaced the synths and guitars with a variety of worldbeat instruments (congas, horns, talking drum, accordion, kora, and more!). They also hired a small army of session players to play all of these bizarre instruments (including the guitar contributions of one Johnny Marr), resulting in a studio filled with around 30 musicians.

       So, if I'm going to praise this album for anything, it's gotta be the arrangements and production. Worldbeat may not be one of my favorite genres, but I can't deny that the densely layered instruments all grooving over one another sounds extremely cool. Of course, the sound is still nothing compared to Remain in Light (Steve Lillywhite, as good of a producer as he may be, is no replacement for Eno), but hey, it's not bad!

       The songwriting, however, isn't quite up to par. Byrne apparently wrote the melodies for Naked while improvising with his voice over the instrumental grooves, and while that strategy may have worked for Remain, I find it leaves me a little wanting here. Sure, songs like "Mr. Jones" and "Nothing But Flowers" have decently memorable melodies, but they're still nothing compared to something like "Born Under Punches" or "The Great Curve" or "And She Was" or "Thank You for Sending Me an Angel" or "Love's Come to Town" or a plethora of other Heads songs. 

       My favorite thing here is definitely the ultra-funky "Mr. Jones"; there's something oddly satisfactory about hearing a bunch of art-school nerds completely pulling off a funk song that also features an over-the-top Mariachi horn section. Yes, you read that right, and yes, the song completely works. The post-punk-y closer "Cool Water" also works, although not quite as well. It's certainly listenable, though. 

       The Bo Diddley-shuffle of "Ruby Dear" is...alright, I guess, and "Totally Nude" is a decent throwback to the band's guitar-driven days, but I'd be lying if I said I could remember how the melodies on either of these tracks go. The gentle country sway of "The Democratic Circus" is also pleasant while it's on, and I like how the track gradually grows into something of a rocker. I also like the chorus of "Mommy Daddy You and I", even though I really can't remember anything about the rest of the song. But hey, dig that groovy accordion!

       On the negative side, the proto-industrial stomp of "The Facts of Life" sounds fairly silly by today's standards (it's like a goofy version of "The Overload"), the opening "Blind" features a really irritating vocal from Byrne, "Bill" is a total and utter bore, and...yeah, this thing's kind of a slog. I mean, individually these songs aren't awful by any means, but when they're stretched out over the course of 52 minutes, it's very easy to get tired of the endless worldbeat onslaught. It's not terrible, but only get it if you're really into these guys. As far as a final album goes, it's a bit disappointing. It doesn't ruin the band's legacy, or anything like that, but I do wish we had gotten a stronger swan song. 

       Ah, well. If I wanna hear some good Heads music, I can just go listen to 77 or Remain in Light again, can't I?