Tom Tom Club

"Genius of Love" is bonkers in the best way. The whole album is a wild ride that goes all over the place, but maintains a fun and playful spirit throughout. David Byrne is a fascinating figure, but this really shows you how much Frantz and Weymouth brought to the Talking Heads sound. Absolutely bursting with creative energy but doesn't take itself too seriously. One of the best side projects of all time.

It's all a bit weird and silly and shit.

One I have on vinyl. A very strong piece of evidence that Weymouth and Frantz were the genius of the Talking Heads, rather than David Byrne (the truth is it's all of them). Just 8 tracks of funk/reggae/hip-hop inflected weirdness. Joy. If you listen to Genius of Love and don't want to bop, you may be medically dead

is this the kind of album that hipsters listen to when they congregate?

I don't see the appeal of this album. It feels more like a novelty record than actual music at times and many of the songs go on way longer than felt necessary. On the plus side, now I know where the sample in Fantasy came from!

With their band on top of their game, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz decided that sitting on their hands while their elastic, observant and forever curious frontman went out and explored new territories wasn't going to work for them and, in the process, set about standing out from the pack in more ways than one. For this debut album from the Tom Tom Club, with its hand-drawn aesthetic and endless nods to emerging hip-hop culture and post-disco reverie, evokes a interminable summer vibe where it is blissful to be young with no worries in the world and little need to be skeptical and suspicious about things. In Tom Tom Club's world, it's just them and scores more would come, on and on... there are more of them, more than anyone would realize.

After listening i can only get hard while listening to the long version of Genius of Love. 2/5

Musically talented, but is proof they needed a frontman and vocalist with the zaniness of David Byrne to really pull it all together. Still enjoyable though.

I think "infectious" is the best word to describe this album. Just some great grooves. I've always thought that Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth were criminally overlooked and underrated as the key to the Talking Heads' sound. It's like people thought Talking Heads was all David Byrne and the rest were just session musicians. Anyway, this is a great album and showcase for Chris and Tina, with help from Adrian Belew and others. 4 stars.

Better than at least two of the Talking Heads records on this list.

I could hear the music that this album went on to influence. In its infancy, hip hop has something to pay homage to here with the style and daring Visio. From Tom Tom Club. Not perfect, but visionary.

Quirky sound and odd lyrics that result in some strange fun.

I love literally anything even tangentially related to Talking Heads, so I am all about this shit. Can I join the club???

Proof that Talking Heads was more than David Byrne. The OTHER members keep pushing limits in what is an instrument to song composition.

This is wild. First track is like "wtf is going on, it's catchy though... this is like new wave Kraftwerk". Then I saw it was Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth from The Talking Heads and it all made sense. Ohhh shit Genius of Love, I've heard this. The synth and random chirps are so good. This is like a different take on "Once In a Lifetime" by Talking Heads. I will say overall some of the songs overstay their welcome a bit and I wish a few stopped 2 mins earlier, but overall a grand showcase of what others besides David Byrne add to Talking Heads. I'm in heaven With the maven of funk mutationa

Þetta er hressileg plata, skemmtilegur early 80s hljóðheimur og ein dansgólfsbomba.

Didn't expect to like this as much as I did. The beats are undeniable. This also has some "cool factor", if I put this on with company, i'd seem cool and obscure. All in all, a good time.

Finally! I've been waiting for this album on the list. I used to think that Genius of Love and Wordy Rappinghood were two of the most ingenious songs of the 80s! Brilliant unique sound and I have wanted to hear the rest of the album. Standouts: Genius of Love, Wordy Rappinghood Others: L'éléphant Rating: 3.5

The whole album is a wild ride that goes all over the place, but maintains a fun and playful spirit throughout. David Byrne is a fascinating figure, but this really shows you how much Frantz and Weymouth brought to the Talking Heads sound. Absolutely bursting with creative energy but doesn't take itself too seriously. One of the best side projects of all time.

