Fear Of Music

respectful 3 pop sht

Not my type of music at all. It kind of hurt my ears

Often feeling like David Bowie light due to the singing style there was only one thought I had during listening: Ece will not enjoy this 😆

A better TH album IMO. Some if Harrison's guitar work reminds me of Adrian Belew, which is interesting as the were touring together in 2024.

Was ok. I didn't hate it, but I didn't like it either.

Good album! Talking Heads have always been decent.

Just awesome. Still holds up over 45 years later. Many of the non-hit songs have been stuck in my head pretty much all those years. I didn't understand how good Tina's bass work was, esp when she was a latecomer to the instrument. Not many life regrets but not seeing these guys live is near the top of that list.

Great songs. A little bit repetitive.

Decent album.

George of the jungle vibes in places. Lots of beep beep boop boops. Kind of enjoying it.

Kind of repetitive sound wise

Stand outs: - Life During Wartime - Heaven I like the funky guitar riffs and beats but it's not an album that grabbed me on first listen.

Bland and uninteresting, coming from someone who doesn’t know their cultural significance. Type of music that I wouldn’t mind playing in the background, nothing I would give my attention to.

Hard to get into the groove just listening on Spotify. This music needs to be experienced within the context that it was intended - a sweaty, smoky dance hall with a massive Disco ball

The first TH album I bought. Probably not the best introduction. But appreciated having the time as a teenager to learn to love it. Heaven.

Really nothing to dislike. TH’s pushing the boundaries in the early days

4 stars for I zimbra alone

i adore this record from top to bottom, it’s been an all-time favorite of mine going back years.

I love Talking Heads so much. Great music and song writing, and vocals that are my kind of weird. I was worried about this album since it's earlier than what I usually listen to, but nope, it was just what I wanted

I’m sure this is someone’s jam, but it’s definitely not mine. It’s not terrible, but I do find it to be repetitive, a little disjointed and mostly annoying. 2 stars

I just think I don't really care for David Byrne. The music was fine, but he just kind of drives me nuts. I couldn't objectively listen to him and the music. I'm not saying he's as bad as the snare drum on Metallica's "St. Anger" album, but he's not fun to listen to, for me.

Pretty fine album, sounded like the Talking Heads but I really didn't hear any standout songs.

While still weird, it doesn't feel as experimental as some of their other offerings.

Love. I prefer some of the live versions of this on Stop Making Sense but I can't just give it a 4

Effortlessly cool, and stupid.

I will be giving this more time. For now it gets a strong 4 as was great kitchen dancing / breakfast making / Sunday morning groovin' tunage.

Started stronger than it finished but I enjoyed it more than I expected!

Autism: The Album. This is a top 20 album for me. Just a terrifyingly tense, yet danceable, nightmare of a record.

Enjoyable. Admittedly I was working on other things while listening so it did not have my full attention but it was solidly mid range.

nao gosto tanto de talking heads perdao fml 💔

é ok, definitivamente não chega perto dos melhores do talking heads mas eu achei legalzinho

Great!!! odeio dar nota putq ue apriu

Ouvi pouco talking heads na minha vida, vamo ve como vai ser Começou legalzinho o album resto das faixas foram bem monótonas, passou algumas musicas e eu nem vi salvei uma ou duas musicas desse album, não ouviria dnv 6/10

Eu não tive muito tempo para ter a experiência de escutar e refletir sobre o album mas certamente, pra quem escutou pouco mas escutou, é um album bem fraquinho, com poucos altos e vários zzz..zzz... Posso destacar o Cities, I Zimbra e Mind como as faixas nas quais eu dei mais atenção (porra vei o fripp ta no I Zimbra wtffff). Não é bem meu estilo de New Wave mas tá indo.

Love this album pretty good alll round

That was a really bizarre listen. Not a big fan, even thought I do like some TH music from other records.

