Fear Of Music

consistent with their sound

Great album by a great band. Unique mix of punk, dance, funk, as well as rhythmic sounds from all over the world. Layers of subtle instruments. Polyrhythms on top of polyrhythms.

Just weird enough.

I'm a big fan of Talking Heads - they've made some of my favourite tracks and influenced loads of other great artists - but I've yet to find a TH album I loved from start to finish. Having said that, I do like the cut of this one's jib. The commitment to completely bonkers (but possibly profound??) lyrical themes hooked me in, and second time round some pretty infectious tunes revealed themselves too. 3.5, but I suspect that score may rise further in future.

Love some vintage Talking Heads

enjoyed

Not my fave Talking Heads but it’s got Heaven

Good album. Husband loved it.

Some of their best

It's probably the nerviest sounding Talking Heads album which is no mean feat. Half the album is gives, the other half threes...

Talking Heads are always pretty great, sometimes fantastic, but during this era, I find it hard to listen to anything but Stop Making Sense. The album versions of Heaven and Life During Wartime on this one are just not the same!

4.5

Talking Heads are my fine wine band, they get better to me with my age

Great band, great album

I am certain that the titular fear is tongue-in-cheek, but one could easily read it in the monotone of the opening songs. Intention is evasive like that, and divining Byrne's feelings about melody seems annoying and useless. Talking Heads wake up late in the tracklist with a fabulous run of songs. Drugs proves that there's still range there, and suggests that I should revisit the music I initially found boring.

Great album by a great band. This album sounds like a band coming into their own. 4 stars. On a separate note, can we talk about how many Brian Eno-produced albums are on this list? Pretty amazing really. I can’t imagine there’s any individual who has contributed to more albums on this list than Eno.

LP

Honestly, I could never really get into the Talking Heads so this album was pretty average for me

I like the talking heads as much as the next guy but at this rate we’re going to have listened to their entire discography by the time we get done with this list

Funky new wave, and an agree David Byrne. And then it’s got Life during wartime on it. What’s not to like

Such a great band, musical genius. Incredible album to sit and listen to what is going on with each track, harder if you are just taking in if it's background music

Getting to the heights of Remain in Light.

Aðeins ójöfn, og ég er í sjálfu sér enginn aðdáandi raddar Byrnes, en þetta er oftar en ekki töff og skemmtilegt, gæti vel hlustað á oftar.

8/10. Quite good, but how many Talking Heads Albums are on here?

Decently entertaining if a little odd. 7/10

Even as a fan of the Talking Heads, it is hard to beat their work on their live album Stop Making Sense. Most of the music off of this recommendation, Fear of Music, was new to me. I am only certain that I have heard two of the eleven tracks from this album, but the album does sound like the Talking Heads. I liked "I Zimbra" and "Life During Wartime" the most. "I Zimbra" hints at later work by the band and David Byrne's solo career. I was a little disappointed that I didn't find more than one or two tracks that I'm definitely going to listen to again, but overall I could give Fear of Music another listen.

Fav songs: - Memories Can't Wait - Electric Guitar - Paper

Only really knew one song, but enjoyed entire album.

Love this album - the lyrics, the rhythms, the cover...

I've been trying to get into this band for what feels like forever, and I think this is the album that finally opened the door a bit. Each track is distinct 'Heads' material, but the off-kilter guitar tones now match up to Byrne's eclectic delivery and leave every song an earworm. Lots of head-turners in terms of instrumentation, rhythm, and production only complement the sense of artistic weirdness and make this a fun but easily digestible listen.

Ég held mikið með David Byrne og Talking Heads. Asskolli skemmtileg plata!

Yes, this was very David Byrne, some of the tracks I've never heard but I felt like I could have known them for years.

4.5/5 Basically one notch below "Remain in Light"

Amazing highlights. Heaven, life during wartime, cities, mind are really great. Sadly, some other songs sound filler. Great listen though

There were a few songs I liked on this album, but in general, not a fan of the style.

Très sympa ! J'ai toujours du mal avec le fait que la musique des Talking Heads me paraît un peu lugubre (peut-être parce que c'est en mineur) mais l'album est très sympa !

Great!!

