Brian Eno is MORE DARK THAN SHARK

INTERVIEWS, REVIEWS & RELATED ARTICLES

International Musician And Recording World OCTOBER 1978 - by David Lawrenson

TALKING HEADS: MORE SONGS ABOUT BUILDINGS AND FOOD

Talking Heads are one of the more interesting bands to have come out of America over the last year. They could loosely be called New Wave, although in the USA this seems to mean something different from its English counterpart.

The Heads can be compared to Tom Verlaine's Television - they are an innovative band who use the basic format of drums, bass, guitar and keyboards and attempt to come up with music which can lay some claims to being original.

The line up is David Byrne, vocals, guitar and synthesized percussion, Chris Frentz, drums and percussion, Jerry Harrison, piano, organs, synthesizer and background vocals and Tina Weymouth, bass guitar. Brian Eno is also featured on synthesizers and piano, and his influence is strong throughout the album which he produced in conjunction with the group.

The playing is tight but sparse, the result being a quirky type of number in which a particular instrumentalist can experiment. My favourite cut is The Good Thing which by contrast to the rest of the album is a light poppy number, which contains a catchy chorus which could easily become infectious after several plays.

Much use is made of effects both on guitars, keyboards and drums as well as on the production end such as speeded up or backward tapes. Take Me To The River sounds like The Beatles' Get Back done at half speed, while many of the tracks have distinct overtones of Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band and singer David Byrne sounding not unlike Bryan Ferry in places.

Eno manages to get some interesting drum sounds, while Tina Weymouth's moody, solid bass is a feature throughout. This album is only likely to appeal to a certain type of listener, criticism of the band's live work has been that they seem too cold and detached, and they are definitely an acquired taste. Still, what they do is interesting, and if you want to check out some of rock's more avant garde sounds, then More Songs About Buildings And Food might well be worth investigating.

Produced by Brian Eno and Talking Heads, engineer Rhett Davies, assistant engineer, Beji Ambrister. Recorded and mixed at Compass Point Studio, New Providence, The Bahamas.