My second Talking Heads in a row! That's not a bad thing, I guess. They were building their canon here by adding all-time classics "Life During Wartime" and "Heaven." And they had definitely discovered their signature sound in this second collaboration with producer Brian Eno.

The lyrics of this record are masterful and Byrne’s vocals are among my favorite in rock and music in general. Life During Wartime Cities Memories Can’t Wait Mind Animals Electric Guitar Heaven Drugs Air I Zimbra Paper

another 3 but worse than bad but above divine comedy. this was ok i liked when it was funky.

One of the all time unique bands. I didnt love this one but I think it shows bits and pieces of their best work they just didnt have it yet. That sort of psychedelic sound is there but the rest didnt feel quite as great.

Not my cup of tea. There is some cool playing and I don't mind the vocals, but they don't fit with the music. I really liked Air, though, which I haven't seen anyone mention as a standout track. Heaven is just plain boring

Give me all the Talking Heads.

What can I say? This is an interesting eclectic band- that is all brains and no heart. Bowie did things like this in the 70s- and much better. I think there's something here, but other than the one big one, "Once in a Lifetime", I'm just not into this music. I personally find David Byrne annoying and the songwriting underbaked- it just does nothing for me.

Great, holistic album listening experience! Takes you by the hand and guides you through musical portrayals of familiar yet difficult-to-describe-with-words feelings of unease, frustration, anger, addiction, anxiousness etc..

You can really tell that it’s the one before remain in light

I like this band but i can't connect with their soul.

Te amo Talking Heads, te amo Brian Eno! Meu terceiro disco favorito da banda, integrando parte da triplice entente junto de Remain in Light e Speaking in Tongues (Lembrando que esses 3 foram lançados em sequencia, que absurdo!). Não acho esse disco melhor que os dois que mencionei, mas sem ele, os outros dois não existiriam. Quando você ouve a discografia da banda em ordem cronológica voce percebe o salto IMENSO que esse disco deu ! Se você fica parado ouvindo faixas como Cities, Air ou Life During Wartime, pode se enterrar porque tu ja morreu xD... E no mesmo album com essas pedradas dançantes voce tem tambem faixas como Memories Can't Wait, Mind ou Drugs que chegam a te paralizar... David Byrne é um mestre em evocar emoções fortes, nesse disco ele brinca bastante com medos e ansiedades e angustias e inseguranças e arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Heaven is a place... a place where nothing .... nothing ever happens : - ) Não sei explicar, mas esse album, e outros do Talking Heads, conseguem borrar a linha entre experimental e acessivel de uma forma magistral. Eu amo as texturas, cada detalhe, cada ritmo não-ortodoxo... Banda brilhante. Meu primeiro 5/5, e é sinistro pensar que esse não chega nem perto dos picos dos MELHORES albuns do Talking Heads. Que banda ein!!!! A definição de 5 estrelas, na minha opinião. Não vejo sequer uma falha, album consistente do começo ao fim! Lindo.

i zimbra- 8 or 9 mind- 8 paper- 7 cities- 8 life during wartime- 9 memories cant wait- 7 air- 7 heaven- 9 or 10 animals- 7 electric guitar- 7 or 8 drugs- 7 mwah

Highlights: I Zimbra, Life During Wartime

I had never listened to this album. I would pick it up and think I don’t know many of the songs, but I am so happy I do now. It can’t be overstated what a great thing that Eno and the Talking Heads had going for a while.

Arty, nerdy, white disco-funk-New Wave goodness from the Talking Heads and Brian Eno! Not my favorite album by them, but Life During Wartime is a great song. 3.5⭐️

energetic. Tbh, i actually heard only the first track

Whatever

I have to accept that Talking Heads just isn't my thing. It was still a fun time

Too new wave for me. Literally

#543 It's exactly what you'd expect from a Talking Heads album. 1 or 2 good songs accompanied by a lot of weird. 2/5: meh

Отличный альбом

Classic albums. Lots of great songs. Good feel throughout

Love this album by talking heads!

