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.

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

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

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.

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!

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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!

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

This album is pop at its silliest and it works well through most of the album. There are a couple dud tracks, but I’m not even mad because you can tell they just went all in on having fun, and I’m here for it. More of a 3.5 than a 4, but no half stars unfortunately

Interesting album

Love it

This is a fun listen. Knew the first two tracks but didn’t know it was them. Did check Wikipedia for the original track listing as I wasn’t listening to over 2 hours worth. With more listens this could even stretch to a 5

Sounds like it's been sampled a lot. Liked it

It's random wins like this that keep me going. This is great stuff! Love the opening track. "Booming and Zooming" is very odd, and I love it! The cover of Under the Boardwalk is quality stuff as well.

One of the more relaxing and fun art rock albums from the 80s, as this album cover suggest. Very creative production and solid performances. Different enough from the Talking Heads to merit the spinning off of this new act Tom Tom Club from the whole.

An insanely fun, easy-to-digest album that you can get loose with. This might be a hot take but I’ve always enjoyed this more than TH’s debut.

Call me contrarian if you'd like, but I'd rather listen to this quirky curio than anything from Talking Heads.

The breakage of Talking Heads yields highly positive results.

I had never heard this album, just the singles. I was entertained all the way through. Not surprising that I liked it, given the Talking Heads association. I’m a fan of that band too.

This is #day93 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and how about something funky and new wavy? As a spin-off of Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club brings a lot to the table on their debut. Released a year after the groundbreaking Remain In Light, Tom Tom Club shares a similar edgy and artsy vibe—infectious rhythms and experimental sounds... The album blends sharp, quirky early '80s synths and playful beats with a laid-back, tropical-tinged quality, giving it a distinct personality. It feels like Tina and Chris were just having fun, making music together, and it shows. Standout tracks for me are Wordy Rappinghood, Genius of Love, As Above So Below, and Lorelei, which is half of the record. This is a solid 4 out of 5 again. Looking forward to #day94.

I didn't quite no what to expect going in, aside from knowing that Genius of Love is super catchy and it's been sampled to death to prove it. The whole album was mostly fine. Enjoyable but not necessarily great to my ears. I would give it a 3.5 if that were an option.

Wordy Rappinghood is basically a declaration of war, but overall this is unhinged in a fun way

The only problem here is long it's like forever other than that cool

3.7 Has the feeling of a group of friends, screwing around and jamming. Lots of different influences in the work. And if its got Weymouth on bass im probably going to like it

Still have this. Pure joy

gott grúv. ég er mjög hrifinn.

Enjoyed this. Must’ve sounded so fresh in 1981.

Y'know, as much as I'd want to pay this group some respect by not comparing them to Talking Heads--to be judged solely on their own merits as a New Wave act, at least... I find framing my listening that way kind of unavoidable, honestly. 'Coz the only question I have going into it, really, is "What do these guys sound like when David Byrne **isn't** around?" As it turns out: "less nerdy Talking Heads." Even if it still has quite a few of those weirder edges (particularly in the back half), it's way more polished than any Talking Heads song I've heard. Heck, I'd go so far as to call them a bit more mainstream--and I don't mean that as an insult, knowing how some would use it. I mean, you just gotta look at their biggest hit, "Genius Of Love". That's such an incredible synth hook it has. It's no wonder why Mariah Carey eventually had it sampled up for "Fantasy" (and then **that** got sampled up and knocked off for "Big Energy", but let's stay on topic). It's synth-y, 80's fun, with this crazy danceable groove, and just the right amount of weirdness to give it that aforementioned edge while still keeping it commercially appealing. I'm not surprised it became **the** song people know this group for, even if the rest of their catalog's seemed to have faded away from public knowledge. And if I could bring up a deeper cut favorite... "As Above, So Below" was probably my favorite. It reminded me the most of Talking Heads, which is maybe why I like it as much as I do, though I don't think I'd ever mistake it for one. Thanks largely to Tina's vocals (which, in spots, reminded me of lower-vibe ABBA songs), it can stand on its own. Plus, hey, it's also got a good groove, so... ("Lorelei" gets an honorable mention as runner-up favorite. The "Under The Boardwalk" cover is real good, too.) There we go, then: I like this album. It's not as much of a New Wave masterwork as the last New Wave album I heard (SHE'S SO UNUSUAL), and I'm not blown away stupid by it, but it does its job well. If I have only one gripe about it, "Wordy Rappinghood" probably wasn't the **best** way to kick off the album. Sure, it has a pretty good instrumental, but... I mean, maybe I just don't like New Wave rapping? I haven't gotten to that one Blondie song everyone seems to like, so we'll see if my opinion changes, but from the ones I **have** heard... Look, all I'm saying is that interpolating "Old MacDonald Had A Farm" kinda makes your song lame. I mean, "Old MacDonald" was the lowest point of Elvis's career; you really wanna hitch onto **that** legacy? As you've seen, I've given this album a 4, but even if the rest of the material was good enough for a 5, I'd still drop it to a 4 just because this song is so lame. I mean, seriously, goodness... But let's bring it back up a positive note. As someone who's only a casual Talking Heads fan, I'm happy to've heard this. I feel like I have a new appreciation for the non-Byrne band members now. I never figured he was the sole genius behind the group, but it's nice to have evidence that the rest of them could carry their own weight. Ultimately, however, I do think I still prefer Talking Heads for its nerdier, awkward-er edges, though if you're a fan of the band, or New Wave in general, I think this is worth your time. At any rate, it's better than NO TALKING, JUST HEAD. Goodness.

