Talking Heads

Kiss would probably dominate that thread.

There could also be a thread on session musicians who claim to have played on records they didn't actually play and/or appear on (Babbitt with TH, Purdie on Beatles records, Carol Kaye with Motown, etc.).

Never understood what Purdie was up to with all that, has there ever been a consensus?

I've always thought the Bernard Purdie story was hilarious.

tbf, Purdie's drumming was in fact overdubbed on a Beatles' record, a quickie cash-in on Atco where he doubled Pete Best's parts from Hamburg-era recordings:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ain't_She_Sweet_%28album%29

But Purdie claimed that he played on "twenty one" Beatles tracks, and that "Ringo never played on anything."

I could never warm up entirely to Remain in Light. I was 7 when that was released and I guess it goes into my "I guess you had to be there" group of unrecognised (by me) masterpieces. it sounds cold and calculated to these ears which, for all I know, might be the actual pull of it. I love all the African references more than what they're doing with them.

conversely, I adore Naked and that's their masterpiece for me. differently from RIL, the African music there sounds lived-in (well, it's played by Parisian African musicians to begin with) and the songs are real songs, and are uniformly great.

I'm also one that loves Byrne solo more than the Heads. I like how he's progressed, both as songwriter and singer. I still listen to Rei Momo, the self-titled one, and Feelings, more than I do the Heads' albums combined, Naked notwithstanding.

Remain In Light, first side at least, is truly marvellous. The classic-era one I have most trouble with is Fear of Music for some reason.

I really only "got into" the Talking Heads this last year (yeah, I know), and for a long time it was because I couldn't hear what others raved about in Fear of Music. now I get it, but it's really "Cities" through "Animals" that's my favorite stretch by this band. "Electric Guitar" and "Drugs" are kinda annoying, though I think that's the point in both cases.

focus on the keyboards in "Drugs", that's what won me over.

"Electric Guitar" is such a clunker, though, indefensible imo

ok thanks I'll listen for that! that stretch I mentioned is good that I just leave it on to the end, but "Electric Guitar" loses my attention and so maybe I've never really focused on "Drugs" before.

Off the album I love Cities, Animals, Life During Wartime and especially Air, although generally I prefer the live versions of all those songs. Mind and Paper do very little for me. I just don't think they're very good songs and they sound like offcuts from previous albums that didn't make it. Drugs and Electric Guitar (and the Overload off RIL) all seem to be trying for a sort of gothy thing that I'm not fond of. SO yeah it's a patchy one for me.

it sounds cold and calculated to these ears which

stopped reading here

i don't know, "electric guitar" has that goofy tuba synth all over it and maybe it's not good per se, but it's pretty compelling.

Fear of Music strikes me as an album you really have to concentrate on to get the most out of it. Some real winners on there, though.

how are cold and calculated not compliments?

I once heard the 5.1 mix of Fear of music and they used completely different vocal takes on some songs, it's was really odd.

Here's a handy place where you can grab folddown mixes of all the their available 5.1 material if you are so inclined.

http://www.sharoma.com/eclectic_ril.htm

Mind and Paper do very little for me.

"Paper", OK, yeah I can see that. "Mind", though, man I don't know what to say except keep listening, it's totally in my top 5 for that album. the way the rhythms do this ebb and flow like taking deep breaths, the vocal effects, I love it

"Mind" is a highlight of that record for me. Always thought Fear of Music was peak TH (and certainly Byrne's peak as a vocalist); nothing else felt as daring or spooky.

"Memories Can't Wait" is easily my favorite thing they've ever done. I can't think of another song of theirs that sounds so close to completely going off the rails.

yeah Byrne's singing on "Cities" is what finally cracked this band for me, unhinged and fascinating

They have at least three better albums.

The guitar on Fear of Music is really interesting.

as crunchy as dead insects

different vocal takes on the 5.1 of Fear Of Music? hadn't heard that.

fear of music is actually the most interesting th record to me in terms of their process while recording the record. they tried a lot of different things while recording the record, and there's some interesting stuff that didn't make it to the final record (in contrast to, say, "remain in light", where the outtakes are of only marginal interest). you have the mostly very different alt cuts on the dualdisc (as well as byrne and eno's duet on "dancing for money") and box set with lots more fripp input, the very interesting 5.1 mixdowns (by jerry harrison, i think?), and then you have the "rough mixes" tape with some of the songs in much more extreme form such as "mind". reminds me that i really need to watch that south bank show episode from around the time they were making "fear of music".

i also really like the extended version of "speaking in tongues" that came out a few years back. really a fine record.