"Deep breath, stay calm, try and hide those sweaty palms." At first, I liked Talking Heads. I got into them at around 18, after reading Rip It Up and Start Again. I bought lots of albums because of Simon Reynolds’ writing about them, and the chapter on Talking Heads and Wire was among my favourites. At that age, I still liked the idea of a band as a self-contained unit of guitars, bass, and drums, ideally with one non-musician. This album was my favourite; it seemed a good balance of that tradition and musical experimentation, before they expanded into a funk orchestra with Remain in Light. I had a rough time over the next couple of years. I’d moved from a quiet, rural place to go to university in London, running away from teenage drama with the vague feeling that everything would be better when I got there, and I was completely out of my depth. I’d always sailed through exams and essays with ease, which made things look alright from the outside and taught me to see what intelligence I had as a kind of protection. Suddenly, I felt like I couldn’t even read any more. Things I didn’t immediately understand felt like attacks. At some point during all of that, Talking Heads stopped making sense to me. Their music felt purely intellectual in a way that was beyond me. With the exception of I Zimbra, which I always liked, it felt like something that needed to be decoded. I thought of it as emotionless. I didn’t like feeling that I was missing something obvious. A lot has changed since then, thank god. I’ve come to understand social phobia better. I’m less scared of being thick and better at asking questions. Recently, I listened to Speaking in Tongues and quite enjoyed it. Even so, I had some trepidation about going back to this one. It has the reputation as the one that fans like the most, rather than the one we’re supposed to admire. The Revolver to Remain in Light’s Sgt. Pepper, perhaps. Then it hit me: melophobia, the fear of music. Some of the symptoms are common to other forms of anxiety, including elevated heart rate, panic attack, breathlessness, an urge to flee, anger or loss of control, and the inability to speak or think clearly. Maybe that last one is why it took me 15 years to pay attention to the title. It’s not cold and emotionless at all, it’s music of fear. The scene is set with Hugo Ball's sound poetry, a form that erupted during the cataclysm of "world war without end...revolution without beginning." It appears as form without content, but the disrupted content exposes the futility and arbitrariness of form alone. The Dada manifesto, in translation, calls Dada "the word soul," the definitive essence of communication without borders in a time of unstoppable turmoil. It can't give you answers. There is no sense, only sensation. This sets up an album that's not funk as dance music, but as a mind itching for a definite answer where there isn’t one; David Byrne freaking out in a freezing bedsit with the radio on and the news on the tv. The relentless rhythms and warped, psychedelic guitar tones put me in the cortisol-zapped mind of the vocalist as he races through every trigger and hopelessly cycles through every available coping mechanism. At first glance, Electric Guitar seemed like an outlier to me, as it essentially retells the concept of Rush's 2112, in which an authoritarian regime has banned rock. It seems far-fetched from a comfortable western perspective. It might seem more immediate to a paranoid, panic-stricken mind, or indeed to anyone who had to etch pop songs onto old x-rays to share them. To put it in an historical context, the album was composed during the Iranian revolution; the band went into the studio to record it about 2 months after the Ayatollah took control in Tehran. I appreciate Fear of Music a lot more now I'm not too close to take it in. It's a tense record, but that's kind of the point, and I find it less claustrophobic than I used to. I’m really not going to make it through The Young Gods, though, am I? P.S. because I just noticed this and can't resist putting it in: the Dada Manifesto says that "In German it means 'good-bye,' 'Get off my back,' 'Be seeing you sometime." I wonder if Patrick McGoohan was a fan.

This isn't my favorite Talking Heads album, but it still slaps

I like it. It's an experimental album with african beats

Another of these records where the hit is misleading about overall texture, which is interesting throughout and occasionally weird, though it scans as much less weird today than 40+ years ago. It's a whole album, a unit of measurement that isn't much used anymore. I still think of it all as a peace with the other three early albums. Whole lotta Eno, too, works for me. Zimbra, Air, Heaven, Drugs are the personal faves.

I run hot and cold with Talking Heads. Love some songs, find others really grating. This one's got more good to it than grating. Glad for that.

I’ve always liked The Talking Heads, although I have never heard this album. Glad that has been addressed, because this is a great album. It is really fun to listen to with its interesting rhythms, quirky lyrics and fun musical touches. But underlying all that is a lot of fear in “Fear of Music.” There’s a palpable desperation as the album grapples with the challenges of modern life. I was familiar with the song “Life During Wartime.” The problems it explores have not been addressed. The singer of “Cities” struggles to find a place to in the world that the pandemic has made a top-of-mind issue for many. Our increasingly polarized societal splits makes “Mind” something that could have been written today. Climate change could make “Air” its anthem. “Fear of Music” does not feel like an artifact from 1979. Am I reassured that despite this being true 41 years ago we are still here or frightened that this is so relevant after 41 years? Timeless. Fun. Disconcerting. Great!

Best album I've listened to by far

Some great tracks on this. Instrumentation is fantastic. Basslines pop out and synth is everyewhere. Rhythmically complex and interesting, and probably only let down by David Byrne's voice. Heaven is a killer tune.

this was a very good album. I enjoyed listening to it. got a lot of modest mouse vibes with david byrne's singing so, that's probably where isaac brock, uh, got that idea, but it's working. Instrumentally some of the songs I was really into and some of them I could leave it. Mind was particularly catchy and i'm not sure i'd heard it before.

Mind resonated for me the most

I Zimbra is probably one of the best songs I've ever heard in my entire life.

kinda hard to rate as a whole but heaven is low-key really good

Off the wall.

It was solid, just not my fav Talking Heads album

LIfe During Wartime Heaven Good classic Talking Heads

Fun listen. Will definitely go back to.

I love Talking Heads, but haven't listened to these songs much before now. I'm sure that'll change.

Nice, relaxed

Legendary album full of experimental grooves. Not my favorite talking heads album though, misses the mark for 5 stars despite having lots of awesome songs because some parts of this album can be abrasive and borderline annoying at times. It’s a unique piece of art but not the most enjoyable talking heads album to listen to

Liked this one a lot some songs got a bit repetitive though

Really enjoying this one. Not sure how I hadn't listened to this entire album in the past. Definitely starts stronger than it ends. 4/5

HECCIN GROOVYYYYY delay experimentation for the 70s. can see where the fall etc got some vocals, also maybe black midi lol this is quite brilliant and i will listen to it more

Funky. The bass lines are sick

Very solid.

4 star pre-credit. i really will try talking heads at some point

Another one that I’m more of a fan of on paper than reality. Some interesting hybrids of DIY disco and electro but did grab my attention as much as I was hoping.

Never listened to this entire album before. Pretty good , and I think these guys are still influential today. 3.5 and rounding up due to “Life during Wartime”.

Fun energetic album overall. Pretty abstract in some places

A lot better than I thought I’d be

This is already one of my favorite albums ever, I have this on vinyl and will be listening to it later today. UPDATE: This is such an incredible album. Weirdly dark in places, lots of different influences mixed in.

