Reviews (page 3 of 15)
i find the talking heads to be highly irritating
As you get older, it feels like there will be fewer opportunities to dance all night. To move, unencumbered by what other people think, or what your body thinks it can still do. Maybe, though, there will be a place under the pines where someone has set up the big speakers, and it is dark enough to forget where you are, and who you are, and even who else is there with you. Maybe the tracks are long enough that it all becomes one song. Maybe the beat goes on and on and on…
12 songs Every song was pretty tiring to get through ngl. Now, put 12 of them back to back, and you can imagine how much of a joy this was.
Weird and unbelievably groovy, until The Overload, which is pure Joy Division. The music nerds are right, this one's perfect
Solid output. Love how even the non-singles tracks are always good. Great album closer as well.
Surprised that I don't think I've ever listened to this album before. The highs are real high, but there's enough that's just ok to keep it out of five star range.
Banger after banger, no skips, hell yeah brother
Just such a fantastic band, so weird and wonderful. Songs that surprise you but feel familiar. Got to be one of my favourite artists. Just wish I could’ve seen them. This isn’t my favourite album of theirs, but it’s still great, sort of music that makes you want to be your individual self - without making you feel lonely in doing so. Best Song: The Overload/Once In A Lifetime
It is a great album, they are right in their groove in this album. I think it it quite a front loaded album, first 5 songs are amazing but it drops off a bit towards the end. Best Track: Crosseyed and Painless
Brilliant
The music is interesting, but not terribly engaging. Their style is unique, but it felt mostly like background music for me. It was fine, but not anything I need to listen to more than once. 3/5
Once in a Lifetime
Some incredible songs in this album 5/5
I mean it's a classic. Undeniable Grove, more energetic at the front, more moody and slow in the back. I had to resist singing Once in a Life Time at the top of my lungs lest I wake people.
I went into this feeling like I don't fully get the Talking Heads. I still feel like I don't fully get them. That being said, I still really enjoyed this.
It’s a bop but kinda forgettable, sounded like a precursor to Radiohead. Upbeat, feel good. Songs sounded cohesive. Leah - 7/7 Leprechauns - Favourite - Crosseyed and painless Austin - 4.5/7 Leprechauns- Favourite - Listening Wind
Lived up to the high expectations I had of the album. Definitely a classic. The production doesn't feel dated, changes itself up throughout the album and the themes remain timeless.
music is love
Very good
Great
Excellent
These guys are all right
There's something hectic and nervous in their music that keeps me from really enjoying this.
Once in a Lifetime really is that: an absolute all-timer. The rest here can't match it though it's certainly a tight wee set. Moody
muy bueno pero las que mas me gustan ya las conocia asi que no extraigo nada nuevo 8/10
Very unique style which I'm not very fond of. Psycho Killer is great (not even in this one lol) but afaik that's it.
4.5
While "Once In A Lifetime" is an absolute classic, nothing else on this album comes even close to it. That said, the alchemy of the Talking Heads and Brian Eno's production does mean that this is a good album, it's just not as good as much of the other works by Talking Heads or David Byrne
It may not be Talking Heads best album, but it’s pretty close. Their brand of anxious meets joyous funk is still hard to beat and, of course, Once in a Lifetime is a classic
Great listen but it was over way too soon
Eig echt gut
Stoner Depeche Mode
My brain is just jelly before the Talking Heads. I know I don't like this one as much as Buildings and Food, but I can also see why it is a favorite of so many people. This project has definitely confirmed me as a fan.
Brian Eno makes everything better.
Part reggae, part early electronic music, part pop. Band was perfect visually for the advent of MTV, which took place around the time that this album came out. Very creative and ahead of its time, this band doesn’t mind borrowing while being innovative, especially regarding use of some of the earlier (yet not first) generation of electronics/synths/keyboards.
*1980. *Once in a Lifetime is the only hit here. (But obvs that makes it a minimum of a 4* album.) *I enjoy THs, so this was a pleasure to listen to. Not anything particularly exciting here and no other stand out tracks, but all pretty solid. *Oh wait, do I know Houses in Motion? I don't know, but that one has an especially fun chorus. RATING - 7.5/10
Slapa dat bass! Love Tina Weymouth
Seems harsh to give an album that contains "Once in a Lifetime" only three stars. Not TH's strongest, for me, though.
Not really my jam. Lots of creativity and layers, but it's all a bit 80's experimental for my liking. Some stand out songs, and detail being added all over the place. Definitely worth revisits in comparison to other albums I've heard.
Kommer nok aldri til å bli noen stor fan av disse, men av de tre som har kommet så langt liker jeg dette best. Var litt mer moody og nedpå som passet bra med jobbing.
There aren't many albums in existence that can boast a centrepiece quite as good as the frankly outstanding 'Once In A Lifetime', but thankfully the seven tracks that surround it are more than just supporting filler. It's an album that picks up the groove from the first minute and runs with it. You always know when you're listening to a Talking Heads track, the blueprint is so strong, but that's not to call them formulaic. There's experimentation, variations on a theme and a distinctive arc to the album itself. I've never quite got into their stuff in a major way but individually there's loads to like about it.
it was unique and different from what i usually hear, didn't finish it yet but it's good fs , liked one song outta it a bit more so yeah
Beuker
VERY groovy
Not sure why this one works for me but it does. Possibly it’s the propulsive beat and high energy sound. Woke me right up.
yes! favourite song: born under punches
Crosseyed and Painless/Great Curve/Once in a Lifetime might be the best 3 consecutive songs on an album ever.
Le début j'ai bien accroché mais là fin était longue
Sympa sympa un peu long
Un peu envoutant, musique de fond qui marche très bien
Buen álbum buen rock.
