Customer Reviews

Talking Heads '77

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Soon after emerging from the punk/alternative/new wave CBGB's Club scene in 1976, the Talking Heads released their amazingly authentic debut, "Talking Heads '77." This exhilirating, inspiring debut album features the band at their most attentive, crafting every detail to the fullest. Foreshadows every direction the band's music will take, while capturing the sophistication (there's that word again) of their unique music. Although "77" was relatively disappointing on the charts and in commercial terms, it remains true that all great classics are brought to the light with time. "Uh-Oh, Loves Comes To Town" is just as unique as the Talking Heads themselves, while "No Compassion" shows the more grim, yet delightful side of their music. The purposely naive and satirical "Don't Worry About The Government" foreshadows the Heads' later cynical aspect. And "Psycho Killer" remains to this day one of the group's most effective and uneasy songs. And although there are many predictable (yet still unique) places in the content, "Talking Heads 77" is a remarkable, landmark gem deserving of attention.

People picking up The Talking Head's debut album for the first time may be in for a surprise, especially if they're used to the eccentric experimentation of the "Remain In The Light" era, or the commercialized pop of the "Little Creatures" era. Back in 1977, the Talking Heads were a punk band but mostly only in their ethics. They played simple rock tunes but most of them lacked the raw energy of punk as played by the Ramones or Clash. Indeed, much of the music here sounds like late 60s and early 70 pop rock. What seperates these songs from post-psychedelic pop, however, is the lyrics and frantic atmosphere that would go on to characterise much of The Talking Head's music in the coming years.

David Byrne's singing style is paranoid and tense and the lyrics are as abstract and arty as any art-rock album. In a way, this is art-rock brought done to a more pop like level. This was also a proto-type for the New Wave sound that was beginning to appear around this time. Songs like "Psycho Killer" have become early staples for the New Wave era and they also signaled the beginning of punk as being an art form rather than just a backlash against corporate rock. New wave can be seen as the first form of punk where the music was more important than the attitude.

And that's what albums like this signify: A transistion of the popular music format. Music always goes through transistions and albums, like this one, that aid in those transistions are often the best representations of the new genres that are created. This was a beginning for The Talking Heads but it was also part of the beginning for the whole 80s new wave sound. Though in some ways the influence out ranks the music, this is still a fun listen and an essential addition to a person's music collection.

I couldn't say it much better than Mike Farmer's review earlier...this was just one collection of tunes that really grab you in some strange way - a gem among the midst the rather bland arena rock of the time... The 'Heads' were geniuses of the time - despite the 'competition' of the hard-edge punk and other non-eventful music of the time, they rose above it all with a refreshingly original sound and solid rhythm.

For those new to their music, go for this one and 'More Songs about Buildings and Food', as well as 'Fear of Music'. To get it all in one, the 'best of (Sand in the Vaseline) is not a bad collection either...

The bottom line is that this CD is a *classic*, and easily ranks with similar classics of the time in this genre (debuts from the Car's, B-52's and Pretenders).

This is not Talking Heads' best album - fans tend to rate any one of their four subsequent studio releases - but it's definitely worth having. Quirky, poppy and slightly amateurish, it has a sound all of its own. The emphasis is squarely on David Byrne's songs, to which the band are at this stage subordinated, and the songs are pretty much uniformly great. The best known is of course Psycho Killer, a jarring and twisted number written from the point of view of a (surprise) psycho killer, but there is better fare on offer here. Don't Worry About The Government, Uh-Oh, Love Comes To Town, Happy Day and Book I Read are all cheerfully deranged masterpieces; Byrne's ability to write a song in character is utilised to the full, as is his ability to explore themes that other lyricists just wouldn't think of: who else could write a line like 'some civil servants are just like my loved ones'? However, the album's crowning glory is Pulled Up, an ecstatically cheerful pop song which, in its middle eight, showcases the band's ability to 'be funky' with a sparse guitar riff, wonderful bassline and soaring tune.
But it's not perfect by any means - when Byrne runs out of decent tunes the songs fall flat on their faces because the band don't quite have the chemistry going on that they did over the next few albums. Songs like Who Is It are lightweight and throwaway, and although they're not particularly bad, I certainly wouldn't have bought the album if they were all like that. Maybe this lack of chemistry was simply because the band were entering the studio to record an album for the first time and their nerves got the better of them - certainly they had a great reputation as a live band at around the same time - but they do bring the album's star rating down a notch. But if you've bought and liked any of their albums, you should enjoy this.