Love the talking heads and love this album, absolute gem.

Don't be afraid! You guys are good!

Starting to wonder if this band ever put out a miss. Overlooked them for years and have really kicking myself for it. Here's another solid release, jam-packed with creativity. They're constantly experimenting, but can still write hooks that never make the weirdo shit feel off-putting; all the while still undeniably rocking. This one in particular feels like a perfect waypoint between More Songs and Remain In Light.

Really weird that they chose this Talking Heads album. It’s like the creator of this list wanted to be a lil hipster and intentionally not choose the greatest hits.

It's Talking Heads. You know what you're getting with them.

Their best album.

It had a nice groove.

Excellent album, definitely a classic and I need to give it more time and attention in the future

This was entertaining but there weren’t any songs that really stood out to me. 3.5/5

Pretty good but not my favorite Heads.

I zimbra I really liked at the first listen and it’s def my favourite out of the album. The second half of air is really amazing. But next time I will need to be high to listen to this again

Groovy, entretenido, suena bien. SImple pero efectivo

Quite an unusual album, it's really creative and finds a way to be different, but still musical and interesting. The album is a blend of different styles and a transitional one for the band, since they started moving from a more traditional punkish new-wave, to funk/art/talking heads type of sound. One of the things I liked about this album, as with their previous release, is the unusual guitar rhythms and melodies, you are never sure what's coming next, which is true for other instruments as well. The bass lines are also quite interesting throughout the album. The songs are fun to listen to, and the themes are engaging, but they just weren't that special to me. The bands trademark sound is here, but for me there is a lack of bigger singles/hits, although, most of the songs are memorable and have nice themes and sounds. Was between a 3 and a 4. Giving it a 3 in the end because the album just wasn't that special for me.

ff

Honestly, not my favourite talking heads album. Nothing struck me as particularly exciting or engaging. It is a unique sound and all the songs differ from each other vastly, but nothing grabbed me in a way where I felt compelled to save it.

Po pierwszym przesłuchaniu nie byłam zachwycona, ale posłuchałam drugi raz, czytając teksty i okazało się, że jednak mi się podoba! Muszę się bliżej zapoznać z Davidem Byrne.

It's a great album. Don't get me wrong. It has that slight disco feel but still scratches that minimalist edge that you don't really get with many albums from the seventies. It's original, it's creative, it's unique, it's talking heads, but unfortunately, after 3 or so songs, they don't really know what to do with themselves. The pressure to release another good album after their previous hits were high and they didn't take that time that they needed to really carve out and perfect every track. They keep that original feel throughout the album but they don't use it properly; and you eventually get tired of it. For someone who likes this kind of style, it's a great album; but if you're looking for fresh and interesting music, you might get bored with this one. 3/5 stars

Good.

Don’t fear this art rock masterpiece! 😱🤘 As Talking Heads rank among my all-time favorite bands and Fear of Music being my most enjoyed album of their discography, I wanted to avoid any personal bias with re-listening to the album from a purely subjective vantage point….which only reaffirmed the place it holds for me as a truly remarkable artistic feat. David Byrne and co. continued to ascend the musical landscape of the late 70’s post-punk and emerging new wave scene as true pioneers, uniquely crafting a sound all their own with genre defying releases that this one further eclipsed following their terrific first efforts respectively in each of the two years prior. For those keeping score, a record a year pace that would carry through to their landmark creative output on Remain in Light (as foreshadowed on the opener here I Zimbra). Artfully reinventing groovy disco funk with elements of world music influences (afro beat), punk and experimental rock with a jarring energy that steers clear of any commercial sensibility, yielding a heightened confidence and self assured maturity in these eclectic batch of songs. 🎧 Classic Track: Life During Wartime 🎧 Deep Cut Gem: Animals 🎧 Personal Favorite: Mind The central theme of fear is the focal point of the album’s tone, conveying a nervous anxiety through Byrne’s neurotic songwriting and vocal delivery, exploring the emotional complexity of life experiences in topics such as drugs, war, the environment, animals, cities, mindfulness, death and well….music. Not a single skippable track in the bunch, each one as entertaining and memorable as the last, coming in at a breezy 40 minutes that leaves an indelible mark. 🖼️ Album Artwork: Top tier 💿 A must own for your vinyl collection! Special mention must also be had for what producer Brian Eno brought to this record, a mainstay with the band throughout their career and for good reason. The chemistry between these musicians would have them breakthrough the mainstream with their 80’s output, however by that time stylistically were becoming a bit too toned down. Fear of Music are Talking Heads at their edgiest, weirdest, coolest, quirkiest, funkiest finest hour. **I recommend having a read of the Fear of Music book (Jonathan Lethem) in the 33 1/3 series, which is a great companion piece to the album 📗** Click the thumbs up icon below if you enjoyed my take on the album :)