...okay, chris, which song on "fear of music" sounds like the eagles?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5EzLDD1D_Q

"I Well, Yeahbra"

Remain In Light IS cold cold cold cold! In a good way. Shoes with no socks. It's an incredible album. I would love to hear an 8 disc "sessions" box set a la beach boys smile.

Ril > fom > the song about Pizza Hut and daisies > burning down the house > true stories (film and album) > everything else

Genius of Love is good too

Except Chris franz' (?) vocals are the absolute worst. Is there like a Francois k dub mix without his interjections?

Oh and the weird song about making the baby stay up all night is pretty lol

jesus these 5.1 mixdowns are amazing.

...okay, chris, which song on "fear of music" sounds like the eagles?

ha, I wondered which song he was thinking of there as well - 'Heaven' maybe?

I just picked up Stop Making Sense on Laserdisc. There are forum threads with audio nerds saying how it's the best sounding version, but i'm going to have to find a used laserdisc player to find out.

ha yeah it really is supposed to be the best version, i've thought about getting a Laserdisc copy over the years. plus it still has the un-altered 'Snow white..' line that was dubbed over on the DVD/Blu-Ray, and a couple of other un-messed with bits that were present in the original soundtrack.

i grew up loving Talking Heads singles from every era of the band and when i picked up Remain In Light as my first TH album i found it kind of dense and difficult to love, and found the first 3 albums a lot more immediate. Fear Of Music still sounds to me like a nice halfway point between the early albums and RIL.

I came to TH via Stop Making Sense and therefore I had no real idea how the various songs fit into their timeline when I first heard them. Actually, off that video I found it was the Speaking In Tongues material that worked best. Never understood why that album was so bad and hated. Other than 'Moon Rocks', every track's a classic in my book.

Another reason I can't love Fear Of Music: I really don't like 'Heaven' at all.

yeah Stop Making Sense is how i got introduced to a lot of songs, i think at that point RIL was the only album i owned, and the movie definitely is extremely flattering to Speaking In Tongues.

i don't love "Heaven" but i think it works really well as an outlier on FOM.

Reminds me too much of 'It's A Kind Of Magic' for some reason. The lyrics are dull and the whole thing feels derivative or something, I dunno...

good version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGbREuyYNZM

*runs away*

Okay, I had no idea that cover existed, I don't hate what little Simply Red I've heard (which I'm sure puts me in a distinct minority around here) and I actually kinda like that one. It's an odd idea, wonder what brought it about.

check out their obvious homage to The Great Curve (which is the track after 'Heaven' on the same album bizzarely). it's such a blatant rip; the drum pattern, the Belew-style guitar breaks, the whole thing. maybe they were just obsessed with Talking Heads.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvtBrmGDQUU

can only apologize for multiple Simply Red links.

Speaking in Tongues is "so bad and hated"? Surely this is a mixup with Little Creatures?

i mean it lacks the prestige of the Eno albums for sure, but that's definitely overstating it

Concerning the album's title, bassist Tina Weymouth was quoted in an 1979 interview with Creem magazine:
When we were making this album I remembered this stupid discussion we had about titles for the last album," Tina smirked. "At that time I said, 'What are we gonna call an album that's just about buildings and food?' And Chris said, 'You call it more songs about buildings and food.'[13]
XTC frontman Andy Partridge claimed in a tweet, however, that he gave the title to Byrne.

wut

how can this thread have so many he-said-she-said anecdotes about Tina Weymouth but not the "baby penis" story

I do not know this anecdote I must know it

Speaking in Tongues definitely definitely my favorite TH album but I have more use for them as a weirdo funk band than arrrrrtraaawwwwk. "I Zimbra" (which has somehow escaped mention thus far in spite of all the FOM talk?) is definitely my favorite track on Fear, although I love the SMS version of "Life During Wartime".

Speaking in Tongues is "so bad and hated"?

everyone knows that it is their best album of the ones that come after it, and also most of the ones before it too

http://www.salon.com/2003/12/03/heads_2/

In the late 1990s, Weymouth even reportedly called several old friends in the middle of the night to tell them that Byrne had a “baby penis.”