Talking Heads: 77

Talking Heads

Sire, 1977

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talking_Heads

REVIEW BY: Sean McCarthy

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 05/07/2009

Much to Homer Simpson’s dismay, rock and roll did not achieve perfection in 1974. But he wasn’t off by much. 1977 could lay claim to the “best year ever” for rock. Just for the punk genre itself, seminal albums like the Ramones’ Rocket To Russia, the Clash’s self-titled album, Television’s Marquee Moon, Wire’s Pink Flag and The Sex Pistol’s Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols redefined not only how rock could be played but who could play it (basically any one who can get three chords below his or her belt).

Punk allegedly was started as a reaction against both disco and “mammoth” rock acts such as The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. However, just as quickly as punk arrived, there were groups within its circle that challenged punk’s rigid ethics. Elvis Costello, Television and Wire proved that while anyone could form a punk band, it’d sure as hell help if the members were musically inclined. my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250

In terms of being musically accomplished, the members of the Talking Heads were miles away from most of their punk contemporaries. Listening to their debut now, it’s hard to imagine how Talking Heads: 77 even qualified as “punk.” On the lead-off track, the band sounds more suited for a Calypso bar than the CBGB, where they routinely opened for the Ramones. They are one of the few punk bands at the time that sound like they were more influenced by Parliament Funkadelic than The Stooges or The Velvet Underground.

The lyrics on Talking Heads: 77 were among the Talking Heads’ most concrete. In “Don’t Worry About the Government,” David Byrne foresaw the rise of the yuppie culture of the ‘80s: “My building has every convenience / It’s going to make life easy for me / It’s going to be easy to get things done / I will relax with my loved ones…” But instead of the sneering nihilism of Johnny Rotten, Byrne’s nervous, edgy and almost tender vocals give a complex layer to the character in the song.

Though the members of the Talking Heads lived slightly more sheltered lives than most of their punk peers (meeting in art school can do that), the band had no trouble nailing the fear and menace in the streets of New York City in the late 1970’s with the song “Psycho Killer.” The famous opening “I can’t sleep ‘cause my bed’s on fire / Don’t touch me, I’m a real live wire” has been used to describe both the infamous Son Of Sam killer as well as Taxi Driver’s antihero Travis Bickle.

Their debut album solidified the Talking Heads as one of the most groundbreaking bands to make a dent in the charts in the ‘80s. The album was such an innovation that their next two albums, More Songs About Buildings And Food and Fear Of Music, managed to be just as critically acclaimed, even though the band didn’t move far away from the template they set with their debut. With an album as good as Talking Heads: 77, though, you could hardly blame them.

Rating: A

User Rating: Not Yet Rated


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© 2009 Sean McCarthy and The Daily Vault. All rights reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of Sire, and is used for informational purposes only.