I’m at a 3.5 that I’ll bump up to a 4. It’s not necessarily a great album, but it’s a pretty damn fun one – where it lacks in some of the technical and compositional stuff, it more than makes up for in terms of vibes and enjoyment. There are lots of empty spots on this album that feels like they could be filled in by something more, but those patches of emptiness are simply a reminder that this is 1981, and the world’s not quite yet ready for a Daft Punk-esque synth solo that would break their brains. Wordy Rappinghood is fun (if a little goofy), and Genius of Love surprised me once it revealed itself is THAT song that everyone (namely Mariah Carey) has sampled, but the album definitely hits a sort of stagnant point until Lorelei for me. Tom Tom Theme is rather short, L'éléphant was just too repetitive for me to really enjoy, especially without the vocal hook or storytelling (that I could understand) to break it up, and As Above, So Below really drags out its chorus despite the rather fun instrumental. After that though, Lorelei is sort of mesmerizing, hypnotic, and mysterious in a way that sucked me in and clicked really well. On, On, On, On, while a bit culty in its lyricism, just worked for me instrumentally and tonally. Booming and Zooming is sort of weird, but its story is captivating enough that I can look past the sort of droning instrumental in the back. Under the Boardwalk feels like the first breaths of 90s Eurodance trying to come to life, and a very good way to end the album. All of that to say, I enjoyed about 2/3rds of what’s on here, but none of it was outright bad. It’s just not as concise and controlled as I think it could have been, but it’s not enough of a problem to make me think any less of the album. It’s a 3.5 that’ll go up to a 4, and a rather fun listen. I liked it.

Never listened to this one the whole way through, but I was pretty familiar with the first 2 songs. Songwriting wise, it doesn't really compare to the best Talking Heads albums, but its better than their later ones for sure. It's also super funky, lots of fun and has been sampled so many times, it's influence is clear and it was way ahead of it's time. 7/10

Just the right amount of different to satisfy.

I listened to this a couple of times while thinking “I love how much this sounds like Talking Heads” before finally looking up that it is in fact half of Talking Heads. This came out 6 years before I was born, but I’m still not sure how I didn’t know that! Talking Heads are easily one of my top ten bands of all time, and I knew there were side projects, I just didn’t realize this was one of them. I think it’s great! Apparently David Byrne didn’t think so, but as much as I love the guy he doesn’t have the best reputation for praising his bandmates or giving them due credit. Tina’s vocals are excellent for the music, and every track is groovy. In my opinion it’s clear highlight is Genius of Love, but each track is at least solid and L’Elephant, As Above, so Below, and their cover of Under The Boardwalk (a bonus track I think but worth mentioning) are all great. It’s hard not to compare to the Talking Heads records, and while it doesn’t reach the heights of TH’s first 5 records, it’s arguably better than anything that band did after Stop Making Sense. I think it’s a great album for fans of Talking Heads and an excellent overall product of the early 80’s.

Fonky

I knew Genius of Love, but the rest of this album is just as fun! Scratches the same kind of itch as a Talking Heads album (though not just quite), while showcasing what the other members bring to the table. Will definitely listen again.

A great compilation to be had from 'new wave rappers' featuring Blondie, Waitresses, Malcolm Mclaren...and of course this lot. Very solid album and no problem with four stars here.

Another Talking Heads side project, this is much better than I remember it. Still mostly slight outside of ‘Wordy Rappinghood’ and ‘Genius Of Love’ which are the key tracks here, (and which you will recognise instantly as both have been sampled countless times) but a fun, nice, breezy little album nonetheless. It’s somewhat let down by the final track which on early pressings is ‘Booming And Zooming’, and on later pressings a throwaway cover version of ‘Under The Boardwalk’. I don’t really care for either, but don’t let that stop you listening to the rest of this, cos for the most part, it’s a good time. 3.5/5 but I’m rounding up.

