Fear The Talking Heads

The first time I saw David Byrne was back during his tour of his Feelings album. It was good, but sadly nothing to write home about. I mean I really thought I should have expected more Talking Head songs then his own solo work so with that expectation there I was disappointed. Then in the summer of 2001 I saw him again. This time I was a little more mature on the musical listening and also educated on what he has done for me in my life. This time the show was amazing. It lasted only two hours, but at the end you wanted another two hours out of him so you can hear the same stuff again and again.

I saw him twice more since then and he was exceeding the level I had already put up when I saw him in 2001. My only regret seeing these shows of David Byrne was the fact that I never had the chance to see the Talking Heads. I am a huge fan of the Talking Heads and I remember as a younger adult buying Little Creatures and playing the tape to death. I thought it was the best stuff in the world. I even went so far to take out of the library the live album from 1982 and play it religiously. I would always put the needle on the songs I thought were the coolest in the world. I say thought because these were the big hits. Song's like "Psycho Killer" and "Burning Down the House" and "Take Me to the River." What I did not play were the rest of the songs at that tender age. Those songs are the ones that define a great band.



In High School I bought most of my Talking Head albums at the record store I would go to. I mean I had a base of the tape I had and now it was time to fill in the gaps. I started with the album before Little Creatures and go on from there. It was slow but effective in some way to let me hear each album. Then I got Remain In Light and my whole world had changed. I listened to that album all the time to figure out where David Byrne and the rest of the band where getting these ideas from. Most of the ideas were their own the rest came from a man named Brian Eno. When I bought Remain In Light I was a Junior in High School so I knew about him because of his circles with Robert Fripp. I knew their was some smart music going on there. I liked it too so this was a bonus for me.

I liked Remain In Light so much that my next progression was Fear of Music. Fear of Music turned out to be my favorite of all the Talking Heads albums. It might be the fact that Robert Fripp and Gene Wilder are on the album. The fact is that it's a great album full of poly-rhythms and the ominous sound of minor key use it becomes quite addicting. The fact Brian Eno's work is all over it makes a very good album all the way around.



There are great stand out tracks that make the album get quite addictive very quickly. I think "I Zimbra," "Life During Wartime," "Heaven" and "Memories Can't Wait" are some of the best songs the Talking Heads have ever done. These songs are Talking Heads, they would probably be the only artist that could do these songs. The whole band works very well with this album and soon it will be your favorite.

I know my readers like the Talking Heads too, but if you really study them as much as I do, I think some of their greatest work is not what you hear on the radio, but what is on each album. This album is full of songs that are non commercial and most of all just give you an idea what they can do given the great direction of Brian Eno. A must own and a great one to enjoy again and again.