Reviews (page 7 of 8)
nah, not a fan
A bit dull and samey. Why waste time say lot word when few word do trick?
aight
Good
Surprisingly listenable. Pretty interesting, and recognizable songs. 3.0.
I was almost swayed towards a 4 purely on the strength of that loop from Genius of Love, but no, the rest of this album is a bit too weird and meandering for me.
Wanted to like this but was nonplussed
I feel like whoever wrote this should be in an insane asylum. There's like one or two catchy parts but man this album is brutal.
Muy buen disco. Es de músico de Talking Heads, tiene esa onda pero canta más que nada una mina y tiene mucha percusión y muy buena.
Just so-so
One great song does not make for a great album
noch nie gehört - Genius Love of Love ist ganz nett. Nicht meins.
A few good songs as most albums, more a sound than truly good songs.
Kein Wunder, dass mir das Album auf Anhieb gefällt. Tina Weymouth von den Talking Heads hat das gemacht.
Solid
definitely has an experimental mode going. I see why it's probably on the list but not my jam.
not my sort of thing!
Important thing about 1001ABYD: It's a personal opinion. None of this album appeals to me in any way.
A cool funky album that is much better in the first half than the second. Full of synths, guitars and decent vocals. It kind of devolved into a fuzzy mess towards the end of the album which wasn't too great to listen to. Best: L'Elefant Worst: Booming and Zooming Note: Spotify didn't have most of the album so I listened on YouTube, and only the LP original 8 Tracks. 2.5 stars
Tom Tom Club is such a weirdly prominent one hit wonder, owing partially to their connection with the Talking Heads, and partially to the fact that Genius of Love is a colossal all time banger. The rest of the songs are good as well, though, with lots of Talking Heads flavor without quite sounding like the Talking Heads 4/5
It's difficult to talk about Tom Tom Club without mentioning Talking Heads, so I won't do that. In the rising popularity of new wave, Tom Tom Club serves as the weirder exploration of New Wave sensibilities. Frontwoman Tina Weymouth always had a good ear for bass grooves, so taking that to the forefront by having their songs lead with rhythmic-focused funk-inspired jams. This is backed up by odd-sounding synths, cryptic lyrics, and silly little background noises. What is that percussion instrument that sounds like a washing board? Who knows! Tom Tom Club is a fun little slice of early 80's weirdness and it's a breath of fresh air. It didn't have to be much more than that because it revels in the joy of simple musical pleasures.
Wordy Rappinghood and Genius of Love are great, but the rest of the tracks go on a bit too long for me
Hipster wedding music?! Love it! 😀 Five Stars for Genius of Love, four for the album as a whole, though I do really like the Under the Boardwalk cover too.
Jaunty
Get in me. Such good silly fun. Fav track: Genius of love
A lot of fun to be had here but I ended up finding the relentless twee of it all to be a bit tiring. On another day it might be just what I want but this listen had me waiting for it to end at times. Two and a half. Fave track: Genius of Love
We have fun and we like the percussion and we enjoy the spoken word and we think it’s funny but also to be balanced don’t think every song is as good as others. We really like this one. Three and a half. Fave track: Genius Of Love
Man, these songs are LONG
Talking Heads' little cousins form a band after absorbing all the songs of 1970's Sesame Street.
Ehh I don't really find the Talking Heads all that interesting and this is just parts of them. Fine I guess. Influential for the beats.
Electronic and very Poppy.
Når det er bedst lyder det som Talking Heads. Genius of Love er en kæmpe banger! Føler mig dog sikker i at kalde Gabriel Byrne Geniet i det band
Kæft 80erne var mærkelige. Gik til det her med meget lave forventninger, men havde faktisk en great time
Noget af det er spændende, noget andet lyder bare som børnekor .. noget af det lyder som om at musikken var lavet og så er det sangerindens rige forældre som har betalt for at hun måtte synge..
It's on here because it deserves to be. It's more than just Genius Of Love and the Under The Boardwalk cover. Did it lead to other offshoots we wish never happened? I'm looking at you, Arcadia and Power Station. And don't even get me started on The Honeydrippers.
So I already had beef with Tom Tom Club going into this. Last year I went to the cinema to watch Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense (i.e the greatest concert film of all time). Anyway about half way through David Byrne heads off to either take his massive suit off or put it on, I can’t remember which, and a couple of members of the band start playing in his absence. Anyway they were absolutely shite, David Byrne was definitely the brains behind that operation. It turns out those members of Talking Heads are also Tom Tom Club and listening to this hasn’t changed my opinion on them. Still can’t bring myself to dish out my first 1* though, it wasn’t unpleasant just not for me.
Not terrible but pretty boring.
