49. Talking Heads, Remain In Light (Sire, 1980)
The album cover turns The Beatles' Let It Be on its head, and that barely describes the energy and reinvention crackling within. This band's third collaboration with Brian Eno was light years ahead of its time--somehow, it confronted futuristic, Devo-esque concerns with a positively archaeological polyrhythmic foundation, resulting in a fusion both cerebral as ever, but also just as kinetic. More than anything, this is a groove album, its hooks embedded in vamps and beats rather than melodies. What makes it so singularly fascinating is how David Byrne's uptight spaziness often clashes with (and occasionally complements) what surrounds him, especially on the definitive "Once In a Lifetime" (which holds up surprisingly well, even without its iconic video).
The album cover turns The Beatles' Let It Be on its head, and that barely describes the energy and reinvention crackling within. This band's third collaboration with Brian Eno was light years ahead of its time--somehow, it confronted futuristic, Devo-esque concerns with a positively archaeological polyrhythmic foundation, resulting in a fusion both cerebral as ever, but also just as kinetic. More than anything, this is a groove album, its hooks embedded in vamps and beats rather than melodies. What makes it so singularly fascinating is how David Byrne's uptight spaziness often clashes with (and occasionally complements) what surrounds him, especially on the definitive "Once In a Lifetime" (which holds up surprisingly well, even without its iconic video).
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