Great album, lousy disc. Buy the UK edition instead.
Most critically-acclaimed indie bands of the past 20 years sound drab and ordinary compared to what Talking Heads were doing in their prime. This is one of the best albums of the 1970's, an absolutely brilliant combination of new wave and psychedelia that still sounds startlingly original today.
Also, the remastering is excellent. I've heard few CD's that sound as good as this.
So why'd I give it only three stars?
The trouble is the dual-layered discs that Rhino decided to use. I've tried to play the CD side on three different CD players, including a brand new Onkyo and a brand new Sony. Both had trouble reading the disc and skipped on the last track. All the other Talking Head dual-discs had the same problem.
There is good news: in the UK, Rhino released all the Talking Heads records as two disc CD and DVD sets. I'd strongly recommend going to amazon. co. uk and getting those versions instead.
(4.5 stars) Fear of fear... or something... yeah.
But this is a trippy, creepy, minimalist funk album, and one of my favorite Talking Heads albums. Funk has been called a lot of things, but I highly doubt "creepy" was ever on the list before this album came out. The only better one is Remain in Light. This is, as I'm sure you know, a concept album, but you can only find the concept by putting the words "fear of" in front of every song title. And it works on every song but "I Zimbra". Watch me. . . "Fear of Mind". "Fear of Paper". "Fear of Cities". "Fear of Life During Wartime". "Fear of Memories (Can't Wait)". "Fear of Air". "Fear of Heaven". "Fear of Animals". "Fear of Electric Guitar". "Fear of Drugs". Not only does it apply to the titles, it applies to the lyrics. For instance, the alien-sounding "Air" has lyrics about being hurt by air; the funky, James Brown-like "Paper" uses holding paper up to the light as a metaphor for exposing the ugly truths in people's lives; "Memories Can't Wait" - which also has a paranoid musical backdrop, all tension and no release - seems to be about schizophrenia, which I assume would involve lots of fear; the lovely "progressive country" ballad "Heaven" dismisses it as "a place where nothing ever happens" - Byrne's fear of perpetual boredom, if you will; the slow, droning, controversial "Overload" prequel "Drugs" seems to describe a hangover. All right, looking at all those, you'd think the scariest song on this album would be "Life During Wartime", since that's pretty scary. But it's not! It's a catchy disco-funk song! You can really get down and groove to it, and I love the lyrics. Great song, and it was their first hit single for a good reason. There are a couple breaks from all the fear, though. "I Zimbra" is a fun, funky bit of worldbeat nonsense with a fantastic guitar solo courtesy of Robert Fripp; and "Cities", with stupid lyrics about moving, is a pure funky good time. But those two songs are a couple of my favorites on the album! Along with all the other "fear" tracks I mentioned. Now, I don't think every song is as good as those, like "Mind" (though that's a hell of a guitar solo) or "Electric Guitar" (nice mood, though), but those songs are likeable; the only bomb is the pointless, inane rant "Animals". This is certainly the most accessible Eno album, even if it isn't the best: More Songs About Buildings and Food doesn't have as strong of songwriting (though it's still good), and Remain in Light is probably too dense and neurotic for those not already accustomed to the Talking Heads, though it's their masterpiece. So once you've got Name of This Band or a compilation, this should be your next Talking Heads purchase.
Great Packaging For A Classic Release
The CD side of the DualDisc has the original album and four bonus tracks - including an unfinished outtake, Dancing For Money - while the DVD side has the original album in 5. This is a fantastic package for an essential late-1970s release by a legendary new wave group. 1 Surround Sound, two live performances and an electic photo gallery.
The live cuts are from the period when David Byrne began stretching the sound into funk with an expanded rhythm section and additional musicians. While the energy is electric, the tensions that started to fester within the group are seemingly demonstrated by the way Tina Weymouth disappears stage left and stage right during the numbers.
Also, as stated on the packaging, the DualDisc "is intended to play on standard DVD and CD players. May not play on a limited number of models. " I did not have a problem with the playback and this concept is an outstanding means to deliver a wealth of new material in a variety of modes. .
Talking Heads don't hold up
The music was infectious new wave pop with a heavy R&B influence. Back in the day (college, late 70s, early 80s), I loved Talking Heads. David Byrne's artsy vocals seemed deep and creative.
It's interesting how some bands that one loved in one's youth hold up to the test of time, while others don't. Talking Heads don't. My vinyl Talking Heads LPs have been sitting on my shelf, unlistened, for years. The transition LP, "Fear of Music," where they moved from quirky new wave pop of the first two LPs to Eno-fied worldbeat of their remaining career, was probably my favorite. I saw it for sale at a decent price -- with bonus tracks! -- always a sucker for bonus tracks -- and decided to give the Heads a spin.
The CD side sounds great. The instrumentation is clearer, more distinct, more professional sounding with the new remix. David Byrne's quirky vocals, however, do not benefit from the remixing. The vocals are too upfront. They don't blend with the music anymore. And Byrne's quirky vocal style, and his weird-for-weirdness's sake lyrics, don't hold up 25 years later. In college, when we heard the line "look over there! / Dry ice factory / Good place to get some thinking done," we thought Byrne was deep and creative. Now, my attitude is: "what the ---- ???"
There's a lot of music from the new wave era -- the Golden Age of Rock 'n Roll! -- that I still listen to. That era dominates my mp3 player. But, in my opinion, Talking Heads doesn't hold up to the test of time. Your milage may vary.
Sounds better; bonus tracks are amazing.
1 version. The Talking Heads' third album (the first with producer Brain Eno acting as a surrogate member)is an amazing auditory experience in the newly remixed 5. I haven't done the 5. 1 side yet, but the "regular" cd remixes and alternate versions are amazing to anyone willing to wade through the negative technical reviews here. I've plugged these discs through both my car audio system and my pc. I'm hoping it will continue this well. Okay, with that said, this album was the one that helped me through high school. The paranoia that surrounds Animal and Mind were very familiar to any kid who was "different" during that period of time. While I never experimented with drugs, the build-up that accompanies that song is now familiar to me from any severe insulin reaction I've ever experienced. The album flows through with an urgency. I think the beauty of Mind is very underrated, especially after the line "Everything is very quiet" when the cacophony of the previous seconds calms down to a quiet dissonance no one else was doing at the time.
The "bonus" tracks are amazing. Don't skip them, thinking they are just fluff. "Cities" is indeed the long version with the verse about San Antonio which was lost in the original album/cd version (but was included in the Once in a Lifetime box-set). It was thrilling to hear that verse reinstated in "Stop Making Sense". It's even better in the studio version here. "Life During Wartime" and "Mind" are versions that feature the guitar madness of Adrian Belew. These versions are more dissonant and guitar oriented. Again, not to be missed.
You can see a complete list of all Talking Heads discography, or go back to the Talking Heads tabs
|