I swear this sounds like a Modest Mouse album from the 2000s. It's... Fine.

I'm a big fan of Talking Heads. Like some of my previous albums I've been given, I know a hand-full of some of their biggest hits but this is the first time I've taken a deep dive into one of their records. I'm much more familiar with their material on "Remain in Light" and "Speaking in Tongues". Some of the standout tracks for me are "Life During Wartime", "Paper", "Animals", and "Electric Guitar". I started off by listening to the original 1979 edition on Spotify but wasn't super enamored with the sound. I felt like the production of the original version was a little muffled and neutered sounding. With that in mind, this website links to the Deluxe Edition which was remastered in 2005 and I decided to give that version a listen to see if I liked the record any better. I do think the remastered 2005 version lends to a better listening experience. I found all of the same tracks enjoyable with the addition of "Drugs" which has an extremely foreboding sound that I enjoyed - definitely reminded me of having a bad trip. My overall verdict: enjoyable because of how much I enjoy the band but I have a feeling I would like their later releases a lot more.

Am I being tortured? It brings no specific elements originality or a profound sound

Y'know, I've always liked Talking Heads' first two albums, but I've never truly loved them. It's like, as great as I find their early New Wave, white nerd funk to be, I couldn't help but feel like there was something missing. Some extra element that'd truly kick things over the top into "Oh, gawd, I love this." Not even "Psycho Killer", the big hit it is, could go over. Listening to this album again, for the first time in forever, I finally realized what was missing. As it turns out, it was a disco influence. See, their first albums are, like, a bit stuff? And that's not a full-on bad thing; it fits with what I generally expect from early New Wave. Starting on this album, though, they become a bit looser, a bit dancier, and they're all the better for it. This material is infectious because of it. Like, sure, it might not have something on the level of a "Once In A Lifetime", but "Life During Wartime" has always stuck with me. And it's like, they can claim that this ain't no party, disco or foolin' around, but it sure feels like one to me. It's just an incredible augmentation to their sound. I don't even really feel like I have much more to say than that. Like, I'm very sure I'm missing some deeper themes in here about urban living or pollution, and I don't wanna act like this thing is 100% a dance record from front to back, but... For real, if the influence being more present than it ain't isn't the best thing that happened to this band. Goodness, and now I got myself wanting to listen to STOP MAKING SENSE again to re-hear how good the performances of these songs are on there — and I keep reading they're **very** good. But for the moment, yeah. I can't imagine who would fear music, and especially this stuff. Jus', good shit, good shut. Goodness.

Stellar tunes by a stellar band. Solid 5 Stars.

