Talking Heads

Alright, so I had always strongly disliked David Byrne's voice and most of the material from Talking Heads that I had ever heard (radio singles). I've just always been really picky about vocals, only really loving a handful of singers. Recently, however, I've opened up into appreciating a lot of unorthodox singing and use of the human voice (i.e. Captain Beefheart, Cardiacs, Battles, Of Montreal). I've also had a few friends (also fans of prog and jazz) that have cited Talking Heads as being their favorite band, saying how revolutionary and ingenious their music is. So now that I'm pretty much over my past stigma against "weird" singing (for lack of better words), I'd like some recommendations on where to start with their discography. I now love the songs "Burning Down the House" and "Once In a Lifetime", but I want to hear more and don't know where to begin.


Edited by EchidnasArf - July 15 2011 at 20:44

You have to hear some live Heads....Stop Making Sense or The Name Of This Band is

^^ What he sez.  Fear of Music is their best album.

Would recommend both Fear of Music and Remain in Light, the only ones I know and both great albums.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Halfway through Remain in Light and heavily digging it. I'll check out Fear of Music, More Songs About Buildings and Food, and some live stuff, in that order.

I forgot to mention that one of the reasons I really wanted to give Talking Heads a go was because I heard a single from David Byrne with Brian Eno released not too long ago called "Strange Overtones" on the radio. Has anyone else heard this track? It's so feel-good, it just demands that you bob your head. Lyrics and beat are simply perfect.

If you're going to get new hard copies you've picked the right time to get into the band.  The whole catalog of studio albums have been remastered with stereo on one side and a 5.1 surround dvd mix on the other done by band member Jerry Harrison.  Also each have at least a couple of bonus videos. The re release of The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads is jammed with extra tracks and is a really good collection of songs from my favorite period of the band which is the More Songs through Remain In Light period. 

The Stop Making Sense movie got high praise when it came out, deservedly so.  A really good show.  A really big suit.  And you may say to yourself, can this suit be taken in a little...

By the way to fans already, who like Remain In Light as much as I do, you'll want to get this:
Looks like you can try out most of this album on the tube.



Edited by Slartibartfast - July 16 2011 at 04:17

"the wind in my heart"...

Remain in Light certainly.  Its probably the only music with vocals for more than a minute or two that I listen to.  I'm not a fan of pop music, but they just do it correctly.  I haven't heard other albums and was actually introduced to Remain in Light via a fantastic Phish show in which they played the entire album straight through.  The weirder second half of the album might be better when Phish does it actually.....

I really liked Talking Heads up to and including Fear of Music but after that Byrne (found) the plot and they lost their neurotic edginess. The marriage of white and black music styles as attempted by Remain In Light and Speaking in Tongues sound about as passionate as a pre-nuptial agreement and horribly dated now to my ears.

Hmmm...this is my fave off RIL, undeniably their finest album.....IMHO of course