5/10 Medio pelo, algunas canciones mejores que otras pero no me convence
Fun and wonky with some hits. Not phenomenal
I don’t have the music words to explain why this is 5 stars, it just is.
Overall Rating - 3.06/5 (6.13/10). Overall, a good 80s New Wave album.
I was the first amongst all my friends to buy their debut album and I've been hooked ever since. I remember that when I played it for them they all laughed and said these guys would never make it. This is Talking heads at their absolute peak but it is not their only great album. This album proved that the Talking heads were not just David Byrne's backup band
Not my vibe honestly, afro punk, good introduction, ig I'm not ready for it rn, maybe revisit sometime when I'm more mature. The beats are hype tho
Enjoyed Crosseyed and Painless and Fela's Riff on the Deluxe version. It’s got Once in a Lifetime on it, but apart from that it got a bit samey, and some weird bits didn't really work
Das Live Album ist besser.
It was a good album
Sounds like if Andy Warhol made music
Buon album, non il mio genere peró anche se molte canzoni sono cover mi sono comunque piaciute
What an album this is, a joy to revisit it. Expansive. Antsy. Tuned in. Taking in African influences and creatively playing and dancing with them. Wild and accepting. Big and human. My fav by them for sure.
talking heads? more like yapping faces
Not for me I feel like the tracks don’t really go anywhere and just kinda float along, which is probably done intentionally but still just not for me.
Groovy, polyrythmic, experimental.
Once In a Lifetime and Seen And Not Seen are good, everything else sucks and is very annoying.
amazing
Born under punches - 2/5 Crosseyed and painless - 3/5 The great curve - 4/5 Once in a lifetime - 5/5 Houses in motion - 3/5 Seen and not seen - 2/5 Listening wind - 4/5 The overload - 1/5 Fela's riff - 4/5 Unison - 5/5 Double groove - 3/5 Right start - 4/5
My father has a Talking Heads vinyl. It's in the dragon's den. Having now listened to Remain in Light, I understand why it never made it out. The African polyrhythm influence is genuinely interesting — and unlike some albums that try this, it's actually integrated rather than bolted on. "Once in a Lifetime" is strange and compelling. But the overall vibe is anxious, detached, deliberately weird in a way that kept me at arm's length. I can hear what they were doing. I just couldn't quite get inside it. 2.5/5 — filed under 3. Interesting enough to respect, not quite enough to return to.
Wow, first real surprise of this project! My first time listening to Talking Heads. Will surely come back. Unique mix of danceable funk/rock, elements of world music and weird electronic noises. Also, how the songs were arranged, I had the feeling to be taken on a real journey. 4/5 - excellent
It took me a long time, years, to fully appreciate this. But it's a masterpiece, a towering achievement.
not my cup of tea but still good. good to ride a car prolly
Achei um pouco repetitivo, mas não é desagradável
Hahahah jeg har manglet en reminder om hvor godt jeg synes det her er!! Genialt at sidde og skrive opgave til. Highlights: Once in a Lifetime
The versatility of this group is something to be amazed: it's a chaotic explosion of sounds that sprout from different and (apparently) separate sections of music: the energy of punk rock fused with the ellegance of jazz and post-punk, funky beats with electronic experiments and a homage to a variety of sounds that comes from traditional cultures across Africa. An artistic equation such as that was unconventional for the late 70s (despite all the weirdness the punk and new wave movements already represented) and betting on it being released to the mainstream could have ended in disaster. But just lay your ears upon "Once In a Lifetime" and you'll realize that, no matter if you like it or not, Talking Heads are a band that came to stay: 🕺 goes on, and the heat goes on 🕺
Not my favorite Talking Heads album, but it's still had notable tracks on it
Unique. Innovative. Fun. Loved it!
i don’t think i like the talking heads bery much…
I’ve heard this before and I used to own it on vinyl. It was lost during one of my many moves in my early 20s and is probably sitting in one of my former roommates’ collections. This gets written up as a funk or afrobeat or new wave or dance pop album, and it is all those things, but at its heart it is a punk album by a punk band. Punk cast a much wider net in its early stages that included Talking Heads, Television, and the Minutemen before it was narrowed down to one inbred white gene that it is considered today. And this is one of the best punk albums.
The third and final album that the band made with Brian Eno and this process moved them to a stylistic position light years away from the '77 punky debut. Polyphonic textures, patterns, loops and tracks formed out of cyclical jams were the basis of this innovative record. I recall being hugely curious of 'Once in a lifetime' as an 11 year old after seeing it on Swap Shop and then heard nothing else from the Heads until 'road to nowhere' 5 years later. Rediscovering it a decade later made me realise it was one of the finest tracks of them all. Pop music was becoming art yet again but not in the wake of the 60s and progressive counterculture, from the Post punk new wave.......
Alright… this is something that younger me would have totally jammed out to and probably did. This sets the tone for the 80’s in the best way. Current me wouldn’t listen to this entire album except for Once in a Lifetime… that track is still such a banger.
That was a really fun ride! Loved some of the experimental stuff. A couple of tracks didn't really resonate, but the first couple really did. Just a fun vibe overall.
That’s a five from me. Musically it tickles my brain the right way. It just makes me smile and want to dance. I have lots of great memories of this album. I bought it in vinyl at amoeba in Hollywood, saw Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew play it in full in Chicago a few years ago, and recently saw David Byrne play some songs for this album. Everyone it just makes me want to smile and put on an oversized suit and dance. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hmm. I don't know how to feel about this one. I feel like I should like it more than I do. It feels unique, innovative, and super interesting, but it didn’t connect with me very much emotionally. 6/10 Pretty Good
80s love but all a bit meh. Surprised at this.