Easy to listen to. I love the songwriting.

I like to think of this album as the dark horse candidate of the Talking Heads discography. It’s where they really started to get inventive with their music and also fleshing out their new Afro-Beat style which would take them to great heights

Late breaking news: Talking Heads are awesome! I've always been aware of them, and some songs that were great, but had no idea what was lurking on their albums was better than any of the singles released. All interesting tracks, none sound remotely like they're over 40. I'm very late to this party, but I'm really enjoying Talking Heads.

Great songs here, will need a few listens but guaranteed 4 star album.

Best oké album

I always have a great experience with Talking Heads, you never know what you’ll get, but you’ll get a new twist to their signature sound. Eno really comes out in this one too.

Great stuff - driving baselines, funky but not overbearing guitars, and David Byrne doing his vocal thing. I hadn't heard most of these, and will dive deeper into their catalog.

Czyzby talking heads wysunelo sie na prowadzenie w rankingu najwiekszej liczby pickowej na liscie, bo jest to juz trzeci album ktory slucham w ramach codziennej listy, jednoczesnie jest to trzecia pozycja w dyskografii bandy, a druga z bohaterem wczorajszego picka panem Brianem Eno, ktory wyprodukowal lwia czesc dyskografii headsow, fear of music jest dziwnym albumem, bo nie obrodzil w zadne hity wedlug countow na spotifaju czy lasfmie, nie jest on nawet w top 4 najpopularniejszych plyt zespolu, a jednak jest on ciekawym punktem w transformacji pomiedzy 77 a remain in light, eksperymentowanie z cudami elektroniki, ktore swoja osoba wprowadzil pan eno, ktory jest oczywiscie odpowiedzialny na klikanie synthow na plycie, jak prawie zawsze zreszta na albumach ktore produkuje, ale nie na tym koczy sie jego influencja, bo jestem przekonany, ze wokalny styl Davida Byrne rowniez moze byc zasluga pana Eno, bo slychac w nim wiele podobienstw do stylu wczorajszego roxy music, a wydania dzieli blisko 7 lat, taki pastiszowy styl stal sie wrecz wizytowka headsow polaczony z diskowymi rytmami, a raczej ich inkorporacja w typowe rokowe brzmienie, taki wlasnie byl pomysl na nowa fale w wydaniu gadajacych glow, ale jak dla mnie headsy to rowniez kontent liryczny, bo byrne nie zawodzi swoimi tekstami, ktore zazwyczaj poruszaja na pozor trywialne watki, ale swoja postacia potrafi stworzyc dramat oparty na tak niewielkich rzeczach jak papier, miasta, zwierzeta czy niebo, to niektore z tytulow kawalkow tej plyty, bo sam tytul, fear of music, mozna interpretowac jako fear of wstaw nazwe songa i robi to sens, bo z paranoicznych tekstow jest przecez pan byrne znany, ale jest i trak ktory odejdzie od tej koncepcji i bedzie blizej czemus co nazwalbym blue printem pod remain in light, jest to otwierajacy I zimbra, ktory sklada sie z giberyszowych lirykow bedacych adaptajca poematu w stylu dadaizu, wiec giberisz najprosciej, dosc orginalne, wrecz przegiete afrykanskie brzmienie oparte na gitarkach fripowych i drumersach frantza i na eksperymentach enowych, jako fangej headsow ciezko mi ocenic pomiedzy soba te trzy picki, wiec standardowe 4 gwiazdki, a na plejaka rzuce minda, aira i life durning wartime, ktory jest jak dla mnie najlepsza mini historyjka tej plyty, bo jak inaczej nazwac opowiesc o urbanskim guerrilli co zyje o masle orzechowym

Sounds as fresh as it did the day it came out. Perfect vibes for a sunny Friday.

An album I should listen to more often. (7/10) Favorite Tracks: Life During Wartime, Heaven

Weird and wonderful. Pretty hooked the entire time, will listen again and explore more Talking Heads for sure.

Fantastic

Really nice for chilling etc

Groovy, jazzy

I've heard this one before, but I've always loved talking heads. Remain at light is still my favorite, but this one goes hard too.

Talking Heads is about as "weird" as my music taste gets. Listened to their greatest hits album growing up, so I know those songs well. Excited to get to know more of their catalogue.

Prefer this to the other Talking Heads album we've heard, it's a different style and I enjoyed it way more

The only Talking Heads song I had heard before this was Psycho Killer. I wish I could give it 3.5 stars. It’s good, not good enough to be a 4, but I also can’t give it a 3.

Niiice. I've listened to their first two albums and Remain in Light quite a lot, but never paid as much attention to this one in the middle. It's great. Imagine having strange enough ear to take all the sinister, menacing energy of post-punk, and filter it into weird surreal funk stuff. There are some "straight" rock moment and a ballad, but none of it is really played straight. It's like a group of weirdo aliens trying to make their idea of normie human music and failing beautifully. Not the best Talking Heads album imho, but I guess it shouldn't be punished for sitting amongst greatness.

This album doesn't have any of my best-remembered Talking Heads songs. Still pretty good.

Very fun and dancy, just a good time. Pretty ahead of it's time too.

Late breaking news: Talking Heads are awesome! I've always been aware of them, and some songs that were great, but had no idea what was lurking on their albums was better than any of the singles released. All interesting tracks, none sound remotely like they're over 40. I'm very late to this party, but I'm really enjoying Talking Heads.