Surprisingly fun
I felt like this album was a little bit irritating. Like I just wanted to skip through all the songs. It's definitely a vibe album but I'm not sure what that vibe is. I think it just missed the mark with me. Maybe it just wasn't what I was expecting but I can't imagine wanting to listen to this again.
without Genius of Love giving way to Mariah Carey's Fantasy this would be a 1. too scattered and directionless, there is not much here to write home about
This album was a disappointment. Knowing the history and talent involved in the making of it I was really excited to see what came out of it. A bunch of friggin nonsense. At least we got the best to Fantasy by Mariah Carey so it wasn’t a total loss
- no album needs to be this long. - wordy rappinghood kinda got me bopping tho
*heard this one before, don’t have time to relisten for this one*
man the first two tracks are classics but I can't bring myself to rate this any higher
The second vaguely experimental early 80s album in a row. This is fine, fun and funky, and probably influential, but not something I'll ever revisit. Rating: 2/5 Playlist track: Genius Of Love Date listened: 11/12/23
This was a pleasant surprise. I didn't know what to expect, but the fun 80s vibes flowed through this album. The first track reminded me of De La Soul, which was cool. It did get a little repetitive though.
"Genius Of Love" is the song that has that sample you head a million times before, from Grandmaster Flash to Mariah Carey to Paramore, for that alone this is a solid 3 star album.
Generous 4
I could listen to this on repeat. I was familiar with Genius of Love but none of the other songs.
The typewriters that opened Wordy Rappinghood may have caught my attention but this Talking Heads side project didn't win me over.
I really wanted to like this more given the Talking Heads connection but just couldn't get into the vocal style. Didn't feel... serious or layered enough? Got to love Adrian Belew though!
Musicality: 4 - some decent tunes and catchy parts Production & Sound: 4 - clean, layered Artistic Expression: 4 - good blend of styles Performance: 3 - decent playing Engagement & Enjoyment: 3 - enjoyed the catchy parts Overall it's an album that blends a lot of different things together and has some fun with how it's presented
Nice
A pure fever dream. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ because it's fun.
sad synthy techno
Just like any 80s track I like the sound. However i'm not sure what the hell is going on. Real funky might have another listen at a later date. Also recognised thr 0ne song as it must have been sampled by some other artist
Quite liked it all Wordy Rappington was lots of fun Genius of Love I think I know from Always Sunny? That’s pretty great too. Generally liked it all and would like to listen to it more but don’t know if I will.
Like hip-hop dropped acid! So many original sounds in this album
Upea nimi bändillä, levyn pituus 2h+ vähän let down jo ennen kuuntelun aloittamista. Tunnin pituus on albumille tässä projektissa optimipituus, koska sen jaksaa kuunnella helposti päivässä. Eikun napit korville ja lenkille. Noin puolet levystä kuunneltuna: en osaa yhtään lokeroida mihin musiikkityyliin tämä menee? Jotain pre-rap-psycho-mixtape kokeilua. Osa biiseistä jää soimaan päähän. Spotifyssa taisi olla joku deluxe versio, jossa samoista biiseistä useampia versioita. Kokonaisuutena ihan ok, ei korvakarkkia, ei piinaa.
So loved this album. Great fun!
Comparing them to talking heads is an insult to talking heads
Possibly the most ahead-of-its-time album on the entire list. Musically sounds like it could have been made in 2017, not 1981.
Fun new-wavey tunes.
This is what a shy guy with autism would put on a party in the 80's. I'm a shy girl with autism in the 2020's and I resonate with this one. (I don't like numeric ratings, I just give 3 to anyone)
Reminds me of Xmas Rapping by Waitresses, but could also be that time of year. Bit corny in how it acted but still enjoyed it.
General culture
Catchy, funky, fun!
Interesting & fun. Liked the Under the Boardwalk cover.
pretty, pretty, pretty good
4.0 - I love the first two tracks, especially “Genius of Love” with its striking blend of swirling eletro-noise, funk bass and dry female vocals - reminiscent of Stereolab. “L’elephant” and “As Above, So Below” sort of blend together as one song, and it starts to feel repetitive. The record, which started with incredible promise sort of trails off with the underwhelming “Lorelei” and confusing “Booming and Zooming.” I like the cover “Under the Boardwalk.” Still a fun listen though it didn’t quite live up to my expectations.
different, I liked it
likes the 1st song, others meh seems like millennial music dont dislike it, but would turn the dial to something else eventually
Great!
I’m a bit ashamed to say I never listened to Tom Tom Club despite being a huge Talking Heads fan. I had always assumed that David Byrne is the creative drive. It turns out, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz are just as weird as Byrne and have the same penchant for interesting rhythms and abstract lyrics bordering on the absurd. It makes for a very interesting album that feels in many ways, like a continuation of their earlier work.
Disco. Funk
Quirky!
Fuck you and your two hour albums fucken narcissist
Quirky sound and odd lyrics that result in some strange fun.
Really good album. Some memorable and catchy tracks on here, cool layered rhythms. It was great to listen to this album all the way through. I’d definitely heard quite a few tracks from it but hadn’t heard the whole thing. It’s very well done.
Perfect. Listened @ FTD, perfect.
