I think I'd be fairly safe in assuming that virtually everyone who reads this blog regularly has not only heard of, but in fact listens to the Talking Heads with some frequency. Nevertheless, it seems to me that the band's recorded output is often reduced by those in our generation (myself included to some extent) to their outstanding greatest hits record, aptly titled the Best of Once in a Lifetime.
Remain in Light is arguably the band's most memorable LP, though some might make a strong case for Fear of Music (I might agree, but it'd really depend on the time of day, season, mood, etc...) This album has Once in a Lifetime on it, but it's a little known trivia fact that the song actually flopped upon initial release as a single. It only passed into the mainstream as the years progressed, particularly, as I just learned, from its inclusion in the film Down and Out in Beverly Hills. [I do not recommend you rent this film.] The music video, which eventually caught on in this newfangled MTV-amajig, didn't hurt either...
Remain in Light was also the first album where the Talking Heads really cut loose from an Afro-rhythmic standpoint. I guess they sort of did that on Fear of Music, but this album is almost exclusively and entirely supported with intricate and cross-sweeping percussion. On an earthy note, it was also covered in its entirety by Phish on Halloween, 1996. The whole album really sounds great in its order and context, but my personal favorite is probably "Crosseyed and Painless."
This album is almost 30 years old.
1 comment:
Everyone should watch Stop Making Sense. And as a side note, the Tom Tom Club album is a winner. The rare Talking Heads:77 is my favorite.
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