I know this and these guys. It’s good
its really good but like chill...
Very creative but it's not something I would regularly listen to. Definitely a cool work of art.
Förvånansvärt bra. Bättre i album än som singlar låtar.
I know their top 5 or 6 hits, and only one of them on this album. Disappointed if I'm honest, was hoping for something that just never came. Skipped through most of the tracks. Shame.
I'm a huge fan of this band, and this is one of their best records, though I probably prefer "Fear of Music" as it's weirder, and "Speaking in Tongues" as it's way more funky. That said, it's a great listen, with many different moods and a unique sound. Brian Eno did a great job producing this album and "Fear of Music".
Once in a lifetime might be one of the best songs ever.
Really good - still not sure if it’s as great as so many say it is, but keeps getting better after each listen.
Bruh
Not my favorite Talking Heads but still good
Funky electictiveness!
have already listened to this album but it's been a bit so I guess it's worth listening to again. The album was alot more ambient than I remember
Lowkey layered.
overall: 7/10! groovy funky vibes and idrk what else to add
Pleasantly surprised. Never much cared for their music. This is good though (apart from the overplayed kids classic of a single)
Välillä nopeaa fkattavaa musiikkia. Toisaalta taas kone ja syntetisaattori. Tarttuvia biisejä.
Yeah I liked it. Good vibes. Little bit too funky for me
Very interesting listening! I liked the songs, unique sound. 3.5
Bara Once in a Lifetime ensam är värd högsta betyg. Uppfinningsrika, eget och det svänger otroligt. En femma
Not one of their greatest.
Fantastically weird album. Really gets going at The Great Curve and doenst let up.
Unbelievably infectious music. No wonder it changed the world like it did.
enjoyed this, but not as much as '77. will give it chance to grow on me though like the other one
A stunning album of both breadth and depth, Talking Heads unmoor themselves from conventional song structures without losing the emotional pull that typical verse-chorus songs can have. The musicians here juxtapose rhythmic complexity against often-static harmonic progressions in a combination that works remarkably well track after track.
One of my favorite bands because of their uniqueness and creativity. Very very unpredictable music, experimental with an insane production value. This is not their best album but its an amazing album none the less. Must listen for any music lover looking for something out of the box
too many bongos
pretty solid album, not much to say, enjoyed.
Talking bout talking about the Talking Heads. 9/10
Funky, weird, vaguely proggy?
Hate the noises on the first track Every song sucks except Once in a Lifetime 1.5/5
Hace poco lo estuve escuchando, de verdad me parecio un album excelente
Boring
Same as it ever was
Groovier than expected Tina Weymouth carries Favorite song: The great curve
Not my fave talking heads record but it’s still a banger
Let them speak.
Same as it ever was (5 stars)!
Great album! So many great rhythms, it kept jolting me awake with exciting new bits. Once In A Lifetime just an all time classic
just so, so incredibly interesting i grew up with this album so hard not to be overly fond born under punches through to houses in motion is a near perfect run
David Byrne is a genius and this album is so fun
ive only heard a handful of talking heads songs (the popular ones) so i was really not expecting this album to sound like That - kind of reminds me of the manhunter soundtrack - had already heard once in a lifetime and was expecting the rest of the album to sound like it but i was wrong - seen and not seen kind of freaks me out + sounds like a stripped down version of this is your life - i like how eerie listening wind is - the overload sounds like a slowed down interpol song interesting album, starts off super funky and slowly starts to become more sinister towards the end. cant believe this is the same band that made psycho killer
EXCELLENT EXCELLENT EXCELLENT. Freaking classic.
Wenz: Nothing really stands out to me in this album though 😅 Shermz: same. But I do like the groovy tunes tho
If I had to nominate an all time best or favourite album, I'd try to dodge the question of course - but it would be this one that sprang instantly to mind. It's not perfect - it definitely tails off towards the end - but the rest of it more than makes up for that. The polyrhythms and layered vocals are the very definition of my kind of thing.
In the end Once in a Lifetime drags this up to a four.
This is a great album! I love Talking Heads, and this was a fun album!
How many times have I listened to this over the years? More than I can count. It’s brilliant, there’s something new every time.
It was an ok album i guess. Cool sound but not that special or different…
GOATed
Good album
I like Talking heads a lot and this is a good one
Brillant album. The mesmerising rhythm that flow across the record. Fantastic 5
As I recall the last Talking Heads album was meh, even though I’ve heard and liked them before… and this was what I’d been hoping for from that one. Putting aside the unnecessary Outtake additions at the end and a bit of weirdness, quite enjoyed!
I didn’t particularly like anything about it. Some songs might have been fine, but I don’t feel like listening again to form a more nuanced opinion. I mostly disliked or didn’t care about the songs.
Favorite songs: Crosseyed and Painless, Once In a Lifetime, Listening Wind
Amazing album. Every track.
One of my most favorite !
Probably my 4th favourite album of theirs and it still knocks half of these albums out of the park. a pretty much perfect piece of art.
More funky than I imagined. Definitely fun.
Also too loud and too much for me
Angular, African, amazing.
Love this record! I like all their first five records. In some ways I could pick the debut LP as the best, with it's rougher energy aligned more to post-punk. Or I could convince myself that Speaking in Tongues is the best, with its smoother take on new-wave-funk. But ultimately, Remain in Light is the gem of their discography because it sits at the crossroads of those two sounds. I love the zany disco-punk kind of sound, which feels like being transplanted onto a dance floor in an alternative reality. I love David Byrne's eccentric charisma and memorable, surreal songwriting. It's a memorable and unique record, and I'm pretty sure you could play any ten notes from this and it would be immediately recognisable as Talking Heads material. Play another ten notes, and you'll already be dancing and having fun. 5*
Incredible musicians. I am not sure I could listen to a lot of this, it is fairly complex music. But amazing record overall.