Kind of cool and felt very ahead of its time sonically. But it was very repetitive.
not for me
I loved this! Aside from the ones I already knew quite a few but was very pleased to hear the new ones. I listened to the full 2 hour album on Spotify (obvs not the original album track listings). Light hearted, interesting, new wave excellence
Love it, they have such a fun sound. I love hearing the Talking Heads influences but it's like they just went and had fun with that similar sound and did what they want without Mr Byrne hanging out. Like the Dad was out and they messed around
Rips
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.
Ah oui je m'en souviens (non)
bizarre mais suffisamment concis
This was great! Some songs stood out as very good, but the entire album was really nice.
Great album. Never knew this band was Talking Heads members.
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
As a big Talking Heads fan, I mean this with the greatest respect - this project is dogshit The grooves are pretty good in a few tracks but the vocals vary from obnoxious (the awful rapping on Wordy Rappinghood is actually embarrassing) to unlistenable (Booming and Zooming is particularly bad). Ends with a cover of Under the Boardwalk that is somehow worse than the Bruce Willis version The only positives I can really note are Genius of Love, which is incredibly catchy for the first few minutes until some backing vocals ruin it (hopefully there’s a shorter single version as it’s otherwise a really good song) and the kind of eerie Lorelei
Not knowing anything about the band, the first thing I thought was “wow this is very talking heads”…then I read the article and found out it is in fact 2/3rds of the talking heads… amazing. This album is absolutely a bop. Only wish there was more of it. Standout tracks: Wordy Rappinghood, Genius of Love
Las dos últimas canciones lo salvan de un 2. Funk sesentero de los 80.
I would give this a high 3 as much as I love them and would love to see them live I don't feel a need to go back and listen to some of the tracks a second time.
pretty charming but also pretty boring
Fun 80s album but it slowly works its way into background music.
As a fan of Talking Heads and (to a lesser extent) Byrne's solo career I've heard about this band a great deal but never actually listened to them. Genius of Love is the only song I recognized. An obvious kinship to Talking Heads and doesn't benefit from the comparison in my opinion - it's just a lot lighter weight. Still enjoyed it well enough.
Not my cup of tea
Too long and too many bullshit remixes
Weird, unpleasant music.
Call it a guilty pleasure but you can’t deny it’s a lot of fun.
What is this, having a bunch of navigation device telling me where to go would probably have been better than this
This was weird in the worst way possible. Was very glad to hear the 2nd CD was not canon
First impression was not good but comming back to it later (after a few beers, I must confess) I did find some really fun parts!
Nice experimental beat album of the 80s. More about repetition than hooks (though there are a few).
so much fun, its a shame most of the album in not available on spotify.
I was surprised by how many songs I knew considering I hadn't heard of the band. Good stuff.
Oh this is Tina Weymouth's band. Finally an obscure weirdo pick that I'm familiar with. I'm not a fan of the Talking Heads mostly because I can't stand David Byrne's stupid yelps, so taking them out and replacing them with pleasant female vocals makes for a good album. I think this is how Talking Heads sound like to Talking Heads fans and my brain is just worm-infected. First two songs are amazing. "Genius of Love" might (semi-directly) be one of the most important songs of all time.
This was a fun one. I always perk up when I hear songs that were sampled to create stuff that's on the radio now. Genius of Love becomes Big Dick Energy 40 years later. Love it.
Now you're taking the piss...
Very innovative, with some wonderful tracks. A little dated now (which is fair for an album more than 40 years old)
Great fun, it does have elements of Remain In Light like the dance-funk of L’Elephant, On x4 and the slightly dark new wave of As Above, So Below. Genius of Love is undeniably influential on hip hop and music right up to the present, although recent samples are probably samples of samples with the new/young artists not actually being familiar with the original source! Overall good fun.
For me too simple
good stuff
Really great. The frenchy vibe is really good, and except some tracks which are meh, the others are great.
A kooky album. Once I found out it was a side project of members of the Talking Heads, it all made sense. The album kinda grows on you..
one song was good
Helt ok
Better than expected
I listened to this album then saw the reviews and wondered if I listened to the same music as everyone else? Sounded largely experimental and kind of annoying. Was all over the place but hey, at least I got to stumble upon that Mariah Carey song that sampled "Genius of Love". 4/10.
El pas al costat abandonant temporalembt Talking Heads en el seu millor moment artístic, per donar vida a una proposta més centrada en les cançons, va ser, amb el prisma del temps, tot un encert. Deixant de banda els ritmes sincopats i les experimentacions amb què Eno i Byrne donaven forma als temes dels Heads en aquell període, Tina Weymouth i Chris Frantz, amb l'ajuda de gent tan top com Adrian Belew, creen un disc pel record. Cançons molt més enfocades a la melodia, amb la seva indubtable part d'experimentació, gairebé ineludible en aquells anys màgics. Un cert toc jamaicà acaba d'arrodonir un treball fantàstic, del tot addictiu
This opening song sucks ass. The rest of the album isn't much better. Wow that stunk.
Väldigt annorlunda platta men det visste jag ju sedan tidigare. Bra är det i alla fall.
is this the kind of album that hipsters listen to when they congregate?
