TALKING HEADS: 77

Even in 1977, when many of the punk bands bursting onto the scene were gleefully producing no-frills rock which didn't worry about art, some bands were already steering the New Wave sound into a distinctly art rock direction. Indeed, often "post-punk" would prove to be more avant-garde and experimental than many supposedly progressive bands of the era.

Talking Heads were right at the vanguard of the arty side of the New Wave, sowing the seeds of a swathe of post-punk styles with their debut album. Uh-Oh Love Comes To Town features Caribbean steel drum melodies spicing up David Byrne's emotionally evocative description of a new love and all the worries and nervousness that goes with it, Psycho Killer is a sparse, stripped down nightmare, Pulled Up sets the blueprint for a legion of alternative rock guitar bands looking to do an upbeat number to follow, and between these bookends the album charts a course through the group's idiosyncratic vision of rock and roll, demolishing the rock band format and sound brick by brick and then rebuilding it again to a new and strikingly modern design. Eno isn't on the scene yet, but you can see why he paid close attention here.