I’m at a 5. The last time we got Talking Heads was 38 albums into this whole thing, and I just don’t think I was prepared back then. I thought it was especially weird & avant garde, and took a million different directions lyrically in a way that distracted from the production. I gave it a 3.5 bumped down to a 3, and that’s probably “incorrect” in light of the 410 albums we’ve since gotten, some of which took exponentially weirder turns. It feels good to remedy that with this album, which certainly feels more normal, stylized & consistent than Talking Heads: 77 did. Of course, bubbling underneath the surface of some excellent Brian Eno-infused production through a variety of styles & some really good guitar/percussion/synth melodies, is an album entirely based around fear & paranoia. Certainly a bit similar thematically to Peter Gabriel 3, but not quite in the same way – that album tended to focus more on individual stories and snapshots of melting minds, as opposed to this album, with a sort of chronic panic that exists in broader strokes, with the intent to capture a feeling as opposed to tell a specific story. For the most part, this album REALLY succeeds in doing so – there are great lyrics abound on this thing, & the instrumentals do a great job of complimenting them, but David Byrne’s vocal performance enhances the panic in those lyrics & the instrumentation to an incredible degree, and he is an absolutely highlight of the album. The eccentricities of his voice that made Talking Heads: 77 feel captivating but inconsistent lyrically are channeled really nicely here as a way to fully capture the mood of each track, with “Cities” as probably the best example here. Much like Peter Gabriel 3, I think this does need a bit more attention to really get the album, but it feels equally as rewarding to me. There are a few tracks that didn’t land as well as they could / should have (namely “Electric Guitar”), but I really enjoyed a lot of this. It might just be the 400+ days since the last one talking, & the amount of music I’ve since heard that made this one feel better, but I do think they found a really nice balance between the eccentric captivating production & storytelling on this one, in a way that fully clicked for me. It’s a pretty good 5, and I’m glad it’s on the list.

Talking Heads typical go down well with music critics, but so far I've been fairly split on their songs. This album exemplified this by having a great first half and then an uninspiring, boring second half.

Pretty good.

3.5

3.0

Awesome early work.

Some Television-y guitars going on. I listened to this at home on headphones and dug it. Listened to a bit at work on speakers and thought "eh it's just usual Talking Heads". I don't know what to say about that. Does it mean that I just like the guitars? Does vaguely disco-ish beat sound like too many not as good bands when indistinct over speakers? I dunno man!!!!

Absolutely rips, start to finish. One of the greats. Byrne rules, band rules.

2 sterne

Dit (bijvoorbeeld 'Air') klinkt als een aflevering van Ernst, Bobbie en de rest, waarbij Bobbie de hele aflevering vermoed dat er een spook op zolder zit, terwijl de moeder van Ernst daar gewoon haar beddengoed aan het drogen is ofzo. Ik zeg niet dat niks op dit album het niveau van een aflevering E, B en de R ontstijgt, maar het is wel zo dat er bizar veel van dit soort post-punk in deze lijst staat en haast elke keer weer als ik zo'n album aanzet word ik geconfronteerd met dat ik niet snap wat mensen die dit 5 sterren geven horen. Soms vraag ik me daadwerkelijk af of die mensen met zo'n lovende review hetzelfde album als ik hebben geluisterd. Dit klinkt toch best wel goedkoop, poppy en met vlagen lachwekkend theatraal? Stukjes van sommige liedjes op dit album zijn wel goed hoor en het is voor mij geen verschrikkelijke strijd om hier doorheen te komen, op dat knagende gevoel dat ik het niet begrijp wat er zo geniaal aan is na. Het einde van 'Memories Can't Wait' en het einde van eerder genoemde 'Air' vind ik best mooi en 3 sterren kan ik hier wel uit plukken, maar dat is het dan wel zo'n beetje.