Twenty one years ago we went on a road trip through the Deep South. Each of us made a mixtape and the songs I remember most from that trip were “Crime in the City” (Neil Young, Howard’s choice, the song that made me realise I like NY), “The Mercy Seat” (Johnny Cash covering Cave, Simon’s choice), “Love Spreads” (the Stone Roses, my choice as I thought it would be funny to bring a Manc version of Southern Rock), and “Genius of Love” (Dinah’s choice, maybe my favourite). I bought this album when I got back and was disappointed. The first two tracks are great, the rest underwhelmed me. I’m pleased to discover today that the rest is better than I remember: throwaway, but happy. This isn’t a great album, but it’s lovelier than many better ones here.

I read somewhere that this album and the associated singles sold more copies/made more money than all of the Talking Heads work combined! It's been fun over the years hearing "Genius Of Love" re-worked repeatedly to give some substance to the current chart flavor-of-the-month. There's a 10+ minute dub version out there with ear-splittingly loud bass, a phenomenal soundtrack for a late night drive down a dark desert road.

Good performances by the aforementioned great rhythm section of Talking Heads. This album reveals they would have most likely been stuck in their TH77 days if the songwriting had been more democratic. As a frontman and penman for their material, Chris and Tina needed David Byrne to take the next leap. I enjoyed this though.

The type of music you'd be tortured with at Butlins No thanks 2 ⭐️

Aside from genius of love this is a pretty weird album that seems like a cross between kids songs and Halloween themed music. It’s unique and experimental but overall it’s a bit weird for me. I can see the talking heads pieces but the main guy is what made them great. This couple helped make them different. 5.2/10

Too squeaky and lame.

quite possibly the ultimate early 80s party album from the minds of talking heads. creative and wacky funk rock music. with its lighthearted tone, call-and-response kitschy vocals and some seriously trippy instrumentals, tom tom club stands by themselves in the sea of other rock bands... it’s like the album equivalent of the artsy kid at the party who ends up DJing and somehow everyone loves it.

Still very catchy and was very ground breaking at the time

Unfair that Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz could just go out and do this as a side project. Insanely danceable.

genius of love is the song every artist wish they made

This album just brings happiness and joy. I'm o-o-o-over it. It's so o-o-o-over me.

Loved it. 4.5

Why is this kind of the coolest thing I’ve ever heard? It’s brimming with earnestness and enthusiasm. It’s delightfully, unapologetically weird. Good stuff.

Whenever I come across a band I've never heard of from this list, it makes me uneasy. I'm anxious and excited to see what the music has in store for me. I always try to err on the side of being prepared to dislike it. From track 1, this album had my attention. By the end of the first song, I was asking myself who was in this band. Lo and behold, it's a fucking Talking Heads side project. What a delightful little surprise. Absolute banger of an album and 39 minutes is perfect.

найс, понравилось, прикольное типо-диско. альбом сохранил. очень напомнило LCD Soundsystem. подойдет для вечеринок)

How had I never listened to this album before now? It's going in my regular rotation immediately.

AMAZING

Absolutely cracking. Start to finish, it's simple, yet complex. Lovely.

I weirdly like this a lot.

This is a big yes from me

Whoa never heard this end to end - only a few songs here and there but this one is a gem. Loved every second of it - dance-y, clever, tongue-in-cheek and fun while sounding original. Tops.

When the bass player and drummer husband-wife duo get to prove their value.

Cool, most songs could not be played but what I heard was good

God bless Tina and Chris!

cool weirdo shit

I remember this when it came out and it confused me. Since then I've heard David and Talking and Eno but this was just these two on a sabbatical. Seriously inventive and fun to listen to.

Plenty of talent to Talking Heads outside of David Byrne.

Great fun funky sounds. Bit silly but so catchy

Ooh yeah, I absolutely love Tina Weymouth and this wacky off shoot of the Talking Heads. Genius of Love is one of my fun go-to songs, and you gotta love how zany, funky, and lighthearted this is. I consider this album a treat.