Okay album. Very 80s sound and didn’t seem timeless
You know what Tom? Tom Tom Club by Tom Tom Club is a truckload of Toms Tom.
One minute in I was about to turn this off. Then I got a bit hooked and then I read that this is a Talking Heads offshoot and then I heard some rather cool and kooky music and I overall enjoyed it.
Really good
Hyvin vaikea kuunnella loppuun asti pituuden ja kokeiluvuuden takia (raskasta!). Mutta paikoin hyvin pätevää discoa ja pidän lauluäänistä.
Ilmentää punkin jälkeistä taipumusta tarttuvuuteen hinnalla millä hyvänsä: joskus uhraamalla melodian, joskus hyväksymällä mielettömän toiston. Hittiytynyt Genius of Love ei iskenyt, kun taas teoriassa helvetin ärsyttävä Wordy Rappinghood ei ärsyttänyt yhtään, vaan kuulosti hyvältä - jopa inspiroivalta.
Some of these songs seem to be referenced or notorious, but the synthesizers are too much 80s to me
Only partially available on Spotify. What did I just listen to?
Just reviewed More Songs About Buildings and Food yesterday. I liked this one better somehow. You can definitely tell where a lot of Talking Heads sound comes from. Not afraid to let the tracks breathe a little bit.
Considering who made this and when and why of course this is what it sounds like. Some bops
I love literally anything even tangentially related to Talking Heads, so I am all about this shit. Can I join the club???
Quite a strange outing we just had, it was nice but I don't need to hear it again.
Unsurprisingly good grooves from Talking Heads’ rhythm section, surprisingly goofy and bizarre music. Genius of Love is a classic, Wordy Rappinghood is a hoot and if the rest doesn’t quite hit the same heights it’s an enjoyable, entertaining record.
Cool to see what can be done without David Byrne
This is a weird one. 3/5
well, that was music! i knew tom tom club's "genius of love," so i kind of suspected what this album would contain. tom tom club's self-titled is, in a word, unusual. for a talking heads' side project, this album contained more funk than i associate with talking heads. the amount of new wave, even for a side project, checks out for two members of the talking heads. i suppose a side project allowed weymouth and frantz to experiment more, and weymouth's airy vocals got a chance to shine. her voice paired well with this funk/new wave sound!
This was a wild ride, unlike anything else I've heard on this project, or anywhere else for that matter. Everything on here is quite bizarre, and yet in a very listenable way. No two tracks were alike...there's just so much uniqueness here. This is yet another album where it seems newer than it really is; it sounds much more recent than 1981. I suppose this only serves to paint a picture of the evolution of funk into new wave, and how new wave likely came to be. What an odd but surprisingly enjoyable slice of music this is!
Nice talking heads side project, enjoyed this worthy of this list.
Weird but fun
Legalzinho o som
I hadn't heard this before. It was fun and interesting.
It's not quirky. It's not fun. The vocals are grating. It's like listening to ADHD. I hate it.
A fun train wreck! Maybe like a mad rollercoaster that goes wrong but no-one gets seriously hurt, so everyone just enjoyed the wild ride.
Interesting, but pretty good music from members of the Talking Heads.
Actually well recorded, simple beats and decent vocals. 3/5
Heard before. Really wacky and I love it. Liked almost every song besides On On On On and Booming and Zooming. + Wordy Rappinghood + Lorelei + L Elephant
Def kinda weird
I feel like this is where funk meets almost new wave. Plenty of songs that get samples from this album.
закос под Европу) спать приятно
This is some fun summer music
Love the pop feel. A good album! 3/5
Nice witty music, but it fails to carry me away into remote places
Really pish. Somehow manages to be both very weird and very boring - I'm not quite sure how. An album that is all filler, with "bonus" tracks that just prolong the nothingness. Not Nico or Morisey or abba, so not 1 star, but probably should be!
1/8, 13%
Dennis Reynolds loves him some Genius of Love, and I love me some Mariah Carey singing sweet sweet Fantasy baby to this beat!
Funk lentillo. Ni fu ni fa.
Las dos últimas canciones lo salvan de un 2. Funk sesentero de los 80.
This makes me happy
I can only dream of the kind of drugs they were on while producing this. I have to hand it to them though, because they really made it work.
Ok but why on earth did I know 4 of these songs already?? Like well enough to sing along for the most part. Literally never heard of the Tom Tom Club until today. I think I’ve been brainwashed. Bonus points for bringing back memories I didn’t know I had I guess.
C+ Wordy Rappinghood 3 Genius of Love 3 Tom Tom Theme* 3 L' elephant 2 As Above, So Below 3 Lorelei 2 On, On, On, On... 4 Booming and Zooming 3 80's. 80's. 80's. Ah, what a decade.
This record could have only been made in 1981. Tom Tom Club were a novelty act. I don't hate this record as much as I thought I would, but I don't like it very much. Songs are long and repetitive. It's fun for a couple of minutes. An entire album is too much. Favorite song: Lorelei.