Interesting and unique in a very special way
Top 10, Top 15 albums all time.
clássico absoluto, disruptivo e muito divertido de se ouvir (pelo menos a primeira metade)
Assez mystiques, des sonorités presque tibétaines, qui utilisent des looRs ou des effets musicaux éléctroniques, parfois très pechu et parfois très très intropesctif. Je n'aime pas particulièrement la voix qui est assez molle et redondante et les effets "electroniques" rendent les mélodies trop alternatives pour moi. Groupe iconique "new wave" des années 80 aux USA, la critique note à l'époque qu'il y a rarement eu « si peu d'écart entre ce qu'écoutent les noirs et les blancs » car sons africains très présents.
A masterpiece
Such a good sounding album, critics think of this as the Talking Head's Magnum Opus, but it isn't my go-to Talking Heads album. I like the early stuff and how fresh it was. This is VERY polished in some respects and that isn't always where the best music comes from. A great album to sit and ponder. The more I listen to it, the better I like it. Repeated listening has jumped it up another star from me. It makes me want to listen to late Clash albums again.
Well for my 800th album and 5th electronica album in a row. Remain In Light is certainly an album that i have quite a bit to say about. The only song from this album that i was familiar with before listening was Once In A Lifetime especially because i have seen that song used in quite a lot of YouTube Poops and i enjoy that song for it's quirky nature. I also thought the other songs here were interesting in their own ways and coupled with the good production, made it a pretty enjoyable listening experience. My only issue is that nearly every song felt like it was at least a minute too long which made them fairly repetitive. It is still an enjoyable album, just one i would have liked more if it weren't so repetitive. Best Song: Once In A Lifetime Worst Song: The Great Curve
Lots of fun. Some rythms around, I enjoyed once in a lifetime and seen and not seen
Demasiado experimental y pesado para mi
Groundbreaking. A top ten album for me. 5 stars.
There are some incredible tracks in here and the album is coherent (unlike some where 1 or 2 tracks stand out) I listened to this one a few times and it's a band for me to now delve into the back catalogue
Side 1 is excellent but the albums tapers off towards the end. Adrian Belew's guest guitar work is a stand-out. A sonically interesting listen.
I want to like this album so bad, but I just can't give it a 5. It is just not that significant to me and I wish I liked this band more than I do, but I won't lie to myself or anyone that gives me that gasp face. 4.
okay, pretty experimental. i thought the fela influence was really cool to hear and recognize
cant imagine i have any valuable addition to the commentary surrounding this perfect perfect album ... below is my rym review --- talking heads and brian eno consistently manage to make the most detailed and tightly written songs with maybe the best and most memorable grooves on any album ever the world moves on a woman's hips
This change my life. This change music. Maybe the best album ever made. MASTERPIECE. 10 stars.
A favourite
Good! Cool vibes, nice early '80s mood.
Third Talking Heads album on the list, third two-star rating on my part. Not looking forward to a fourth album. Danceable in an annoying way, and the songs go on for too long
One of the best albums ever. Never get tired of it. One of my main go-to albums forever. Top 10 for sure.
Pretty interesting album. It's got a lot of funk feel, but just calling it funk seems reductive. It's more like an amalgamation of a bunch of different influences and styles mixed into one package. You can tell African music was a big source of inspiration for the music here. I ended up liking it a lot. I already knew a few of the songs and enjoyed the others just as much. The whole thing was a strong listen. I wouldn't say it was an all-time great album, but I did think it was pretty good. Overall: 3.8/5
Nice
This is some of the most abstract, cubist pop music ever written and it's incredible. Every song is truly a "how did they write this thing" musical curiosity. I can still remember the first day I heard this on CD in John Horner's beat up Camry 18 years ago. One of my all-time favorite records.
Just an overall fun album. Vocals are great and seemed during the time would have been a very influential albums towards the '80s sound'.
cant be arsed to do ts again
unfathomably mid, what the hell is the appeal
Love it
Fantastic album by a legendary band. Not chock full of greatest hits radio singles (though it does have my favorite track by the group), it's a solid start-to-finish album, with great musicianship and songwriting.
OK
Pretty alright. Good energy, but nothing grabbed me.
Good album, but it is not Stop Making Sense...
Me encanta
Benieuwd hier naar, Talking Heads is een band die ik eigenlijk heel vet vind maar toch niet zo goed ken. Ik heb de laatste tijd best vaak het Stop Making Sense album aan gehad. Dat klinkt gewoon echt heel vet, maar toch heb ik nog weinig keren echt een album van ze geluisterd. Hier valt natuurlijk meteen Once in a lifetime op, als grootste hit. En sure, dat is absoluut de grote hit! Maar ik vind The Great Curve daarvoor ook echt een vette plaat. Je hoort duidelijk dat ze inspiratie hebben gehaald uit Afrikaanse muziek, vooral op dat nummer met een bongo(?) en duidelijk Afrikaanse ritmes. Daarnaast is het tempo een stuk hoger dan een hoop van de muziek die ik van ze heb gehoord, met uitzondering van Listening Wind dan natuurlijk. En het laatste nummer The Overload, wat een duister nummer is dat zeg! Je word er bijna ongemakkelijk van, hoe broeierig dit nummer klinkt. Even, hoe staat Stop Making Sense niet op de lijst?? Er staan een aantal andere live albums wel op? Dat is een instant 5 sterren voor mij, beetje in de geest van Alive 2007 dat soms een live album bepaalde nummers nog beter maakt. Dit album? Ja ik vind het heel vet, ben niet een even grote fan van alle nummers en het contrast richting het einde is G R O O T met de new wave/ funk aan het begin. Maar dit is absoluut een album wat je moet horen voor je doodgaat. 100%. FAVO: Born Under Punches, The great curve, Once in a lifetime
One of my all-time favorite albums. Still feels relevant.