Intresting album. It didn't sound like a music recorded in 70's. It's not the best funk that I heard of but I will back sometimes to this album.

yep, talking heads is still good

Tof album! Echt van genoten.

not my cup of tea. songs felt very repetitive.

Buenos ritmitos, no se escucha 70s ni 80s en realidad, así que supongo que sí eran másonemos únicos y detergentes. De repente dan crack adict energy. Me gustó sobre todo Memories Can´t Wait con sus toques algo oníricos, pero igual conservando algo de momento de las canciones más rápidas que le anteceden, sobre todo esa guitarra en el min 1:13 muy simple, pero satisfactoria. Animals también chida: medio dark. Mood: Cocainomanos.

Talking heads are cool

Feels very "definition of New Wave"

Weird vibe, but totally worth listening to it

starts off with a bang with the nonsense dadaist lyrics of I Zimbra... Gadji beri bimba clandridi Lauli lonni cadori gadjam A bim beri glassala glandride E glassala tuffm I zimbra. Like, how does Byrne come up with this brilliant shit? Life during Wartime is also one of their best singles with a funky jerky African rhythm. I like how their sound is evolving with the Eno collaboration also. This is a great album, but not their best, I would rank Remain in Light, 77 ahead of this, so it gets a sold 4 from me.

Great stuff. Be sure to watch the Byrne movie American Utopia. Fabulous.

Quizá me hice más expectativas de este disco, que sí me gustó, pero no tanto como quería (?). Igual, de repente tiene sonidos muy padres y suena a varias emociones. No pienso que tenga skips, pero no sé si regrese igual a este álbum como a Remain in Light. Mis favs: "Mind", "Life During Wartime", "Animals" y ese final del lanzamiento original, "Drugs", muy top. 8/10

very cool

I actually liked this one better than the other Talking Heads album

I hadn't dug into this one yet, so I'm glad for this opportunity. At first listen, I think "Paper" is my favorite track, but I can see "Heaven" taking over next time.

The more you pay attention to the lyrics the better it gets. Probs 4.5.

YEAH BOI

Ahora entiendo porque muchos de mis grupos favoritos los cuentan entre sus influencias.

had never listened to this one before despite loving talking heads

I love Talking Heads. David shouts in the corner of a room - the album(makes it very echo sounding). Every song before 'Cities' seems to lead up to that particular sound, it's almost eclectic before 'Cities' brings it together. 'Life During Wartime' is probably the most recognisable song from this album, which seems to sooth down the rest of the chaos from earlier with a nice jazz note and David's softer tones, though later he may express more exasperatedly it's still quite literally the middle of the album where it's finding itself. I recognise with 'Memories Can't Wait' this is Talking Heads in their 2 years after their debut, with a lot of drug taking. David saying there's a party in his mind and he never wants it to stop and then later the last song of the album 'Drugs', you can begin to see why the music arrangement in some areas is eclectic and less thought through. ' Air' sounds like a pre-cursor to something by The Pixies, but clearly there's an indication that David's on an LSD trip. Overall I think this is Talking Heads finding their feet, legs, torso and arms. In their infancy, greatness yet to come

Loved it. New TH for me

I'm going to ignore the song Animals. The rest is the right amount of adventurous and fun. Funky and experimental, and just cool.

Art punk made with professionalism but balanced with campy subject matters and surrealist lyrics. Too dumb to take it seriously, but that's how you get to make weird/great stuff.

Solid album. Definitely hear why we often discuss TH as a reference point for our music. The end of "Mind" made me think of Open Door Policy. The repetition and winky-ness of the songs is very RCE. Not sure I had listened to this album before. Most familiar with "Heaven." Liked it even more upon second listen. They're like demented party jams.

Didn't make much of an impression on me this time around. But it is a precursor to the amazing Remain in Light, and has a lot of interesting sounds on it. It also has one of my favourite Talking Heads songs on it - Heaven, which is still hauntingly beautiful.

If I wasn't but a child in the 80's, I'd like to think I would've been a Talking heads superfan. Just great music.

Pretty good, but the live is a better compilation of the best songs

Bonkers in all the right ways

Solid Tracks! Good Bass rythms

Very great (Talking Heads very much my thing, going back to the very early days), though I think not quite at the full cohesion of the sound or themes yet at this point. Still one of my favorite albums.

Talking Heads is a band I have not dived into much, although I know they are a big influence on a bunch of bands I like (Radiohead especially, considering they took their name from a Talking Heads track). I am not a huge fan of the singer's voice when it's straight, but after a few listens its acceptable to me now. Some crazy instrumentals and interesting progressions. I can appreciate some of the experimental/different instrumentation/tempo/key changes. For 1979 it's quite forward thinking. I can definitely see the influence it had on Radiohead. Part of the vocal stylings/delivery do remind me of RCE (Cities, Life During Wartime). I can see parallels with Jon's vocal delivery here. If I loved the vocals more it could be a 5. At first I thought I wouldn't listen again but I did it twice. With RCE there is a joke aspect that is fun, but here it's just commentary that is purely negative. I am listening to this one twice though, as it was a lot for just one listen. RCE could definitely cover one of these songs and it would be "on brand". Fav Tracks: Life During Wartime, Memories Can't Wait

It’s talking heads. It’s good

Always liked talking heads. Weird at times but a great sound

Really feel like this should be a 3.5 but gonna round up

Funky bass

Classic talking heads. Great

Enjoyed :)

What I expect from Talking Heads pretty much. Solid.

Will start this on 8th Jan, listened to Nowhere by Ride on 7th Jan

Not really my thing but I can see what people like about it

great music, the tracks kinda all sound the same to me. nevertheless amazing to listen to during a long drive

It's alright.