Has some interesting sounds and melodies. Genius of Love is great. Other songs fall more into the background for me.
What you gonna do when you get out of jail? I'm gonna have some fun What do you consider fun? Fun, natural fun I like this album. BUT its not great - its really only got two good tracks. In general, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth's contributions to The Talking Heads are more memorable/relevant. 3/5
Wow, I didn't know this bad (project) by name, but there are so, SO many tracks I had heard before. Case in point: Genius of Love. And the cover of Under the Boardwalk is utter genius. So while this may not be as iconic as a handful of other albums, I thoroughly enjoyed this. 4/5
Think that I've listened to all of Tom Tom Club once before just because I like the Talking Heads, and I wanted to hear more from Tina Weymouth. Tina is great. This album sounds like the musicians are having fun. It's not that every single track has a playful sound, but the album as a whole feels like the musicians are exploring the sounds that they can combine. Each track has a feeling of a fresh expirement to see what they can do together. "Genius of Love" should probably be listened to because of the track itself, and secondly because of how it's been sampled. "Booming and Zooming" was my least favorite track, and I'll blame that track as the reason I would say that I probably won't do a full re-listen on my own. It was good to hear this album again.
What a fun track. And then the fun is over and the rest of the album has to happen.
very funky and original.
Encore une idiotie francophone générée par ce camion-citerne de connerie qu'est Robert. Tom-Tom se présente en effet devant les platines et sera bientôt rejoint par Nana avec qui il se prendra le choux. Les deux personnages nous offreront alors une énième scène gaguesque dont j'ai toujours autant de mal à comprendre le succès.
Pas convaincu par les directions du GPS Tom Tom Club, qui me forcera à emprunter plusieurs routes au revêtement très discutable. Le système de navigation est clairement à revoir.
- overall 6/10 decent record pretty unqiue pretty trippy and has some solid moments occasionally but not really my type of music -also the fact this is a talking heads side project is cool, easily prefer talking heads stuff tho
I love Genius of Love, one of my favorite songs. Great dance album with interesting tunes and rhythms.
It's all a bit weird and silly and shit.
Genius of love is a pretty decent song, the rest of the album is a little less decent. Overall, that balance out to…. Decent! Cool electronic blend with the reggae sound.
I was excited for this album and was hoping to like it a bit more. The highs were pretty high, but some songs were just boring. Still, I'm glad I finally listened to it, given how iconic it is. I'm content with my time with it, and it's defintely worth a listen for the good stuff on here. My favourite songs were Genius of Love, Lorelei, and Wordy Rappinghood.
Unfortunately I'm not a big fan of this one. The album feels very one note to me and just like art school kids trying to figure out dance music by making a record in that genre. The few exceptions are the standout tracks. Standout Tracks: Genius of Love, L'éléphant
Had never heard of this before, then clicked the wiki to see that it was a side project of half of Talking Heads (plus Adrian Belew who was on Remain in Light). So I was then pretty excited to hear it, and lo and behold, it's a fantastic album. Brings the eccentricity of the last Heads album and bumps up the danceability. Can't help but feel like this was a big influence on Belew as I hear a lot of similarities between this and the King Crimson album Discipline that he would record just months after this one. If you're a Talking Heads fan then this is almost like an extra album from their prime era to enjoy. Will be going back to this one for sure, especially Genius of Love, what a great song.
4.0
nah
I have no fucking idea what I just listened to but I'm here for it.
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.
C'est bien, juste un peu weird par endroit. Le francais fait monter la note un peu mais tout de meme c'est assez generique.. 3.25
Nice synthy poo
8/10. This kept me on my toes, and I liked that after a series of albums that were kinda what I expected after the first song. I don't know that I'd give it such a high rating on a repeat listen, but I did have a good time on this first one.
B-52s vibes but the first couple songs are clearly the best part of the album. 7/10
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!
Tina Weymouth is awesome, she doesn't nearly get enough credit for the sound of the Talking Heads as she should. I've listen to this album multiple times and I want to love it so badly, but I just don't. It's good and times very good but I think it falls short of the potential this band had, you have Adrain Belew on guitar and you would't even know it.
Mostly groovy fun with great bass and keys. I just wish this didn’t end on such a cheesy note with that terrible Under the Boardwalk cover.
I've listened to Genius of Love a lot. The rest of the album was a pleasant surprise. Would listen again. The best of the Talking Heads spin offs?
Surprising how much I enjoyed this album. It's not great, but it's good and I will listen to it again.
This was a shame. Judging by the cover, I was ready for a good time. Any of these songs are pretty fun at 2 and a half minutes. But man, once you cross that threshold, I go drifting off into space. If this album was a tight 20 minutes, it could really be something. But this was too much. Checked out in the middle of the last track.
Lots of sonic hijinks here and a bona fide disco classic in 'Genius of Love'. 'Wordy Rappinghood' suffers from the disadvantage of sucking hard, but there's enough to redeem elsewhere. 'L Elephant' is a hoot. The musicianship throughout is stellar. Adrian Belew is one of the most fun guitar players around.