Old fave

This feels like an early 90s version of Superorganism which is right up my alley. Such a delightfully joyful bop along album. Faves? All of them

Well damn, this was a surprise! The only Tom Tom Club track I was aware of going in was "Genius of Love", and then it wasn't the whole song - it was the sample from Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five's "It's Nasty" and it's partial use in an episode of "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia"! 😆 Based on that, I was kinda expecting some throwaway novelty record that would almost instantly become annoying to listen to. This actually slaps, though - like a far less obnoxious Public Image Ltd in places. New wave / post-punk / disco / world music all thrown together, but it sounds like its own thing. "Wordy Rappinghood" on paper should be radioactive cringe but in practice it really works! I guess because they're riffing on early hip-hop rather than trying to actually do hip-hop? Will definitely be checking out their other albums. Fave tracks - "Wordy Rappinghood", "Genius of Love", "As Above, So Below", and probably my absolute fave goes to "On,On,On,On..." - the optimism of that song healed my soul, a little

Maybe the easiest 5 I've given. Fun, funky and weird and as good as any Talking Heads album.

Great album. I'd heard lots of these songs before but never listened through. It definitely sounds like Talking Heads, but weird in sort of a different way. You can hear more of this upbeat fun kind of style in their next couple albums, so I wonder if that was Chris and Tina getting a bit more creative freedom without Eno around?

Yeah, this album is still as great as it was in the 80s: two big hit singles and lots of other strong pop songs (such as On on on on, Booming & zooming). Of course, this is no Talking Heads (even though some songs like As Above So Below sound like typical TH songs) but I much prefer it over, say, My Life in the Bush of Ghosts.

Before MTV there was HBO Video Jukebox, and "Genius of Love" with its fun animated video played a lot between movies back then. I only knew the song from that context for a long time. I loved hearing the whole album today! It's fun and cool and I wish I'd listened to it long ago.

I'd been greatly looking forward to this, as I'm a Talking Heads convert and was aware of this side project from Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz. I loved it and will definitely be keeping this on my phone. I liked all of the songs but this album deserves 5 stars for "Wordy Rappinghood" alone.

Loved this when it came out many years ago…It was fresh and revolutionary then. It remains fresh and revolutionary today.

5 stars. So good.

I could listen to this on repeat. I was familiar with Genius of Love but none of the other songs.

Like hip-hop dropped acid! So many original sounds in this album

Perfect. Listened @ FTD, perfect.

The excitement I felt when this popped up… Funky, fun, experimental and so influential. I’ll always love anything Chris, Tina, David or Jerry touch, so this is an easy perfect score in my book.

Caught Tom Tom Club at Glastonbury a few years ago and they were one of the most energetic and enthusiastic bands I saw, despite also being one of the oldest. This album transfers that feeling well; it's like you've been invited into their home and they're all giving you a big hug.

The opening bars of "Genius of Love" has to be one of the most sampled riffs ever, 20+ times by well-known bands – and the lyrics pay tribute to many of the great funk bands of the prior decades. “WordyRappinghood” is a nice bookend to Blondie’s “Rapture”, which came out a year earlier. Those were the only two songs I could name from this album, which I owned, as did my co-judge. But listening to it 40 years later, I like most of the supporting tracks as well. The production would have been quite fresh in 1981: L Elephant sounds like a Talking Heads rhythm track, especially with the addition of Adrian Belew’s guitar. They mix up the mood nicely, with dark funk like “Booming and Zooming” and Go-Go’s worthy anthems like “On On On”. The lyrics are clever, disguised by the Weymouth sisters' vocals. A catchy, well-rounded album.

This is so fun! "Wordy Rappinghood" is just a blast. I recognize "Genius of Love" a little bit, but this is just a fun little album! I like how easy it is to, like, jam to it and it is just good vibes. While a lot ended up on my Ridiculous Music playlist, that is as a positive. Sometimes it's fun to get a little funky and silly and this album really embodies that!

What a joy!

a lot of fun, great album

Pretty clear that this was spun off from Talking Heads, and also pretty clear that it's a different singer. I love this album, and I think it's obvious how much this influenced other artists and genres, but I have a hard time shaking the feeling that something is missing.

Funky in more ways than one

I like it

This is just catchy, mindless fun! I usually like a little more lyrical content, but I really enjoyed this.

Pretty good actually , more like a 3.8 buts let round up hey

One of the most sampled songs is Tom Tom Clubs Genius of Love. Fun album for people who like a solid groove but don’t take themselves too seriously.

The 80s are inherently dumb and playful. I never liked that about this decade, but I admit that it works for me when it goes all in on the weirdness. This album does exactly that. "Wordy Rappinghood" is a masterpiece.