Buen album

skulle inte lyssna på själv men ok

It was fine

Not my favorite Talking Heads record, but strong singles including Life During Wartime and I Zimbra. Makes me want to watch Stop Making Sense again.

Talking heads, such an iconic sound. I really appreciate some Byrne from time to time, but this album as a whole is a little too much for me.

15 songs I don't even know what to think of this album. It wasn't bad, but gun to my head I wouldn't be able to hum a single song after an hour had passed. So, because of that, I cannot rate it any higher than a 3.

gosssto disso

i'd never listened talking heads before except psycho killer. i didn't get bored or tired listening to this album and it was not bad but i guess i won't consider listening to it again. i saved only one song, heaven, it was not great but okay.

гаварящи бошке прикольно

Torn on this one but I think I needed more so it’s gonna stay as a 3. Super interesting though.

Another Talking Heads album. Another up and down experience.

Fear of reviewing this album. Talking Heads are one of my top favorite bands ever, but his album isn't. I understand it was groundbreaking at the time to incorporate Brian Eno behind the boards and made it much more moodier and filled all the spaces with ambient sounds which sound great in principle, but at the same time, they had assembled the greatest live lineup of their band ever with Andrew Below, Steve Scales and Bernie Worrell, and the explosive dynamism of their live shoes is bogged down by the ambient soundscapes they're trying to keep the album within. I Zimbra is one of my favorite songs ever, Life During Wartime is one of their best live songs, and Cities is such a great song, but the album version is so muted and incomplete. The rest of the songs are mostly memorable like Mind, Air, Memories and Heaven, but it doesn't really buyou the album to the heights of the rest of their early discography.

Classic Talking Heads tones. Hasn’t aged real well, but it’s a fun listen. 3.3/5.0

David Byrne is such a weirdo. I love this guy.

I just don't get Talking Heads. For me this music defines the idea of "it's there I guess".

I think this could probably be 4 stars for me with more listens.

Yeah these guys are good.

I liked this but it wads kind of unremarkable to me

Random encounter with Brian Eno!

Life During Waring is an epic song that never ages. The rest are good - some are too mellow or too similar.

It was alright, it has highs and lows. Overall pretty mid. Favorite track(s) Heaven

agitated, and propulsive

First listen

No es un género que escuche usualmente, pero me sorprendió, un rock mas suave y ochentoso, siendo accesible para aquellos que no estan tan involucrados en el género. Definitivamente un album que no hubiese escuchado por mi cuenta pero ahora lo volveria a escuchar varias veces sin duda. Sorprendida

This didn't land like other Talking Heads releases. It's good though, maybe good enough for a revisit. Heard before ❌️ Listened this time ✅️ Revisit 🫳 ★★★☆☆ (6/10) Total reviewed : 338 Already owned : 76 Purchased : 16 To buy : 3 Nope : 243

Talking Heads is a band I’ve never loved. This album was okay. Standard “some tracks are better than others” and overall while I didn’t have any issues with it I also wasn’t enamored with anything I was hearing.

Dober

I like the talking heads, but not this album

It's alright but I've never been super into the talking heads outside of their hits

Talking Heads is one of the ultimate acquired tastes I need to develop. Like Steely Dan, I figure "if you listen, it will come" so just keep putting them on. I've seen David Byrne live but wish I'd seen them to get the full effect!

Não conhecia nenhuma música do álbum, mas até é interessante

This isn't their best album there are a couple of standout numbers. Always liked some of their songs but not their albums.

cover reminds me of the gym, music is more art than really listenable music

A pretty fun time. I didn't like everything here, especially the more zaney tracks, but it was produced in a really satisfying way with good soundstage and diversity among all the songs so I'll be coming back to a few of these for sure.

Perfectly fine in every way

im not really into them tbh

Mid

Quirky. Sometimes quite good, sometimes not so good. Vocals are just odd and a bit off-putting but the music is quite catchy on some tracks. Favourite songs are Cities and Life During Wartime. 2.5/5.

3/5

Pretty good

It's fun, it's weird, it's David Byrne, what more can I ask for out of a Talking Heads album? It's not my favourite and not something I'm likely to come back to but I had fun listening to it.

Too much art, not enough rock. I’m fine with Byrne and Eno making music mostly to entertain themselves but this is just not particularly successful as a piece of popular culture.

And you may ask yourself- who wrote this song. It was the Talking Heads. There were quite a few catchy parts, but very little caught my attention.

Nunca me gustó este grupo

One of the weaker Talking Heads albums in my opinion. Has a some good songs, but the music doesn't carry the same punch as, say, Remain in Light... Which queued up after this album and the vibe was so noticeably different.

Creo que ya escuche un disco de esta banda en este proceso. Sigue sin aparecer su canción que conozco. Es un rockcito tranka y medio psicodelico. Me gusta, no es la gran cosa 7/10.

I like the talking heads but i’m never really like “man i wanna listen to the talking heads”. i know that might be controversial but it’s true. in my mind their music is like good playlist filler.