For whatever reason I was expecting an 80s band with a dude who has a Rick Astley voice of some kind or another, and that's not at all what this is and that made me happy. I liked it. The first half and the second. "Booming and Zooming" was fun and then it turned into some weird air traffic control or CB radio call and somehow I liked it even more. I'm not going 4 stars in case I wake up in the morning with a hangover and rethink my choice, but this is solid 3 for me.
Ok, this is from 1981- let's pretend it won't be new wave. haha. Whaddaya know, it's new wave! Thankfully half of it wasn't available on Spotify. Sadly, half of it was - primary school rap, stupid noises, like a community art theatre project. No hint of any actual talent. 1/5.
Goofy. Can't compare to Talking Heads (though the band was probably going for that). 5/10
It was alright, I liked some songs more than others.
Tagging on the cover underscores Tom Tom Club's proficiently executed novelty. It's fun to bop along to and a deconstruction of genres at angles to Talking Heads. As a full-length album its songs drag to that slightly lively finish.
Very 80's their version of under the broadwalk was a bit of fun
Fun and relaxing. Good to know who sang Genius of Love. Word rap reminded me of Blondie.
Am I missing something here? Tom Tom Club! They were fine in 1981, but completely forgotten about by 1982. Why is this on the list? 1981 – Boomtown Rats 1981 - Bananarama 1981 – Ultravox None of these are on the list even though they had clout and wield influence decades later. And yet Tom Tom Club whose music is candy floss on the tongue (instantly evaporated) and who seem to be lauded only because they’re an offshoot of Talking Heads have earned a place? Wordy Rappinghood and Genius of Love, good songs and great in Clubs but I’m still fairly incredulous. Or maybe angry!
I would like to forget I ever listened to Wordy Rappinghood. The song, genius of love gets all the points. I’m not sure why I was surprised that this album came out in 1981, but I was. L’Elephant was fun.
I'm doing my best not to go to the "what is this album doing on the list?" gripe when I don't like an album, but... It's not even so much that I didn't like it — well, no, that's not true, I didn't like this album. It was dated, but more than that, it seemed like a lark. I didn't hear the substance, the craft was just ok, it doesn't wear well, and that cover of "Under The Boardwalk" was just terrible. So, yeah, what is it about this album that merits inclusion? I can see a nostalgic affection for this if this were your jam in 1980-whatever. But... I was about to go on and on, but no need. Apart from nostalgia, I don't get it.
I liked this OK. It's fun. It's also a little monotonous. It's also nothing special? That Under the Boardwalk Cover is definitely nothing special. I don't know. I feel like a curmudgeon, but I also feel like this doesn't belong on this list. 2.5 but rounding down
While Under the Boardwalk could have been eliminated from this album, I loved every other song. I'm loving 80s music way more now than then.
Pretty much what I expected from a more poppy Talking Heads spin off. Pretty great honestly, Genius of Love is killer and there are definitely a few other songs here that I'll be putting on repeat. I always need more offbeat pop music in my life. Solid 4 with room to grow perhaps.
I didn't know there was Talking Heads spinoff band! And it sounds even more prescient of 2000s indie-pop than TH, what with its heavily electronic inclinations. Fun music and amusing vocals/lyrics? Tick. Repetitive and irritating? Eh, almost. But it stayed on the right side of those things for me. I'd rather focus on the energy and creativity on show.
Funky. Has a few great moments, and a few weaker ones.
The album cover is amazing and I had high hopes for this. The zany approach is laudable but they lack the required craftmanship to make this any more than a curio. Some of he songs went on too long and I found a lot of it rather repetitive and boring.
Alright so it
Shame the momentum of the cracking opening tracks wasn't sustained, but fun nonetheless
Pretty good. I got into this more when I knew it was a Talking Heads spin off. Nice guitars and catchy tunes. Wordy Rappinghood reminds me of the kind of things that teachers do in a school assembly which seem like a good idea at the time.
I can see why it's on the list, backstory is interesting enough. Songs are good enough, and good album length. Didn't excite me, but didn't annoy me either, 50/50 with me.
Fun, a lot of light hearted, familiar sounding songs that don’t take themselves too seriously
It was a decent album. I would categorize it as electronic funk. I was familiar with Genius of Love because of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia.
Genius of Love is a great song. The rest is alright and nothing mind-blowing. It's nice background music.
Better than I expected, but the bar was really low. Best track: Genius of Love
Album 85 of 1001 Tom Tom Club - Tom Tom Club Rating : 3 / 5 Favorite Tracks : Wordy Rappinghood & Genius of Love I had this back in the day and always found it to be a fun listen. That Talking Heads feel is certainly present. One to go back to. I had forgotten all about it.
