Talking Heads – Remain in Light

Way back in 1980, the original wave of Talking Heads fans were pleasantly stunned to hear Remain in Light, produced and co-written by Brian Eno, on which Byrne and company are joined by guitar god Adrian Belew, and funk legends Bernie Worrell (keyboards) and Steven Scales (percussion), among others, for a fuller, funkier sound nobody imagined they had in them.

The first three songs are long, layered, full-body dance parties, with incessantly repeated phrases (musical and lyrical), and increasingly catchy melodic hooks that won’t let go for days. “Once in a Lifetime” was the big hit, but the rockingest track is the third, “The Great Curve”, after which the songs get more linear and subdued. It’s still great stuff, right through to the especially Eno-like droner, “The Overload”, but the second half is maybe better to sleep to than dance to.

Which is fine: after the exuberance of the first three songs, you’ll need a little nap. –Dan Leone Review Theres a chance, slim though it may be, that you havent yet listened to Remain in Light. Please, find and play it now. Feet tapping, and fingers clicking? Thats to be expected.

Soon, exquisite textures come into focus. Brilliant, isnt it? An album that sounds as fresh in 2012 as it ever has. Each time Remain in Lights 40 minutes pass you by theres likely to be something new to hear.

Fidgety opener Born Under Punches is one of a handful of cuts that seems to get itself locked into an infinite loop a good thing. It, like the equally muscular, equally wired The Great Curve, utilises club-land repetition mapped to Afrobeat-at-double-speed architecture to create an end product thats utterly hypnotic. Remain in Light wasnt the first time Talking Heads, helmed by the inimitable David Byrne, had worked with producer Brian Eno.

Nor was it the first time theyd incorporated elements of “world” music: debut set Talking Heads: 77s opener, Uh-oh, Love Comes to Town, features steelpan sounds from the Caribbean.

But it was (is!) the indubitable zenith of both the bands Eno collaborations and their explorations beyond art/post-punk and new wave templates. Whilst Byrne and bandmates intentions from the outset were framed by the desire to experiment, Remain in Light is a perfectly accessible affair, never losing sight of the following Talking Heads had attracted via minor single hits like Psycho Killer and their cover of Al Greens Take Me to the River.

This mainstream-savvy sensibility is encapsulated by Once in a Lifetime. Far from Remain in Lights most riveting moment, its nevertheless the ideal introduction to this set: Enos introduction of Fela Kuti-inspired rhythms lends the track a savant edge, but Byrnes aspiration-meets-realism lyricism connects with a universal audience.

With MTV offering support come the stations 1981 launch, the track was Talking Heads best-known song until it was out-radio-played by 1985s Road to Nowhere. Road to Nowheres parent LP, Little Creatures, cant match Remain in Lights bravado, though. This fourth album illustrates how keen ambition could gel with commercial nous, with results that dazzle.

Even in its darker turns – closer The Overload the obvious example -these eight tracks continue to fascinate over 30 years after their creation. In short: same as it ever was, same as it ever was –Noel Gardner This link will take you off in a new window