Classic Albums Revisited 4: Talking Heads - Remain in Light

I am not the world’s biggest Talking Heads fan, although listening to this album recently has made me question why not.

 

I have owned and listened to ‘Fear Of Music’, ‘Remain in Light’, ‘Speaking in Tongues’, ‘Stop Making Sense’ and ‘Naked’ for decades, and anyone who knows me will know that I cite ‘Naked’ as one of my favourite albums ever. Before getting into this review, I can strongly recommend ‘Naked’ as an album that always cheers me up and gets the legs jiggling due to the infectious vibe. The guitar on ‘Naked’ is nothing short of awesome, and part of this is due to contributions from Johnny Marr on a lot of the songs – sublime.

 

But not to get side-tracked too much let’s get back to ‘Remain in Light’. This album came out in 1980 and I first heard it in 1986. I was actually exposed to both ‘Remain in Light’ and ‘Fear of Music’ at the same time, and my preference in those days was for ‘Fear of Music’ due the really funny lyrics (in a dark and paranoid kind of way). Now in the 2000’s, my preference has moved to ‘Remain in Light’. As we go through it song-by-song I hope to clarify why.

 

Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)

This song launches the album like a statement of intent. It explodes out of your loudspeakers, immediately demanding attention and then settles into the polyrythmic groove that pervades throughout this album. Driving and intense, it seems to say – ‘You will party hard here’. A strong hint of the truly demented guitar theme that carries through most of this album is given here.

Crosseyed and Painless

This is another epic groove that won’t let go. Both this and the first song are intense deliveries from Talking Heads and Eno high-tech (in those days) groove machine. West meets Africa, with a bit of the East thrown in too and it just sounds so great.

The Great Curve

To me this is the very best song on this album. If I had to pick a song that should be included in the space capsule that is sent off into space with the hope that some alien race would find it and listen to it, I think that this is as good a representation of the human race as you are going to get. Again West meets Africa meets East, and thrown in for good measure is the best example of demented electric guitar that you are ever going to get (stating to the aliens that we are cool and funky, but don’t think that you can mess with us). Byrne explains what the world is about in the lyrics- ‘the world moves on a woman’s hips’ providing the aliens with some clues to understanding human procreation. There are two guitar solos that really rock out in this song (the song clocks in at six minutes and twenty six seconds – the longest on this album).

 When I get around to completing my application to join the Sith (as Darth Kraken of course), my Light Sabre will sound like this electric guitar. The guest guitarist on this album is the famous Adrian Belew.

Influences from all over the world are encapsulated in this songs except for maybe those nasal resonators from the Mongolian Steppes.

Once in a Lifetime

Most people should recognise this one. This was the single I think, and also appears on ‘Stop Making Sense’ the live album that most people with a vague interest in Talking Heads seem to have. Great lyrics – ‘Well, how did I get here?’.

Houses in Motion

Aha – this is where the Mongolian Nasal Resonators kick in (more than likely actually Belew in another manifestation of demented guitar). Byrne (or his protagonist), I think is looking for a new place to stay, while the musical accompaniment suggests a swamp somewhere in a hot sweaty equatorial region. Great call and response from Byrne too.

Seen and Not Seen

There is some weird stuff going on here. Mainly to do with the lyrics, I still don’t get them but apparently you can change your face if you try hard enough. In the days of vinyl, the second side of this album contrasted a lot with the first side in terms of pace. The first side is fast, funky and somewhat frenetic. The second side slowing down a lot. This makes way for time to reflect on the lyrics and wander at all the wrongs in this world.

Listening Wind

A sinister offering with a slowed down pace, but actually welcome at this stage due to the intensity of the previous songs on this album. This is a beautiful song with a threatening undercurrent via the lyrics.

The Overload

At six minutes The Overload can seem to go on for too long. That was always my impression in my youth. Now, however, I marvel at it’s mind-altering capabilities. This is a song capable of picking up your thoughts and carrying them all over the place, usually leaving me in reverie so deep I often fail to notice that the album has ended.

In conclusion, to me, the relevance of this album has grown phenomenally over time. The soundscape is fantastic and it could only sound better if someone picked up the masters and brought out a re-mastered CD version (I have that for ‘Naked’ and it sounds brilliant). The band with Brian Eno were onto some cutting edge stuff in the studio that probably needed 2000’s type technology to be fully realised. It’s not Rock in the face of distinct categorisation, but listen to ’The Great Curve’ and you will realise that there are legions of so-called rock guitarists who will never be able to solo like that! I love this album!