Talking Heads 4/4 Before diving into this, I revisited More Songs About Buildings and Food, my lowest rated TH (though at a respectable 3/5). And honestly, it was better than I remember. What probably led to me rating it below their debut, 77, came down to two things: It wasn’t as immediately fascinating as their 80s output was (aka Remain in Light, Speaking in Tongues), and also that I was still on the fence about Brian Eno’s touch. Now, thanks to this list essentially waterboarding me with Eno-produced albums, I’m a lot more inclined to his sound than I used to be. And I’m happy to report, not only is it immediate, the Byrne/Eno combo gets right up in yer face. There's enough freaky, auxiliary noise to make this live up to its name, though somehow it doesn't overwhelm everything. It can also be disarmingly beautiful at times ("Heaven", "Air") HL: “Heaven”, “Cities”, “Air”, “Life During Wartime”, “Animals”, “I Zimbra” March 18, 2025

I’d say it beat expectations cause I was worried about liking their singing style. Which it isn’t my favorite but it didn’t ruin the album for me. I didn’t really love any of the music itself though. And all the repetition in the lyrics made that also generally uninteresting for me. I think after more listens I could better appreciate it but at this moment in time after the first listen I don’t feel it.

Yeah this is good. I am a little bit of a sucker for the Talking Heads though, so I will note that bias. I love their goofy yet serious attitude and eccentric yet sophisticated vibe. And I think this album really nails that entire image so perfectly. And it being an enjoyable work of art at the same time is just a great plus. Will certainly be returning to this. 4 star but a very high 4.

I like the funky bass in the first couple songs. Combined with the atonal singing it reminds me a lot of Bowie in this era. Life during Wartime is great, but the last few songs didn't keep my attention as much. I listened to it twice.

I like a few of the talking heads songs but this doesn't have any of those on it

Not much on here appeals to me at all 2 stars or D.

A classic album, but at times it feels intentionally high-brow. Favorite songs: I zimbra (keyboard solo), Air, Heaven

I love this album. No one else sounds like the Talking Heads.

Not really my speed but I can understand why others may enjoy. The talk singy is weird like in the song paper and they seem to incorporate different genres. The first track sounds very African inspired while others sound punk rock, funky, etc.

major blind spot for me but really enjoyed this album, so fun!

An appropriately titled album- most of the songs wee musically unimpressive. I like later TH much better.

Strange fun as always from the Talking Heads. Thrilled to play back Stop Making Sense.

Obviously, this is good...but listening to this made me wonder if I like Talking Heads as a concept vs. the music they're making. This didn't stay with me and didn't feel the need to replay any songs either.

Kinda fun but not really my bag

It all works for me

More hit and miss than some of favorite TH albums but just an overall ripping experience laced with all time classics. Member of the cover art hall of fame.

Sometimes weird sometimes just mediocre. Nothing stands out.

I was debating a 4 or 5 for this one because I really liked it and feel like the Talking Heads just deliver nonstop. There’s so much fun and and creativity that you feel the passion and goofiness in every song. I was thinking a 4 but realized it was because I didn’t know any of the songs and didn’t have any attachments coming in, but I couldn’t find a single fault. It was solid all the way through and had several stand out songs and variety but felt like a coherent project at the same time. I would def relisten multiple times and even let it loop 2/3 on Friday.

so, normally i really really dislike Talking Heads. even their major hits I tend to give a pass. I just don't love the lead singers voice and their music seems frantic to me. that being said, I did actually listen through this twice, really enjoying Cities and enjoyed their demo tapes. Not sure if I would go back to it, but this album I'll give a solid 3. it was enjoyable, and I am glad I listened to it... but probably won't go back

It was alright. Sometimes I was thinking “this is weird - not a fan” and other times I was thinking “this is weird - awesome”, and never really landed anywhere definite. Not quite enough for a 3-star for me.

Not really memorable. Just seems kinda bland to me.

A better album overall than their debut album, but without any big hits it isn’t very memorable. Run-time isn’t too long, has that Talking Heads charm, and lyrics that are just strange enough that you question what you’re listening to. Rounding down from a two and a half.

I don't get the Talking Heads hype. This album was really underwhelming. They definitely have a distinct sound, but not much else.