Disco con ritmos repetitivos, no muy intensos, algunas canciones con más vocal que otras. Algo tiene de música disco. Se escucharía bien en cualquier circunstancia
HL: “Genius of Love” (s tier), “L’elephant”, “On, On, On, On…” Dumb fun album, kind of in-one-ear-out-the-other sometimes but I’ll have to remember this when I need a pick-me-up June 25, 2023
Good
Nice bit of funk but nothing too unique about it, fav track: under the broadwalk
I don't know, man. It didn't suck but I'd never willingly listen to it ever again. It wasn't, by any stretch of the imagination, good on any level. Yet another puzzling inclusion on the list.
I reaalllyyyy didn't enjoy the A side, even with the ever-sampleable Genius of Love. But the B side had me straight boppin, so I guess it balances out?
Kind of good funky stuff. Nothing really shined for me though.
Was me iets te gedateerd
Weet niet helemaal waarom deze bijna 2 uur durende plaat uit heb gezeten. Zo goed was het allemaal niet. Afgezien van een paar nummers die ik ineens bleek te kennen.
Dat was een hele zit. Niet onaardig, maar op een gegeven moment weet ik het wel.
Dit werd op een gegeven moment echt vervelend, terwijl ik het eerst wel verfrissend vond.
Enjoyed this a lot
Really weird, but really great.
This album really snuck up on me. It started out with a goofy ass rap song that was somewhat cringe but I didn’t dislike it and it just grew in quality for me song by song. I was hit with the shock that the iconic genius of love riff came before it’s nasty and after that I was totally won over by tracks like as above so below, Lorelai, and under the boardwalk. The energy, quirkiness, and richness of the production is what makes it good I think. We’re it not for tracks like Tom Tom theme it’d get a 5 Edit: this whole album makes so much more sense knowing that it’s a side project of talking heads members that aren’t David byrne. Completely explains the eccentricity throughout.
Pretty nice new wave funky record, really danceable and quite enjoyable.
ehh 1 popular song
Charming, joyfully odd, irresistibly fun. This is a funky, blippy and percussive musical adventure that invites us all to just embrace our inner weirdos and dance. Lots of little nuances that sound amazing coming through a pair of headphones. The album loses steam on the final few tracks, but it's an absolutely unique and delightful experience. Fave Songs: Genius of Love; Wordy Rappinghood; Lorelei; As Above, So Below; L'éléphant
Wordy Rappinghood and Genius of Love are two of the greatest dance tracks of the 80’s. Genius of Love is probably one of the best song of the 80s period. It still sounds amazing today. Tom Tom Theme just fills in some time before L’Elephant. Which is another great dance track. As above, So Below is decent. Lorelei is catchy with a good beat. On On On On… has a fun beat. Under The Boardwalk….not a fan of this one…l very over covered song. Above average album. 3.5/5
I liked this one. Sure they borrowed from Talking Heads but you can't steal from yourself right? It has a good groove and I really liked the percussion - more specifically - the tom-toms. Who would've guessed that would be their strong suit?
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.
If you add a David Byrne to this fabulous rhythm section, you would get a decentTalking Heads album ... almost. Genius of love is a funky, quirky, world music dance masterpiece, Wordy Rappinghood and the man with the four way hips are also quite good. This album shows just how good Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth were. The album fades a bit near the end, but overall it's a great artifact from this era.
A bizarre, funky, funny, catchy album filled with a French-style disco-esque charm. Really groovy! Also it's cool to see the origin of a sample, with Genius Of Love. Such a summery, catchy beat. Wordy Rappinghood, Genius Of Love and L'Elephant are the standout tracks for me here, and the others aren't quite as good or interesting to me, but this is still a very cool and groovy album that I think I'll look out for, to add to my record collection. Favourite: Wordy Rappinghood
Oh. My. God. This always happens. When you think Latto was original. But then she just took it from Mariah Carey. BUT THEN SHE JUST TOOK IT FROM FUCKING TOM TOM CLUB. 1
Hypnotic beats whose frequent samplings make perfect sense. "Genius of Love" is the hookiest of all, with Lorelei" a bit of a revelation here, largely for having been forgotten. Better than one remembers; it's likably light-hearted and what once took as silly feels a touch more substantive now.
As much as I want to give members of Talking Heads all the stars, I can not. Decent to work to, but kind of repetitive and boring.
Superficial. I couldn’t get anything interesting out of it, not least because every single idea is vamped about 1/5 too long.
Ironic vaporwave before vaporwave. I am sure I would enjoy this while taking foreign substances. What a tough listen and very pretentious. Do they not have another tone for the keyboard and more than 6 keys? Same crap over and over. This is terrible. - The Good Lorelei - The Suck & Skip Wordy Rappinghood Genius of Love L'Elephant As Above, so Below On, on, on, on The rest of the album
Mariah carey fantasy> Tom Tom Club Genius of love
I am very amused but also confused. This sounds like something Ian would listen too. Overall it was fun background music, but I don't think I would play it with anyone around.
2hr and 17 min of torture. I made it through the two most listened to songs and skipped through a couple of hours. Maybe I could have powered through a normal album length, but I'm not going to listen to three albums worth of this noise.
