"Animals" Another Eno production, and personally my favorite of all Talking Heads albums, it must be said this is also the place where David Byrne's hubris problem first really rears its dispretty head. The anxious, yelping neurotic remains front and center, but these songs are funny, practically every one, and in a wiseacre way that's no product of a high-strung personality. There's a sardonic edge: heaven is a place where nothing happens; animals, eating nuts and berries, are making a fool of us; the smell of home cooking in Memphis, Tennessee, is only the river (it's only the river). "Air," "Paper," "Electric Guitar": the titles alone are willfully simple, setting up the gags sprinkled liberally throughout. That, of course, is not to undercut or deny the walloping soundscapes here, the free-wheeling experimental strategies (the effect of the vocal track on "Drugs," I've heard, was achieved by Byrne taking to the streets and running for blocks and then recording while still out of breath), and, heh indeed, the brilliant counterpoint of the laughs and the anxiety baked right into the songwriting. Not to be missed.more from eMusic
'the effect of the vocal track on "Drugs," I've heard, was achieved by Byrne taking to the streets and running for blocks and then recording while still out of breath'
ReplyDeleteOh that takes me back, to when musicians were trying to create something new. Thanks for that. Wonderful.