This album is a good example of why I don't like to look at the top songs before I listen to them. I liked the Great Curve the most and then found out that Once in a Lifetime is basically the most popular TH song of all time, which I definitely didn't enjoy as much
It's interesting. First song sounds like someone with psychosis singing along to the sound of tipping a bucket of clock springs and tin cans downstairs. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Then I heard some bleep bloops and thought.. Eno must be involved. I checked wikipedia, and he was. It starts making sense. I don't mind weird production like this, I don't have a fear of this sort of music. That being said, Crosseyed and Painless is forgettable, it sounds like background music from a 90s kart racing game for the playstation. It's got interesting guitar. On a repeated listen it holds up better. The Great Curve is like, it's fine? But there isn't really much to it. The runtime was too long for what it was and it was immediately forgettable. Once in a lifetime is amazing. 10/10. The only song on the album that is so far worth the hype. Houses in motion is boring. It's kind of funky but ultimately goes nowhere. Seen and not seen is atmospheric and artsy but again, boring. This is a boring album with one good song. I hope it picks up. I guess I just don't like Talking Heads. Bummer. This album is so boring, when it's not being repetetive and staccato boring, it's being dirgey atmospheric boring. The last 2 songs were a slog to get through. I just didn't get any enjoyment from them, nothing happened, they started boring and maintained the boringness without any development for the entire unnecessarily long, bloated, padded track lengths. This album has Once in a lifetime and Born under the punches, and apart from those two gems, the rest of it is pretentious, boring, looped, monotonous, filler. Disappointing. I thought I would enjoy this more but I am thoroughly unimpressed.
Those first three tracks are pretty much perfect.
It’s too much going on Idk I could’ve liked it but it’s not an easy listen
Only liked one song, not really for me at all
4.5
Never really listened to the talking heads before but it’s pretty good
I'm not sufficient enough to love this album
Some really great tunes on this one, but I thought the album as a whole would be better. It's ok, not excellent.
the first song is pretty cool, i like it
Loved the vibe. Not my fave album by The Talking Heads (The Talking Heads ‘77 is my go-to); made me feel like walking through a cool neo-noir movie, and I think it could go well with a rewatch of They Live. In some ways reminds me of something on the line of The Revolution Will Not Be Televised by Gil Scott Heron. Will check the lyrics again later, but it’s a solid 4 out of 5 for now
this is the most important new wave album, this is amazing experimentation and fusion in an album, the amount of skill and genius intent this album took is frightening
The progression seem to go from cheerful and funky to end in a kind of eerie monoton track which was not a great finale in my opinion. Some parts, aspecially a few outros, feels a bit protracted. I do however love the funky feeling in many of the tracks that builds on rhythm guitar and great bass lines. That along with the feeling that the beat in many songs circled round a different key percussion. That soundscape with Byrnes awesome, kind of shaky and fragile, voice in the high notes makes for a great contrast.
Didn’t like anything about it.
You can read a bunch of music nerds reviews of this and mine will probably just agree with them. This albums full of bangers, not my favorite Talking Heads album, but a perfect one none-the-less.
Crosseyed and Painless, Houses in Motion... Once in a Lifetime ain't bad either. Absolute heater
Another example of why going through this list is worth it. This is a great, weird, funky, fun, and moody album, sounds never put together on an album before. And I was only familiar with the one huge song. Another good thing about going through this list is that the great songs always sound so much better when they aren't playing incidentally on the radio or popping up edited into 30-second snippets on tv. This is really worth a sit-down listen with the volume way up. 5/5. Not surprised that I like it this much, but it feels good to fill this gap in my music experience. Has to be on this list.
I'm in the minority, but this is easily my least favorite Talking Heads album. Eno's production is heavy handed and the infusion of Afrofunk leaves you with a record that sounds nothing like anything in their discography. It may be a critical darling but there's a reason why it's their worst selling album.
Another record that I wouldn't need to listen to in order to review it because when it first came out we played it constantly. The rhythms are infectious; the lyrics weird, interesting, and occasionally inspiring; and Brian Eno worked on it (he's why I started listening to the Talking Heads in the first place back then). I'll admit I had gotten a little tired of hearing "Once in a Lifetime" after the thousandth time I heard it on the radio, but listening to it closely again today reminds me of how those lyrics helped me adjust to a large, sudden life change at the time. One of those records that has stuck with me - 5 stars.
Não consigo achar esse tão bom quanto o speaking in tongues.
Remain In Light is a zany experience. It's really interesting. It takes a hot second to get really firing and then it's off to the races. First half of the album is great, then the last few songs kind of go off the rails in a strange, creepy, ambient stream-of-consciousness monologing kind of way. It's like the album devolves from a happy mixed-genre funky mish-mash to a slow, dreary, psychadelic contemplative place. I'm here for it. Favorite tracks on this listen were "Crosseyed and Painless" "The Great Curve" and "Once in a Lifetime" - an absolute classic - this trio of songs is incredible. I like the twists of electronic influence, love Byrne's style, and it's overall a really cool album. I dont know if it's an all timer though. With some time to sit with it and more listens, maybe. A very strong 4 for me.
