Grown Backwards

"Grown Backwards" however feels like something special. A limited pallette of minimal guitar, lush strings and inventive percussion opens up a world of musical possibilities - swooningly beautiful one moment, dark and melancholy the next and with a few diversions into full on funkyness in between. Add to that Byrne's voice at is richest and most controlled and the result is a truly incredible, satisfying listening experience.

The opener "Glass, Concrete and Stone" sets the scene with it's "Eleanor Rigby" esque verses bursting to life with a soaring vocal and pulsating tabla drumming. "The Man Who Loved Beer" is a wonderfully melodic string drenched interpretation of the Lambchop original. "Au Fond Du Temple Saint" is almost painfully beautiful, Rufus Wainwright's deeper tones wrapping around Byrne's own strained but utterly disarming delivery...

"Empire" is by far the weakest track - but it's supposed to be. Basically an imagined anthem for a rightwing administration it's swathed in an unsettlingly subtle backdrop of discordant horns and gently picked guitar... It definitely serves to musically undermine the pompous lyrics and vocal melody. A pretty effective piece of political Satire on Byrne's part but not the most wonderful listening experience!!

"Little Apocalypse", more lush strings, more offbeat percussion and a brilliant transition from the rapped verses to the soaring chorus. Definitely one of the best tracks on the record. "She only Sleeps" is one of the many slow burning tracks on the record. It starts innocuously enough but goes all sorts of weird places lyrically and melodically... "The world is queer/and the human is strangest of all..."

"Dialog Box" is the centrepoint of the record, the only properly danceably funky track with its Stax/Motown horns and rhythm. Its a difficult number to keep still to and should be a hit single if there were any justice! It's up there with Byrne's best. "The Other Side of This Life" is another potential single with its swaying rhythm and wonderful syncopated strings... "Why" is just a beautiful melody, strings counterpoint and swirl around as once again subtle percussion drives the song towards spine tinglying key changes.

"Pirates" is a real curiosity, seemingly a description of a dream or imagined scenario. It's great fun but has some amazing musical flourishes and a subtle hint of the "Latin" sound Byrne has been famed for in the past...
"Civilization" is probably my favourite track - a perfect musical construction. It's perfect pop on the surface but all sorts of undercurrents swirl around that point up the confusion of the character as described in the wonderful lyrics...

"Astronaut" is a dream put to music with a music to match... It drifts along beautifully with nothing more than what sounds like muffled slide guitar and subtle percussion...
"Glad" is incredible - the real grower on the record. It begins like a simply recited nursery rhyme but moves into much darker and musically complex territory - unfortunately it's only a minute and a half long!! The second of the two operatic pieces "Un Di Felice, Etera" again tests the limits of Byrne's voice but still comes across as being utterly compelling - it's yearning melody caps off an album with a strangely melancholy feel.

A remix of "Lazy" completes the package but to me this is an unnescessary addition, too obviously an afterthought... It's still great though, replacing the techno stylings of the original with swooping strings and a great mix of live and sampled percussion - a bit like the live versions premiered a couple of years ago...

This is a record filled with delights that just get better and better with every listen. It's also extremely coherent as an album - songs compliment and grow from each other quite effectively, particularly on "Side 2" following "Dialog Box"...
I'd say anyone who likes good music could get into this album - Already two of my housemates not known for their love of David Byrne have asked to borrow the CD! The production and sound quality alone are worth the price. However for Byrne Fans this album is an absolute treat, in my opinion the summation of his career to date.