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With much of the current crop of indie-bands copping a somewhat "retro" influenced stance, and with New York once again becoming a "hotbed" of new rock activity, it comes as no suprise that there should be renewed interest in Talking Heads. Arriving out of NY's "no wave" scene in the mid 1970's, this talented four-piece quickly established themselves as a unique, intriguing and rhythmic pop outfit musically miles away from the usual raw garage sound of the CBGB bands, yet with the same DIY self belief. Quickly signed to Sire Records by Seymour Stein, the band released a flurry of brilliant records ('Talking Heads: 77', 'More Songs About Buildings And Food', 'Fear Of Music', 'Remain In Light' and 'Speaking In Tongues') before moving on to mega success with EMI and 'Stop Making Sense'. With a definite "thinking" art rock bent, the enigmatic frontman David Byrne, the excellent guitarist Jerry Harrison (he had cut his teeth with Jonathan Richman's brilliant Modern Lovers - check the excellent self-titled album), plus the brilliant rhythm section of Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz, Talking Heads also played some of the funkiest white music ever. This compilation put together by the band, covers their studio career (even the dodgy last couple of albums - 'True Stories' and 'Naked' - had some great tracks) in chronolgical order, also ignores the live 'Stop Making Sense' so those of you who already have that album (and many many do) won't even feel ripped off - thats respect for your fans. The musical progression and changes from the band throughout are always interesting and intriguing, as you'd expect, while the music itself still stands the test of time well - tracks like "Psycho Killer", "Take Me To The River", "Burning Down The House", "Memories Can Wait", "Once In A Lifetime" - still sound outstanding, while the heartfelt tributes/memories in the sleeve notes from the likes of Moby, hip hopper EL-P, Dustin Hawthorne (Hot Hot Heat), Matt Safer (The Rapture), Ira Kaplan (Yo La Tengo) and Doug McCombs (Tortoise), confirms just how great their influence on todays indie/alternative world is. If you don't own any "studio" Talking Heads in your music collection you really are deprived - lucky for you this brilliant compilation is the perfect remedy. Recommended. |