One of those debut albums that is clearly the beginning of a legacy, "Talking Heads '77" finds the band raw yet somehow fully formed. At its best, it is absolutely brilliant, somewhat schizophrenic new wave pop, at its worst, quite frankly, it's not much different.

Having met in art school in Rhode Island, David Byrne (guitar and vocals), Tina Weymouth (bass) and Chris Frantz (drums) relocated to New York to pursue their destiny as a band, eventually adding Jerry Harrison to the mix (keyboards and guitar) from Jonathan Richman's Modern Lovers (highly recommended for anyone who enjoys this album). The band performed Byrne's songs-- a fractured, paranoid, intelligent and yet goofy sort of off-kilter pop-- the key to his music is that you can't readily identify when it was recorded, it has that magic timeless nature to it such that if you played this album for someone who had never heard it, they'd have no reason to assume it was recorded nearly thirty years ago. With Byrne's strained, frantic vocals and an unnervingly able and inventive rhythm section, the pieces all get superb readings.

Again, at its best it's brilliant schizophrenic pop-- from the deep groove of paranoid "Psycho Killer" to the mildly funky, building and paranoid "No Compassion" (the clearest pointer to what the future holds) to goofy-yet-serious chirping opener "Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town" or the seemingly endless imagery of "Don't Worry About the Government". The less intriguing tracks are pleasant enough ("New Feeling"), but often fairly unmemorable ("First Week/Last Week... Carefree") when compared to the rest of the record. They'd probably stand out on anyone else's album, but the better material on here raises the bar.

A reissue just came out in dualdisc format, nicely remastering the sound to match the timeless quality of the music and adding several bonus tracks to both sides, this is a fantastic upgrade and well worth the extra couple bucks to get it.

Truthfully, the Talking Heads would go on to bigger and better things in the company of Brian Eno on their next three records, all pretty much flawless, but this one is essential. Four stars without the remastering job, five with the cleaned up sound and the bonus tracks. Recommended.

Here we see the early Heads, prior to Eno, African rhythms,extra musicians; and what we get is a beautifully tight, engaging quirky little band with great tunes. There isn't a clunker in the bunch. This is what '77 New Wave in all it's glory was about. And of Course "Psycho Killer" is maybe Byrne's best song ever. His manic vocals color all the material on this essential album. Byrne and Jerry Harrison's funky sputtering rhtythm guitars along with Tina Weymouths melodic inventive basswork and Chris Frantz's solid drumming are a textbook example of a great TIGHT modern band in action.

I had heard a few Talking Heads songs in the Eighties; being an early MTV fan, I of course saw their videos, and I knew right away that this was COOL music! A friend told me to get this album, and 16 years later, I'm still in love with it. If you are wanting to explore TH music, I really suggest that you choose this album. There is a good mix of sentiment here, sweet and silly, intense and paranoid, and above all, an amazing exploration of sound and rhythm. Oh, this album is so good! I'd like to personally thank TH for providing me with years of enjoyment.

Talking Heads, here on their debut album, set the stage with the underpinnings of their sound: a jittery, angular, guitar-driven motoric affair punctuated by the pronouncements of David Byrne. Byrne is something of the key to this. While the band chugs along with a brittly-funky groove, he interjects with lyrics that're at once sung, then spoken, then blurted out like punctuation, and even sometimes howled. It's a nervy, brave-sounding approach...and it works. The performances captured here, in fact, are perhaps the most reflective of their live sound of the time; I had the pleasure of hearing a live broadcast from this album's tour, and it was amazing to note how well the band pulled off the material, much as it sounds here. The drawing of the blueprint, to be sure, which would be slowly expounded on by Brian Eno et al as the band grew and time passed. And, I should note, this is an album that codifies 'New Wave' in a far better fashion than the Music Industry's type-casting of that term ever managed; more Godard, less ad-dept. hackwork!

Before I heard this, my friend gave me Fear of Music, which had a few spectacular songs, but overall was rather weak. Then I bought this one, and boy was I amazed. I was told that David Byrne can't sing, but he seems to master the art of hiding it in this album. There are a great deal of catchy, upbeat tunes on this, and this should definitely be a starter for those who wish to grab the most representative work of TH's career. One of many bands I wish I knew about when they were still active. I beg them for a reunion tour, if the day ever comes.

The Talking Heads debut album is one of their best. Probably second after More Songs. Psycho Killer, New Feeling, and Pulled Up are the best songs on the album, but they are all incredible. This is an album that everyone should own.