Genius of Love & Lorelei slay, everything else is more hit or mess, but album stays fun throughout. 3.5/5
Fun music but wore on me a bit by the end
Enjoyable but the 2 big brilliant hits come 1-2 then you are left with quite a lot of ramblings which are not very satisfying. Interesting though.
Catchy, funk, new wave, reggae-vibes, elguitar
Simultaneously the best & worst thing I've ever listened to.
Begon funky, maar vond het wat veel van hetzelfde
Nice funky album from the Golden age of Talking Heads/Byrne&Eno/Tom Tom Club. Great rhythms, poppy (1st two songs) or more African beats.
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.
Listened to the LP version. Very noisy album. But at least I can hear something that would be considered new in 1981.
Good album, with songs i recognize after not hearing them since once before!
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.
Beetje eigenzinnige muziek, maar ik vind het wel leuk. Klinkt verder best leuk, melodieus en met een goede zangeres. ***
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’ve tried to like it a number of times, but it all seems to Book of Love-ish to me.
Not convinced I'll like this, but wahtever haha. I listened to Carey's "Fantasy" and liked it a lot better.
A quality album, just always enjoy listening to Knopfler, even some of the more average stuff.
This feels way ahead of 1981 to me, but I still don't particularly like it. I wouldn't have batted an eyelid if it had been from the early 2010s, it's electro/synthy but something about the vocals makes it feel more modern. There's just not enough to it to make it interesting for me, most of the time it lacks energy which this kind of music really needs to work. 2/5, could get a 3 for being so forward-looking but I just don't like it enough.
Just a bit boring. Opening and closing tracks were okay.
Þetta er hressileg plata, skemmtilegur early 80s hljóðheimur og ein dansgólfsbomba.
Mira, no está mal. De hecho, es algo nuevo para mí, como si los 70 y lo más raro de los 80 se juntaran
Reaching 600 albums, I was sure that this was not possible. However, I dislike every song on this album. It's possibly important for music history or some musical movement like the new wave, but it's totally unpleasant.
Eccentric and all over the place, interesting listen but not for me.
Groovy
Say what you will about Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz, they really were firing on all cylinders on this album.
En enkelt catchy sang
Basically this is all the sane people from Talking Heads. Interesting, experimental, fun. Ultimately this is an experiment in rhythms with loose melodies and lyrics tying everything together. I enjoyed it but probably will not revisit this often. Glad to have the opportunity to listen. 3.5 stars. Extra point for real guitar and drums.
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.
Pretty weird, not my cup of tea
An eccentric album. Some of it’s good but some is just annoying
Funky album throughout
Too squeaky and lame.
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.
Sorry Ethan.
Tämä on, ei hyperbolia, kaikkien aikojen paras albumi. Se on viimeinen, jonka Beatles tekivät kaikki yhdessä, ja he melkein repivät toisensa osiin. On kappaleita, joissa Lennon ei esiinny, kappaleita, joissa McCartney ei ole niin näkyvästi esillä kuin aiemmin, ja kappaleita, joissa voit melkein tuntea turhautumisen. Kaikesta huolimatta heidän yhdistämänsä oli uskomatonta ja, kuten aina, suurempi kuin osiensa summa. Here Comes the Sun on George Harrisonin paras teos. I Want You (She's So Heavy) on tyypillinen monimutkainen panos Johnilta. Paul otti "jotain paskaa, jonka John kirjoitti Intiassa" ja kutoi sen yhteen oman materiaalinsa kanssa tehdäkseen mestariteoksen, joka on Abbey Road -yhdistelmä. Ringo...no, Octopus's Garden on aika hyvä, mitä tulee Ringon juttuihin. Hän sai vihdoin soolon, mikä on mukavaa. Albumi on niin täynnä, etten ole edes maininnut useita muita mahtavia: Come Together, Something ja Koska ovat kaikki-aikaisia. Paras kappale: sekauinti pleasure of love
Expected to hate this, but found myself pleasantly surprised by how varied this LP was. Definitely stays within its funky comfort zone for most of the runtime, though the Tom Tom Club manages to make each track feel distinct with its own vibe rather than a rehash of the same melodic/instrumental territory again and again.
New wave, great!
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!
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
Pleasantly surprised. Some good tracks on here, but a special edition album that goes on too long, like most of them do.
I was already very familiar with the opening track "Wordy Rappinghood", but the other tracks were new to me. More of the same: strange, quirky, avant garde - mixed feelings.
Really strange new wave/art pop album with some disco influences that has some catchy moments but was a bit too strange and out there for me. It wasn’t as bad as I thought after the atrocious opening track but a really weird one, especially the vocals.
Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Wordy rappinghood, On on on on, Under the boardwalk
Clearly quirky, and I loved Wordy Rappinghood when I was a kid. The rest is just a big pile of wank
What a joy!
Did not know what this band was about, but recognized "Genius of Love." Did not know that they were a side project from Talking Heads, but it is easy to hear after being pointed out. I don't LOVE their sound but I appreciate their weirdness. Many of the songs are too repetitive and long for me. I could see myself growing to like this band more in time.
"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.
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