The fact that this was tina and chris of the talking heads side project is insane. Working a completely different music as members of talking jeads amd coming up with thos sound and have a chatt topper amd then a sample by mariah carey that reached #1 is mindblowing. Its dated but knowing they were ahead of time with the talking heads music kinds of balances it out. Good sound and production. Solid album short but sweet.

Songs with steel drums, songs that bounce Songs to dance to in your underpants. Instrumentation sparse around beats that groove Or the lush lake of funk that is “Genius of Love”. Is it a holiday diary, or songs dreamed up in incarceration? For these two, is that two sides of the same equation? Enjoy the trampoline made of sunbeams, retire to a hammock for a bed I loved my time inside the laughing heads.

Very groovy! You can believe that these two backed David Byrne in the Talking Heads.

This was a really fun album. It’s poppy funk that gives the image of the band having a great time recording it, which comes through into my own little tiny brain and makes me want to dance. There were any original songs that I recognised, but the cover of Under The Boardwalk was fun, and definitely showed their own spin on this classic. This reminded me a little of the B-52’s, but less psychedelic (you decide if that’s a good or bad thing). Overall, fun fun fun!

Just a fun groovy album.

When I first heard Wordy Rappinghood I assumed that it was just a novelty single. It wasn’t until I saw the Tom Tom Club segment of Stop Making Sense that I realised that this was actually a side project of Chris Franz and Tina Weymouth, drummer and bassist of Talking Heads respectively. Turns out it actually has some really interesting and catchy tracks outside of the two hit singles. As might be expected Weymouth and Franz provide a rock solid core with Adrian Belew of King Crimson playing some funky guitar on top. The quirky lyrics and excellent vocals as well from Tina Weymouth make this a lot more than a novelty record.

after THeads, Tina Weymouth is great

Fine album.

Fuego beats and weird lyrics I fully support

Kedvenc/Favourite: On On On On... Meglepett, hogy mennyire tetszett, nagyon groovy és fun a legtöbb szám. Van azért néhány kevésbé erős, meg párat kicsit sokáig húztak, de összességében jó kis album. I was surprised by how much I liked it, most of the songs are very groovy and fun. There are some less than great ones, and a couple of songs were a bit drawn out, but overall a good album.

Rating: 7.5/10 No David Byrne, no problem. Definitely hear the Talking Heads sound in the instrumentation but different enough to make a unique, fun, and catchy album. Not everything hit but the highlights are great.

Hypnotic beats that are more substantive and less silly than they sound actually. "Lorelei" is a sneak-good, refreshingly so, and "Genius of Love" surprisingly effective after all this time, nearly entrancing, and justifiably sampled extensively. Sounds like a perfect summer beat.

Good and interesting

Weird, good

kind of new wave; kind of hip hop. Good performances and production.

I aspire to this level of weirdness and fun.

This one had me Booming and Zooming when I was jamming to it Under the Boardwalk.

Has a very strange endearing quality.

Just the pick-up I needed to get back into the swing of work after the holidays. Peppy, poppy, clever.

Good fine, as you might expect from a Talking Heads offshoot. More than just the inimitable Genius of Love. Fave Tracks: Wordy Rappinghood, Genius of Love, L Elephant, Lorelei, Booming and Zooming 4.2/5

Thoroughly enjoyable.

James Brown? James Brown.

Staple of every DJs flight case and a sampler’s dream. Really influential record that still sounds fresh, even if the individual components are a bit threadbare at times. Obviously overshadowed by the Talking Heads’ output but I much prefer this record to anything that band put out.

7.5/10 A Talking Heads offshoot that is better than the band itself? Maybe. More fun? Definitely Funky poppy r&b with interesting electronic touches Groovy, relaxed, sounds like they enjoyed making it Best: Genius of Love

There would be plenty of moments when I’m not at all in the mood for this, but this was not one of those moments. Caught myself pretty early on bobbing my head, drumming my fingers, and thinking “hell yeah, Tom Tom Club.” It’s pretty wild that this thing came out in 1981. I feel like it could come out today and slide right in to the new releases pile.

This rules, this is cool, it’s a lot of fun and a lot of good stuff.