This is very much topped and tailed with the catchiest tracks, but it's still a fantastic album. I much prefer this to anything Talking Heads did as a band. Worth a high 'mark' for the two classic singles, but Boardwalk is great too.

Be prepared to bliss out with the 80s!

Very refreshing

Talking heads love koppel <3 lekker album op zich, vooral Genius of Love en Wordy Rappinghood On On On On ook nog wel aardig, Under the Boardwalk ook nee lachen album, zeker leuke ontdekking alles talking heads vind ik sws geweldig natuurlijk

Love it more than Talking Heads

Difficult to rate this particular record. On the one hand, it's not terribly groundbreaking or very complex. On the other hand, it does feature some really cool Jamaican influences, some fun rapping, and is one of the few early bands where women were clearly in charge of the overall direction. I have the vinyl and at least one 12" single with remixes in my stash. I'm going to give it four stars as it's definitely above average, whatever that means LOL

Very good but Very immature compares to other Electronic albums previously made.

Highlights: Genius of Love, Tom Tom Theme, L’Elephant. In a nutshell: fun, boppy, quirky, wild. This side project allowed Chris and Tina to really cut loose. I’m glad they did, cos this album is a banger. Overall: 7/10

Fun, funky album. Some iconic and recognisable hooks. Will go back to it.

Huh. Ok, I have heard a couple of these songs but never did I "hear of" the Tom Tom Club. It could be that I heard them in nightclubs or on the radio on occassion, IDK. The thing is that I like this style. It is hard to pinpoint in a way, but the beats and the energy are just easy for me to groove on. Sometimes people spend years searching for "that song" from back in the day, others, like me in this case, stumble on an older tune that they did not realize they were missing. Even better news in this case is the rest of the album is just as interesting as the stuff I was familiar with. Good find for me!

Under The Boardwalk – diese Interpretation läutete symbolisch die 80er Jahre ein. Dank an den Tom Tom Club mit seinem gleichnamigen Album. Dieses Album repräsentiert Funk in seiner unverbrauchten und witzigen Form. Elektromusik ohne zu schräge Acid-Verzerrungen, erste Stretches und Technoelemente, aber auch Avantgarde-Musik wie die B-52s oder Punk- und Wave-Elemente sind auf dem Album zu finden. “Wordy Rappinghood” persifliert Kindergeburtstagsmusik auf humorvolle Weise und ist ein cleveres Wortspiel sowie ein Vorläufer des modernen Rap. “On, On, On” ist temporeich und musikalisch gut arrangiert. “Lorelei” feiert den Riesling und bezieht sich auf die berühmte Loreley-Figur aus der deutschen Mythologie, die am Rhein lebt. Und natürlich gibt es das Kultstück “Under The Boardwalk”, das ursprünglich von The Drifters aus den 1960er Jahren stammt.

Genius of Love is a classic, quirky instrumental that has been brought back to prominence with its Latto sampling of late. The vocals on As Above, so Below reminds me a lot of Talking Heads (particularly Crosseyed and Painless). Very different song otherwise and I'm honestly all about it. Lorelai is a really cool one with some nice mixing / layering. In the background there is a constant scratchboard + bright synth line pushed into the left monitor with some little scratchy flourishes isolated to the right monitor. I could see this being distracting if done differently, but it works so well. This is among my favorites on here. On, On, On, On... actually reminds me vaguely of another 80s one hit wonder: Peter Schilling's Major Tom. This album started out on a questionable note with Wordy Rappinghood, but quickly recovered and turned into something that I really enjoyed. A lot of similarity here to Talking Heads that borders on riffing their style, but they put a spin on it all to their own. This was a pleasant surprise -- thoroughly enjoyed. High 4.

Idk what I expected from this album but it wasn't this first song. So silly. Ok I did some digging and this is the husband and wife duo from Talking Heads. Makes sense now. Genius of Love rules I def know this song. That was so fucking weird. I loved it. High 4 close to a 5.

Definitely a fun listen to start the work day. Very much enjoyed this one, as I was familiar with Tom Tom Club, I'd never heard much before now. Would listen to again for sure.

Shows that David Byrne is not the whole force behind the Talking Heads sound. Very cool and Genius of Love is iconic

This stands up pretty well to the forty odd years of history under the bridge since its release. Wordy Rappinghood and Genius of Love still stand out but it's all good.