Love how funky it is. bass is peak. really fun to listen to. favs: the great curve, seen and not seen, double groove
Enjoyed the listen, even though is not my type of music
It was mid
Certainly an interesting experience, very groovy all around. Mostly pleasant to listen to, though some songs perhaps overstayed their welcome. The overall audio experience was certainly creative and interesting, though, as were the lyrics and vocals. I didn't enjoy it as much as I find it interesting and respect the artistry involved. However you spin it, it's quite intriguing for me, hence why I'll give it a higher score than would befit my personal enjoyment.
You can hear the genre-melding and you can hear why it's a critical darling. While I enjoyed the same parts as most critics did, it is to a lesser extent- personally I find the album a bit too avant-garde. Nevertheless the musicality here is excellent from everyone involved, and you can hear the influences on later works. Not for me, but I can absolutely see how some might regard this higher than me.
Chill, forgetable.
Very experimental. I would definitely try it out again.
Once in a Lifetime
нормально
8.5/10
Great album
Hugely influential, inventive, funky, brilliant
Yes yes YES! The live version of Once in a Lifetime on Stop Making Sense is one of my favourite tracks of all time. SMS is my favourite Talking Heads album - my parents had the CD and played it at top volume when I was a kid. The regular recorded versions of this tracks always felt a little lifeless, but I still love them all. Watched the 4K restoration in a cinema when it came out and had the best time. In saying all of that, some tracks here bore me to death. The other half is fantastic. 4/5 because one of my fave songs of all time is on this record, but it is far from perfect.
Favorite Track: Once In A Lifetime
SO funky, this album satisfies my bodies craving for rhythm. Juicy guitar, drums you don't hear every day. And wow the lyrics and vocals. I love it when an album from start to finish just puts me in a trance, forward moving--- I really liked this album ^o^ Once in a Lifetime is my favorite (of course), Listening Wind made an impression on me too.
Mostly noise only 1b good song
Classic
good as background music, but not my cup of tea
The Talking Heads formår at trække noget sjældent frem her ved at introducere en sprød, frisk, eksotisk og fremmed lyd, samtidig med at de forbliver inden for popstrukturen. Her fungerer David Byrne som præsten, der tager os med gennem en gudstjeneste gennem verdener, tanker og farver af magisk særhed. Smukt og tidsløst.
Har jeg set frem til! Jeg vidste dog ikke at Peter A.G. var kreativ direktør for Talking Heads inden han lavede GNAGS :i Kommer nok aldrig til at sætte det på igen, men "Once in a Lifetime" og generelt Anders Winther Kaufmann's kærlighed til albummet, giver jeg det lige præcis 3 stjerner.
En lidt underlig én. Det er både godt og kedeligt på samme tid. Kræver nok lidt mere fordybelse end blot en enkelt gennemlytning.
*83 Rytme Frands er landet og han ryster det hele.
Rigtig fedt og lyder på mange måder mere "moderne" end det er. Jeg skal høre mere Gnags/Talking heads : )
Slet ikke mit yndlingsalbum fra dem, men det ændrer ikke på den status, bandet har hos mig. Talking Heads er for mig et af de største bands nogensinde, og selvom albummet her ikke er en 5'er, kan kvaliteten og håndværket ikke underkendes i min optik. 4
Jeg ser ikke lyset - måske mit 80'er hjerte bare ikke banker så stærkt. Det var, af en eller anden grund, en noget stressende omgang musik at arbejde til.
Perfekt
3.5!!! Once in a lifetime carries…. Rest of album is decent, but not quite a 4
Forferdiliga monoton, einasta highlight er Once in a Lifetime
what a weird album
Once in a Lifetime is one of the greatest songs of all time! Never listened to the rest of the album but it's good if uneven. May need a few more listens
Love it - 4.5
Excellence,
Wondrous and weird and unmistakable. Flipped back and forth between a 4 and a 5, so listened again, and then again, and settled on 5. Just an absolutely seminal album, one that has aged with grace.
mmmmm
It can get weird, but I'm here for it.
Not Ford me
meh
Liked this way better on a 2nd listen - I knew none of these tracks other than Once in a Lifetime, they're all pretty spectacular.
too busy
Okayish but not great
classical tracks, some innovative styles and overall an interessting album.
Somehow the music by this band goes right over my head.
Magnificent. Went to new places and nobody has been there since. Fantastic rhythms with beautiful layers of melody woven through. Just about perfect.
One of my all time favourite albums. Just immense. Brian Eno brings so many layers and textures. So funky but complex. David Byrne’s lyrics are fascinating and intense. His delivery as always is brilliant
once in a lifetime is goated but this shit is too grating to listen to for 40mins
Fun and funky! Lots of beeps and boops, but a bit gloomy. Don’t love David Byrnes’ voice but I got over it.
Instant 5 star. I already liked this album but comparing it to other albums from 1975-1985 on this list, it's honestly embarrassing how much this clears.
