Customer Reviews

TALKING HEADS - Popular Favorites 1976-1992/Sand In the Vaseline

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'll start off by saying that I am not the world's biggest Talking Heads fans. But I do like a lot of their individual songs, and they are to be commended for putting together one of the best ever anthology albums. This is appreciated for those of us who want all the best material without having to shell out major coin for a box set full of excess material we don't want. At two discs and 33 songs, covering every one of their studio albums, "Sand in the Vaseline" uncanilly manages to hit the all the highlights. Everything essential is here, from early successes like "Love--Building on Fire" and "Psycho Killer" to late career successes such as "Wild Wild Life" and "(Nothing But) Flowers."

Overall, this is a perfect album for the casual fan. My hat is off to the Heads.

So, I guess you would say I'm a jerk for saying this but what happened to music? I wasn't alive during the 80's and I have grown up with the "music" of the 90s and early 2000s. I don't really listen to it anymore because I have discovered that this is around. Honestly, find me a rap cd that has the contingency of "And she was", "Burning down the house", "Psycho Killer", or their cover of "Take me to the river". Talking heads are amazing. Their instruments sound GOOD together, not just like a heavy metal bang. Oh, and have you noticed there's actually a tune to the song, making it possible to whistle it? These two cds cover just about every category of loudness, some uprising, some moderate, and some that lull you to sleep. This is completely amazing that this one band is able to create such a beautiful, yes beautiful, mix of noise. do yourself a favor and buy this cd to save music!

Few groups merged the disposable bubblegum pop of the Ohio Express with the hypnotic dance-funk of the Ohio Players. Talking Heads lead singer/ writer/guitarist David Byrne, who in the liner notes ranked the Jackson 5's "Get It Together" with the Beatles "Sgt. Pepper," saw New Wave as a synthesis of those styles. The Talking Heads, with cryptic lyrics and art-rock presentation, led that sound, and became one of the most influential bands of the last 20 years.

"Sand In The Vaseline" chronicles their career. Drummer Chris Frantz and bassist Tina Weymouth studied 70s funk albums like textbooks, giving it right back to George Clinton in rave-ups like "Wild, Wild Life," "Burning Down The House," and the hits from 1985's "Little Creatures." ("And She Was," "Stay Up Late").

Byrne's lyrics were often misunderstood; evangelical Christians bristled over his vision of heaven as "where nothing ever happens." (Wait 'till they read his liner notes on "Take Me To The River.")But his stories often shifted from dark ("Life During Wartime," "Psycho Killer," unleashed during 1977's Summer of Sam) to whimsical ("Nothin' But Flowers").

Not every experiment is successful ("Love For Sale" falls flat; Frantz found "City of Angels" "relaxing." You'll find it boring). But all of it intrigues, and hearing it again reminds you of rock and rap artists today influenced by the Heads, payback for the group's own roots. In her portion of the liner notes, Weymouth thanks her bandmates for "never, ever, being boring.") With rare exceptions, she was correct, and "Sand In The Vaseline" is highly musical, compelling proof. Recommended.

If you want to know why Talking Heads are SUCH an influential band (and still light years ahead of much of what passes for music today), this must be the place! You get some amazing electicism, from the frenetic funk of "Crosseyed and Painless" to the Latin tinge of "Mr. Jones." Obviously, once you sample the appetizers here, it should lead you to some meaty main courses like "Remain in Light," "Speaking in Tongues" and the underrated "Naked." Still, this is the best TH for a road trip when you can only take so much of one artist. Now that I think about it, TH should be the soundtrack for ANY road trip, even if you're on the road to nowhere.

This 2-disc set spans, somewhat uncomfortably, the boundary between a greatest-hits collection (targeted at the casual fan) and a retrospective box set (targeted at the completist). Nearly all of the band's well-known hits are here (with the odd exception of "Uh Oh, Love Comes to Town"), padded out to double-CD length with live cuts and non-album tracks. The result is completely listenable, as the boundary between the group's quirky art-rock days and their FM-radio heyday falls nicely between discs, but new fans might consider the later, single-disc hits collection a better value while fans wanting to go deeper will seek out the recent DualDisc re-releases which feature lots of bonus tracks.

It's all great stuff, however, with the first disc showcasing the band's uncanny ability to merge art tendencies with pop instinct even as they were mastering their instruments, and the second bringing key tracks from some of the less-heard later albums to light.

Of special note is the superb re-mastering job by Bob Ludwig, which gives the early songs a punch and presence missing from the prior releases.

This was my favorite album during my college years and I can really say nothing bad about it at all. Every song is excellent, and the production values are top notch. It's the best comp album I own. Too bad they're not all this good!

I was never a big Talking Heads fan aside from the hits played on the radio. However, I was looking for a change, something different to listen to. Boy did I get it. I can't believe I have been missing this masterpiece all this time. David Byrne is nothing short of genius. It's best when listened with headphones on and the bass cranked way up!!

Talking Heads is one of those rare bands with the distinction of making smart pop music accesible for the masses. The double disc "Sand in the Vaseline" is a good reflection of their career. I first became familar with them in the early eighties when songs like "Burning down the House" was all over FM radio and MTV. Disc 2 represents this era thoroughly, and includes some smaller hits that I forgot about until I bought the CD.

The pleasant surprise was Disc 1. Disc 1 focuses more on their earlier music from the late 70's, like "Life During Wartime." While I was familar with these hits as well, some of the more obscure songs on Disc 1 became my favorites on either disc. "Sugar on My Tongue" and "I Wish You Wouldn't Say That" stood out immediately as I was listening to them for the first time. I also liked some of the last songs on Disc 2 that they released before finally disbanding. "Sax and Violins" and especially "Lifetime Piling Up" come to mind. But that's what a good band does. Good bands produce timeless music throughout the decades that stand the test of time. This is a thorough compilation of a good band and a starting point for those becoming familiar with Talking Heads for the first time.

I appreciate the title of this 2-disc set 'Popular Favorites..." because there is NO such thing as "Best of" when it comes to this rock-fusion group (you are right - I did NOT say "new wave"). If you haven't collected every album they have or if you have just had the great good fortune to have discovered Talking Heads, then this is the CD set for you...unless you have quite a bit more moola and can afford their entire collected box-set then I say GO FOR IT. There are few groups that I would consider buying their life's work - but Talking Heads is definitely at the top, maybe, just maybe behind The Beatles...or maybe Traffic....hmmmmmmmmm - have to give that some thought. Anyway, BUY THIS IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO AFFORD THEIR ENTIRE BOX-SET COLLECTION!! And that is close to being an order - if you love good music and are musically eclectically-minded. Enjoy!

Essential Songs that are Missing: Born Under Punches, The Girls want to be with the girls
Best Song: Life During Wartime (live)
Worst Song: Popsicle
Best Bonus Track: Lifetime Piling Up (essential th track)
Buy this album first: Stop Making Sense (and the dvd)
Also check out: Look into the Eyeball by David Byrne