As always, this quirky punk rock leaves me a little cold

This was pretty good

Du rock

Je connais déjà le groupe, c’est chouette mais faut reconnaître que l’album est assez calme

- Has some groovy beats - Cluttered instrumentals, but crispy - I like the piano in Heaven - Obviously hearing some similarities to Discipline by King Crimson, but this doesn't hit as hard as that one for some reason

Agree with Pat, feeling a little disillusioned and Frank’s points about this distance between the artist and audience is hard to shake. This one was very ENO, great sounds and grooves but a bit empty. Sort of unrelated, last weekend I was in New Orleans for Jazzfest and saw a LOT of live music. Many acts that were fine but saw Tedeschi Trucks for the first time and it blew my mind. Live acts either connect with you or they don’t, and when it hits and you’re locked in it’s so good. I think where I’m going is I’ll be eagerly looking for those shows and albums that I connect with and maybe spending less time with the ones that don’t. Feels obvious, but I do think I spend a fair amount of time trying to connect when it’s not there.

I expected to be more of a talking heads guys than I’ve turned out to be. Life is full of little disappointments

Ok, 6/10.

I do like it, don't get me wrong. The grooves that are present are great, the production is awesome, makes everything sound tight. But I've been spoiled by Stop Making Sense. Talking Heads are at their best when they are jamming on a strong groove, and even the best songs here don't get the chance to do that for long enough. I love the song Life During Wartime. But I love the Stop Making Sense version ten times more. Same goes for the song Heaven, unfortunately, I love how it's really able to soar in the live version! I forgot how much I liked the song Memories Can't Wait. That one kicked ass. Talking Heads have always been in my orbit, but I've never really fallen for them completely. No individual album has enough strength to win me over. But I'm sure I'll get there eventually.

Je ne sais plus si j'ai déjà essayé d'écouter du Talking Heads. Je crois que oui, mais ça ne m'a pas laissé un souvenir indélébile, si c'est le cas. Je suppose que leur genre musical ne me parle pas (et oui, encore un album comme ça, on les collectionne !). C'est vrai que pour l'époque, cela dit, Fear of Music devait être franchement novateur et osé. J'aurais du mal à décrire cet album, faute de référence proche dans ma culture musicale. Je suppose qu'il y a des influences assez post-punk, mais en même temps, ça n'a rien à voir avec du Joy Division, qui a le mérite d'offrir une ambiance plombée qui te prend un peu aux tripes. C'est aussi un peu de la new wave ? Franchement, j'en sais rien, j'ai juste compris qu'il était important dans son genre. Je me rends sûrement pas compte parce que c'est pas mon genre de prédilection, mais en même temps, je vais pas me plonger pendant des jours dans des albums de new wave et de post-punk dont je me fiche éperdument pour saisir le génie de Talking Heads. C'est le défaut d'écouter les albums de la liste sans le livre ou sans explications externes. Les spécialistes du genre en parleront bien mieux que moi. Je sais qu'il est très populaire et que beaucoup de gens l'adorent, mais ça ne sera pas mon cas.

Started strong and then collapsed a bit. I'm not a huge fan of Talking Heads in general but there were some bright spots and some terrible/corny songs. Still a decent album overall

Just okay

Not bad. 3/5. Some good, ageless music here. Some less so.

Quite enjoyable, fairly easy listening. Not particularly memorable though. Wouldn't change the station, but wouldn't buy a ticket

This was pretty good, especially Paper and Heaven. Unfortunately this day kinda sucked because my favorite person at work quit and the vibes were awful. So maybe another day this would’ve been a 4. That’s life.

hmmm.. not for me but you gotta appreciate david byrne for doing his thing

Not the music I knew from Talking Heads, but an interesting sound. Not my favourite but I can see why people like it.

This kinda music must be heard in England

I have had a tough relationship with the Talking Heads. I never really got into them and even their big hits sat quietly with me. Not sure why. I don't hate on them or the genre, a sort of pop rock 70's to 80's sort of thing, it is simply that every time I hear them I am like "meh." Funny how musical tastes work.

pretty cool but not my taste i guess

Based on a single listen it went as interesting as I expected it to be. Maybe a drier listen would reveal more but I’ve heard better from Taking Heads, sadly. 3

Meh. Wanted to like it more but aside from a couple of songs it all sounds the same.

A couple of songs on this record were Talking Heads at their best - Life During Wartime was a highlight. A lot of filler, though, every song melded into one. Not bad but not great.

Had two talking heads albums and have to say I’ve been a bit underwhelmed considering their standing within the music community. Some great moments as I saw with ‘77 but a fair few forgettable tracks too. Maybe I need to wait to get Remain in Light

One of the weaker Talking Heads albums in my opinion. Has a some good songs, but the music doesn't carry the same punch as, say, Remain in Light... Which queued up after this album and the vibe was so noticeably different

Generally good music. I like the Talking Heads (am actually thinking about going to see Jerry Harrison play with the Violent Femmes in a month or two), but this album isn't my favorite. A SOLID 3.5, but not quite a 4.

3.5 stars Talking Heads can be brilliant. This album has moments of brilliance. The production is great. I particularly appreciate it because I first would listen to the album from illegally downloaded mp3s on my iPod that were terrible quality and broken files. It took me a long time to know that “Memories Can’t Wait” actually did cut out, because other tracks would do similar things because of bad files. But listening to the album now I can really appreciate how great the instrumentation is on this record. But as can happen on a lot of their records, it just kind of fizzles out. The last few songs have never been interesting to me. I had the same experience this time around. Half of a brilliant album is still half a not so brilliant album. The great moments are there but they don’t hold the whole album.

Very much enjoy this group. Dig the album, but not my fave. Love OG *Cities,* but that song is forever in a ph context in my brain first. This DB fella tho, fkn brilliant. 3.49 stars.

I get what they were going for on some of these songs but it doesn't always Sound Good™

Didn’t properly listen but what I heard was decent. Always groovy and different with David so appreciated that on this album wouldn’t say it’s their best tho.