I used to find _Remain in Light_ dense, hard and unrewarding. I could hear that Talking Heads were doing something clever, but mostly I heard clutter. Coming back to it now, the clutter has resolved itself into a band locked into a hypnotic groove, and I find the whole thing exhilarating. The great conceptual leap is that this is music which has largely stopped relying on chord changes to create movement. Talking Heads and Brian Eno build loops out of individual performances, then create development by adding, subtracting and reintroducing elements. The remarkable thing is how often those reintroductions _feel_ like chord changes. A guitar figure returns, a voice appears, the percussion is reweighted, and the entire harmonic colour seems to change even though the underlying structure has barely moved. They have found another way of doing the job. In that sense, _Remain in Light_ feels like one of the places where the harmonic world inherited from white 1960s pop finally loses its monopoly. Not because chord progressions suddenly became obsolete, but because this record demonstrates that you simply don't need them to make music move. Rhythm, texture, density and repetition can do it instead. It also changes the role of the singer. The frontman doesn't stand above the music while the band accompanies him; he wanders in and out of the system. Sometimes he's preaching, sometimes chanting, sometimes telling a story, but ultimately he has to submit to the groove like everybody else. Even _Listening Wind_, the closest the album comes to conventional narrative, refuses to reorganise itself around the story. That beautiful four-bar motif comes about as close as the record gets to a chord change, while the groove remains a wash through which the voice passes. It consequently feels slightly in bad faith to single out tracks. This is a glorious wash of a record, and repeated listening isn't really about decoding it. It's about surrender. Follow one guitar part this time, the percussion next time, a backing voice the time after that. The system remains in place while you change your position inside it. Nevertheless, "The Great Curve" is as close as the album gets to a manifesto, and I don't just mean the lyrics. Everything this record believes is demonstrated there: motion without harmonic travel, repetition generating escalation, individual musicians submitting to a collective system, enormous density without collapse. Then Adrian Belew is allowed to FREAK over the top of it. The groove underneath him is so secure that his guitar can sound completely ungovernable without threatening the structure at all. The final minute is sublime: they simply keep intensifying what is already there until repetition itself becomes release. That's what I most admire about _Remain in Light_: the nerve. This working method could have crashed and burned spectacularly. Remove conventional harmonic movement and you risk monotony. Build from loops and you risk sterility. Keep adding independent parts and you risk an incoherent racket. Deny the singer his customary authority and you risk removing the listener's focal point. Having taken all those risks, Talking Heads and Eno then have to make hundreds of tiny decisions about what enters, what disappears and what is left alone. The choices are almost absurdly good. So _Remain in Light_ isn't great just because it's influential, clever or ahead of its time, although it is all three. It's great because it takes a set of extraordinarily risky decisions and proves they can function as music. Forty-odd years after first struggling with it, I think I've finally stopped trying to make the album come to me. You surrender to the groove, choose an element and follow it. Or, more simply: move. Dance.
Este es un album bizagra, como la cosita de las puertas, sostiene el cambio definitivo de un sonido y lo que sostenía lo que fuera el rock de los 70 y lo que vendría con el de los 80. Defitinivamente un momento en la historia plasmado es mera chimba de canciones.
alternative, funky, rock, dope album cover, really cool
My 3rd Talking Heads album on this list, and probably the best one so far - or maybe it's just finally starting to click for me. It's like a weird missing link between 70s funk and 80s quirky pop (but with great instrumentals instead of lame synths and drum machines). I can see how they could be considered visionaries - as a matter of fact, "Once In A Lifetime" almost sounds like a cheeky parody of 80s pop before 80s pop even existed, which is a feat in itself. I'm still not a big fan of the singer's voice, but the instrumental parts are good (especially the groovy guitar and psychedelic flute). Lyrics are also a lot of fun, alternating between hilarious and unhinged. Overall it's a treasure trove of creativity and weirdness, and even if it's not something I'd revisit often, I have to admit they're doing something right. I might end up liking Talking Heads after all. 7/10
Interesting, Suprisingly nice to listen to (I am not a fan of David Byrne's voice). Openly inspired by Fela Kuti, it's seemavant garde for its time. I'll porbably listen another time.
Too much Talking Heads on this list, and their shrill, pseudo-funk with shit voice just gets on my nerves. It’s repetitive, barely groovy, and honestly kind of exhausting. On this album, it even drifts close to disco at times, it’s easily their worst for me till now. Only the hit Once in a lifetime shines… a bit.
Lo más destacable del álbum me pareció su sonido y su propuesta atrevida, característica de los Talking Heads. Es un disco donde los protagonistas son el bajo y la batería, utilizando las guitarras como instrumentos de ambiente o de percusión a través del staccato. Las letras de Byrne son top tier. Un excelente disco para iniciar los '80 y empezar a jugar con el new wave que a la postre terminaría siendo dominador en la década. Brian Eno es un maestro pero eso no es novedad. Excelente álbum para comenzar la enciclopedia. Sin embargo, quizás no sea mi favorito de los Talking Heads. Aunque es difícil inclinarse por uno, reconozco que hay elementos que en otros discos quizás logran atraerme más, como las guitarras de Naked. Excelente arte de tapa. Completamente innovador y crudo. Top tier. Le pondría 4 estrellas y media pero no me lo permite.
I definitely understand the hype around this album and the band in general. They've got great rock grooves and riffs but also add a lot of experimental elements to their tracks that elevate each song that much more. 8.5/10. Favorite Song: Born Under Punches
i’m sick of this album cuz i listened too it too much, but damned if it’s not amazing
Really solid album, but Once in a Lifetime is more of a sonic outlier than I anticipated.
FAVS (top 3): crosseyed and painless, the great curve, once in a lifetime mençoes honrosas: listening wind tipo é ouvivel mas nada marcante -_- daria menos se fosse insuportavel de ouvir nota final: 3/5
My third Talking Heads album (and third in the last 4 months, so I've got most Talking Heads albums in the list around the same time). For context, I rated More Songs About Buildings And Food, and Fear Of Music (which I got on consecutive days, funnily enough) 3 and 4, respectively. So either I've been getting their albums in order of how good they are, or I'm really taking a liking to them. Probably both things at the same time. I can see how this must have been very innovative for its time, and still it sounds fresh to new ears after 46 years. The fact that they made an album with such a merge of genres sound so cohesive at the same time is truly amazing. I haven't even got familiar with the specific songs, but it's so clear on first listen how extraordinary Remain In Light is.
Love this record. Didn’t really “get” Talking Heads back when this album was released, but now they are one of my favorite bands of this era.
