Brian Eno is MORE DARK THAN SHARK

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Pitchfork JUNE 23, 2004 - by Nick Sylvester

THE TOP 100 ALBUMS OF THE 1970S - #45: TALKING HEADS' MORE SONGS ABOUT BUILDINGS AND FOOD

More Songs About Buildings And Food transformed the Talking Heads from a quirky CBGB spectacle to a quirky near-unanimously regarded "it" band. New producer Brian Eno can take his due credit for the album's success, smartly tightening up the rhythm section's energy for more dance-oriented beats and a more prominent role in general, though without taking the limelight off head Head David Byrne's nervous sputters. Byrne's own songwriting was, as the album titled suggested, in the same quotidian vein as 77, though perhaps More Songs About Buildings And Food has slightly more vitriol, especially on album closer, The Big Country, Byrne's indictment of the South. More Songs About Buildings And Food probably could have survived as a cult album by a cult band, but what really opened up the Talking Heads for a national audience was the band's slinky cover of Al Green's famous Take Me To The River, which put them on the Top 30 singles charts for the first time.