I’m not going to lie I do enjoy the talking heads but I also thought my speaker had broken multiple times during this album… nope, it’s just like that

Okay. Not sure I like the lead's singing style but the music is fine.

Three Talking Heads albums in, I’ve come to accept that I will never understand the appeal of David Byrne, and that’s fine. To each his own. I do think the rest of the band sounds great.

Хороший альбом, но понравился меньше, чем предыдущий альбом Talking Heads.

Britpop from the eighties

Definitely an interesting album, i enjoyed the listen and the music was pretty funky but i dont think i will revisit any of the songs. didnt dislike or overly love the album.💿

Not blown away by this one but it was still enjoyable. Didn’t love any of the songs but overall I liked the album more than I didn’t.

I like talking heads but not their best work in my opinion

Αυτό το αλμπουμ είχε ιδιαίτερη προσωπικότητα. Παντού υπήρχε το στοιχείο της funk με τον δικό τους τρόπο. Η φωνή του τραγουδηστή όπως και στο Unknown Pleasures ένιωθα δεν τραγουδούσε αλλά κάπως μιλούσε απο πάνω Zimbra

This was better than the last talking heads album, but still not amazing.

Enjoyed this album more than the previous Talking Heads one

What an inconsequential album. No hit songs, nothing interesting or noteworthy, just pretty generic early new wave stuff. I would love to give this a 2.5 because it's perfectly average, inoffensive music, but this rating system is not the greatest, so I'll bump it up to a low 3/5.

Måske har jeg hørt for meget talking heads of er ikke klar til en renaissance endnu. Jeg kan høre alt det jeg kan lide ved talking heads, men det rammer ikke helt for mig. En stærk treer og det har jeg ikke noget imod ift tidligere ratings, UD OVER der er lige han Elton jeg gav fire...

Liked it but not my favorite

Interessantes Album, ich muss es noch einmal vernünftig ich tun mich ein bisschen schwierig damit dem Album zuzuhören

I was looking forward to this one. It was alright. A bit surprised that I didn't get into it more.

Erstes Lied meh, danach cool!

Characters alone I zimbra Life during wartime

Favorite songs: Mind, Paper, Life During Wartime, Heaven

What's not to like about Talking Heads, I've always liked them, loved Stop Making Sense, but never delved into the back catalogue in any meaningful way. I suspect there will be better albums on the list by Talking Heads, but this was a good listen. They never let up. They are confident in their sound and they take influence without leeching into appropriation.

A bit too experimental for me. Love the band but this isn't my favorite album

Its not bad

Saved? ✅ Would listen again? ✅ Would recommend to anyone? ✅ Would buy on Vinyl? ✅

I’ll be honest, I really just don’t think talking heads are for me. I liked stop making sense, but I’ve heard two of their studio albums now and both of them just feel weird. Like they undoubtedly have their strong moments, but I just don’t like them. I don’t really like David Byrne, I don’t really like their instrumentation. It’s just not my thing, but the bright spots are pretty bright. Favorites: Mind, Heaven, Drugs

On brand for Talking Heads. A number of solid songs that enjoyed a lot of airplay back in the day. It’s an enjoyable album and I’m sure was novel in 1979 but not really something I’d go searching for on the regular. PS yay me for reaching album #300. 3/5

No es de mis favoritos, tendría que escucharlo durante algún tiempo

-freaky - I enjoyed but I don’t know if it’s my favorite album of theirs - fun sounds and vocals - would probably listen again

Fun and quirky, etc. Highlights: "Paper", "Memories Can't Wait"

Not bad, sort of lost me in the second half of the album.

Good songs and good riffs but nothing got me super excited.

Some good bops. Byrnes voice is still weird. ⭐⭐⭐

Pretty good Talking Heads album, not their best, but pretty good. Hopefully "Speaking in Tongues" comes up later because that album is undisputably their best produced and musically intriguing album. This album is good, but definitely doesn't showcase what Talking Heads is all about. It's a solid 7/10 and would've been higher if they didn't keep producing banger after banger. Just knowing what's to come drops this score a little. Musically, it's so unique. Only Talking Heads sounds like Talking Heads. No imitation band or cover can even come close to the swagger and pure passion that comes from this band. Stand-out songs on this album are "Life During Wartime", "I Zimbra", and "Heaven". Every song has that Talking Heads sound, but those three are a preview of what this band is known for.

yo entiendo que es un discazo, pero escucharlo de pe a pa no me entretiene tanto como debería. Para mi lo mejor de Talking Heads viene justo después

The only track I was familiar with before listening to this was ‘Life During Wartime’, which is a good one, but most of the rest of the album is not up to this high standard. I found it hard to get into it, with David Byrne doing his usual weird vocal stylings, but somehow less engaging than in most other Talking Heads recordings that I know. There is plenty going on here, but I’m just not sure I’d be rushing back in a hurry to listen to it, especially when there are other Talking Heads albums that do it a lot better

70’s New Wave ⭐️Air

Callie approved.

Good! I Zimbra goes hard and the rest of the album is pretty good too

album #15 weird and wacky! i can't hate on this album, even though there were moments that fell flat for me. i've never listened to this talking heads album, and i do have to say the basslines throughout are sooo scrumptious to listen to. that being said, sometimes david byrne's vibe is just not for me. i do have to rate animals having the line "shit on the ground!", though. it's more a 2.5 for me, but have rounded up :--) favourite track(s): heaven, animals least favourite track(s): drugs, air number of albums left to review: 1,074 number of albums from the list that i agree with being on the list: 7 albums from the list that I would consider on my list: 3 albums from the list I won't include on my list: 12

They still needed some work at this point, but are well on their way to greatness.