Absolute classic
Extremely inventive and fun
This rules
Some hits some misses on this
no m gustó
Me gusto sobre todo la cancion once in a lifetime, mantienen su escancia
This was great, love the talking heads
Apart from a best of that I listen to every once in a while, I don't know much about the Talking Heads and yes I should have paid more attention to them. The cohesion on the first songs is very strong with this funky vibe and it hooked me directly. Favorite songs: Born under punches ; The Great Curve ; Once in a Lifetime ; Listening Wind
mega silly okładka podoba mi się born under punches - odrazu chce się zrobić awkward taniec i nie brać niczego na poważnie. crosseyed...OMG WCHODZĄ CHÓRKI. trochę vibe the savage ressurrection fox is sick???? the great curve - trochę wchodzi w brazylijską muzykę XDDD skipnęłam końcowo... once in a lifetime - znałam i kocham!!! house in motion - kojarzy mi się z tańczeniem w mieszkaniu ze znajomymi ale to może po prostu moje myśli i marzenie zawsze
It was pretty good since its my first time listening to albums i wanna explore more
Very Upbeat and the bongo-esque instrumentation is very addicting
Fav- once in a lifetime 4/5
Once in a Lifetime is such a strange and unique song. The whole album is, really. Just classic offbeat 80s ideas with 10/10 execution.
never actually listened through before. the energy is unreal. favorite song is Listening Wind
Rating: 9/10 An excellent 80’s American rock achievement, and another banger of a Brian Eno produced record, one in which he’s basically another member of the band. Wild experimentation and funky polyrhythms are employed with the band reaching their creative peak. I wouldn’t even call it post-punk at this point, but what it is is really good shit. It falls off a little bit more in the end for me after the insane first half album run, but Listening Wind is still really solid. The first four tracks are some *chefs kiss* perfection
Pretty cool. Creative and weird and fun to listen to. Tapers off into a bit of a snooze but still a 7.1/10
Very, very strange and dark.
Honestly, I didn't like this album. It's not my style. I hadn't heard much from the band before, only Psycho Killer, which I like, but this album... I didn't enjoy it tbh.
Pas mauvais mais pas mon style du tout
My first album I bought in vinyl say less
Solid with a banger
First time listening to more than 2 or 3 songs by talking heads, was decent enough. A high 3
Classic talking heads but I don’t think it’s their bedt
4/0 didn’t really listen to it
Meh. Not my favorite Talking Heads album.
Kermit the Frogs’s ‘Once in a Lifetime’ is one of those rare examples of the cover being better than the original.
Oh yeah. I was already very familiar with this album, and I had Once in a Lifetime and Born under Punches in my playlist for a long time, so this was a good opportunity to get more familiar with some of the songs I haven't heard as much. They did not disappoint. This album is basically divided into two halves; the first is funky and high energy, and the second is contemplative, eerie, and wonderfully psychedelic. The first half features more live instrumentation and the second is more electronic. I might slightly prefer the first half for that reason (the two note bass line on born under punches is one of my favorites.) The instrumentals are all just busy enough to have maximal rhythmic interest without overwhelming you; all the different bleeps and clicks are so delicious. Like Ray said, the lead singer has a somewhat similar quality to Pere Ubu, but I much prefer his singing because it is more tool and he uses nice harmonies. I went into this album thinking I'd give it a three or four, but there are no weak tracks, so I might have to go to five.
5 stars! One of my all-time faves. Still sounds so fresh (after 46 -- wtf? -- years), and bursting with creativity, and funk and . . . how did they do that?! It still sounds so original, and also so full, and dense (multi-layered) - but also tight. Never goes stale for me. The closest to doing this (i.e., going stale) is probably "Once in a Lifetime," which I still hear fairly often on the radio. As I recall, it was one of the songs that first grabbed me, but for much longer, now, it has been all of the other songs that I've really grown to love, and, even more so, all of them together as a group. I can think of few albums (if any) where I have a stronger sense of the perfect cohesiveness of an entire album; it's like entering a another (and fascinating) world. A world with satisfying, catchy, danceable rhythms.
I wish I could hear this for the first time again! As it is, I'm a little bored with the tracks I know because they've suffered from success. Tracks 1-4 are still really good, but I have the sense that I'm lacking the excitement they would give when they came out. The second half is less stellar The rhythmic loops and textures are very cool. But there isn't much arrangement beyond that, just groove There are some solid thematic and stylistic ideas, but I'm not a huge fan of the Eno influence
Eclectic, different, creative and interesting album.
The odd track was all I really got into from this album but over time, it's grown on me. I'll have to keep coming back to this. More multifaceted than some of their other albums with Fela Kuti's influence coming through on some of the tracks and various efforts at experimentation. Enjoyable.
Good. I wanted to like it more. I really like the Talking Heads, but didn’t love this.
excelente!!
Probably the only Talking Heads album I still consistently listen to from start to finish. Brilliant collaboration between Eno and the band on the production, and an incredible stylistic left turn to even take to begin with. Truly an album to hear before you die.
I think I’ve come to the conclusion that Talking Heads/David Byrne is what I keep expecting David Bowie to be like. I like his music less, and this music more.
6/1001 Remain in Light - Talking Heads (1980) The run from the opener to "Once in a Lifetime" may be one of the greatest four track runs of all time. This album was way ahead of its time, and as a Brian Eno fan it was really nice to hear his influence. David Byrne is an absolute genius with his writing, and the jamming of Jerry, Tina and Chris make this a cohesive electrifying experience. Although if with how heavy and apparent the inspiration is, I'd be happy to consider Fela Kuti the fifth (sixth) member of this group here. All said, the track run from "Once in a Lifetime" to the closer just wasn't as strong for me and ultimately held this album back from perfection. ★★★★½