Not their strongest effort.

I enjoy the unique sound of Talking Heads, but is it really unique if all of their songs sound the same? The only memorable part of this album was the rhythm of Cities

They are ok

Fun, clever. Talking Heads is a band where something always happens.

it was kinda boring to ME. maybe a must listen but not their best stuff

Inte riktigt min grej

Really sick stuff but I seem to either love or hate Talking Heads music. Here I found some middle ground and did like a good amount of songs for what they are trying to be. Most of it is effective and the musicality is by far the standout character throughout. Decent storytelling but it overall feels a bit jumbled as an album probably due to the nature of the individual songs. While there is the similar sound throughout, it still is a bit not fully conceived.

3.3 plenty are bops some are kinda not it but not bad

J’aime bien, mais je suis un peu déçue 3,5!

me gustó el instrumental

Joah 👍 kann

Some very good and fun songs but some of the other songs completely missed the mark for me, or (like Animals) had bits I really liked and bits I could do without. And the last few songs really ended the album poorly. Overall fine but I know enough Talking Heads songs to imagine they could make a truly great album. Favourite song: Cities Least: Drugs

I want to like them, but I don't. I feel like less of a person because of it.

My least favorite Talking Heads album, although I haven’t heard anything after Speaking In Tongues. Still good, I love Paper, Memories Can’t Wait, Heaven, Drugs, and I wish Dancing for Money got fully produced.

good but def not their best

This album was fun and weird. I enjoyed most of the songs and the quirkiness associated with them, but a few of them it was too much. The choices in instrumental were interesting and sounded great and really complemented the weirder vocals on this album. Their were some songs I just couldn't get into because the weird vocals mixed with some of the cringey lyrics really made it hard to take it serious.

Si, tienen un sonido muy característico. Pero no me importa, porque es muy bueno. Igualmente, no creo que sea su mejor album.

It's a solid album. But I'm not a huge Talking Heads fan. Their songs usually have a very consistent "style" that I have to be in the mood for and I find that hard to maintain throughout an entire album in a single sitting. But this one has some of my fave tracks by them such as Life During Wartime, Memories Can't Wait, and Heaven. I enjoyed it, but it's unlikely I'll listen to it as a single unit again. But I will probably go back to those tracks I've always liked.

Fear of music is pretty good. I liked "I zimbra", "mind", "air", "heaven", and "drugs". It has a cool sound that I don't really think of when I think of the talking heads. They have a lot of different sounds under their belt, which is cool. Their albums are very different from eachother I feel like. I mean I guess a lot of artists are like that as their music tastes or styles evolve, but in my mind theirs is very different. I dunno I guess I haven't listened to a FULL album of theirs, but I know a lot of songs on their other albums. Also, "heaven" sounds like David Bowie.

It's a repeated statement at this point, but I don't see the justification for so many artists having multiple albums on this list... let alone FOUR, as is the case for Talking Heads. And this is coming from a Talking Heads fan.

Once again, this album gives Sing Street vibes. Easy rock, but fun and nice to listen to. 3/5

Lacks the killer tunes of some of their others, but an average Talking Heads record is nevertheless a great record

Ok. Talking heads are cool. Moving on

Liked it better than I expected to.

Surprised how much I enjoyed this album, especially I Zimbra and Air. Animals was hilarious too. For such a depressing theme, the lyrics are funny.

It was alright.

You have to appreciate the leap from the previous album, and how comparatively weird it is, but a lot of this one just doesn't grab me as hard as other TH stuff.

They are pretty fun to listen to and slightly unhinged in a good way

It's quite a good post punk album, might listen to it more later

Such an interesting sound. Unique and fun. I enjoyed this album.

Surprisingly I enjoyed this one more than the 77 album, despite not knowing any of the tracks. I think I'll have to spend some time listening to them more, as there was a lot I enjoyed here!

intriguing but i can't adequately rate it, since i listened to it in a bad place and my head hurt from these constant screamy vocals

Listened to this twice. I really appreciate Talking Heads. Byrne's vocals and the punky instrumentation are really fun. But with the exception of a couple songs, I found this album faded into the background a bit. 6/10

Decent

I don't mind the talking heads but i also seem to sort of ignore them when listening. Not sure how to rate them. They feel like a band that should elicit a stronger reaction.

LUV talking heads

Solid but not as good as Remain in Light

This one is mid for me. I suppose it’s not the Talking Head best album.

Cool, weird, funny…everything you want from Byrne and the boys

I think I get it but maybe I don't.

🤷‍♀️

6/10

Nowhere near as good as Stop Making Sense. Bit disappointing to be honest

This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco, this ain’t no foolin around!

Nice wierdo album I have no complaints

Not a Talking Heads fan, but I enjoyed this. David Byrne is sort of the same every song, spoken words of a lunatic genius. Life During Wartime was familiar, and as a big Living Colour fan, I was unaware that Memories Can't Wait was from the Talking Heads originally.

Pretty good - Songs were nicely varied - Got that Fela funk

Very important record from the American band. I was never a huge fan but this album and 'Remain in Light' are such relevant milestones that they deserve inclusion. 8/10 [KEEP]

Very fun, great dancing album, not super catchy just pure fun and good vibes

He’s always been a little too avant-garde for me. Just okay.

it’s definitely an interesting album

it sounds cool, unusual to me. great

They just have so much better than what this has to offer.

um ravi? iyo ra!