Great album from a great band

Not a bad album but I didn’t enjoy it even after listening through twice to give it another chance.

nothing sandwich aah album :/

Don't like his voice, like 2 good songs as background music maybe

Has lots of soul. I dig it Memories Can't Wait cover by Living Colour is great. Was very surprised to see the original version here, cause I didn't know Living Colour was doing a cover

guys I know his voice sounds weird but it is so comforting to me 😔

Talking Heads tick a lot of boxes for the kinds of sounds I enjoy, and in theory I *should* love them, but I don't. No hate either, they're just alright.

Make it stop

I maintain Talking Heads have no good Albums outside of Stop Making Sense, and I stand by that. This might be their best normal album (or it might be Remain in Light), and it has Heaven so I give it a 4.

很妙的老摇滚，但大概率不会再听

Made me feel like I was playing spy vs spy but nothing jumped out at me

I've always been really 50/50 on these guys, some of this album is super interesting and some of it is completely nonsensical. Weirdly really enjoyed the "Dancing for Money" demo

Just underwhelming and boring. 2 stars

Classic Talking Heads. Funky, fun, and catchy as hell. Another great album by them but not my favorite, which reminds me it's such a shame that Speaking in Tongues isn't on this list. Favorites: Cities, Life During Wartime, Heaven, I Zimbra Least Favorite: Animals

Better than Remain in Light!

3 - Not my talking heads classic, some interesting stuff and cool musical commentary

Simply some of the best, weirdest, new waviest, funked out shit ever

I like the Talking Heads quite a bit but this album did not do it for me.

Weird. Not really my cup of tea, but can appreciate it for what it is. Really like the music on Drugs. 2.5/5

Best talking heads album I have listened to, quirky yet catchy. cool yet weird.

David Byrne sprinting around the stage keening like a banshee, eyes wide open, completely soaked in sweat. Great album.

I find this to be the Talking Heads album that lingers in my mind the most You're thrown headfirst into Talking Head's style of weirdness with I Zimbra, pulling from afrobeat styles and utilising Robert Fripp's unconventional guitars Despite the usual weirdness and frenetic style, I thought there was a bit more emphasis on more conventional rock elements, particularly big guitar parts, like the riff on Paper. There are also some disco rhythms like on Cities. I think this helps the album stand out to me more compared to some of their previous work, because of the way the band draw on several different elements and effectively incorporates them into their style Electric Guitar is a bit monotonous, it just plods along and it's pretty repetitive, both musically and lyrically, and it get tedious quickly, but that's probably the only song I don't really like Highlights: Life During Wartime

Either you love or hate this vocal style. I'm in the later category...

My head also speaks. 5

great album really enjoyed it even though it started off stronger than it ended

STR8 FYRE!! I loved this!! Specifically I love the band. They sound so good together.

Though in parts strange even for me, this is still a top tier album.

Always love the Talking Heads. There are some forgettable songs on here but also some big hits with Life During Wartime, Heaven, and Cities. A biased rating but nonetheless still an 8/10 (4/5)

I really really enjoyed this. The mixing and the bass on this are insane. Great songs great album flow. This was amazing.

3.5

Another excellent album by Talking Heads. Though, if they have a bad one, I've never heard it.

I lost some interest on the second half of this album. If I was comparing this to the rest of a talking Heads portfolio this album is kinda disappointing. Not bad, just was missing something.

Fear of Music, released in 1979, is a Talking Heads masterpiece that brilliantly exemplifies the intersection of pop and rock. Through danceable beats and introspective lyrics, the band creates a sound that is simultaneously accessible and experimental. Brian Eno’s production adds layers of complexity, taking the album’s sound into innovative territory that transforms traditional rock conventions into something more cerebral and rhythmic. This skillful fusion allows songs like “Life During Wartime” and “I Zimbra” to resonate in clubs and on the radio, solidifying Talking Heads’ unique identity as pioneers in the dialogue between these genres.

Exceptional

Absolute gem of an album! Love this one front to back.

I'm not a huge Talking Heads after getting 2 of the albums already so I wasn't excited for this one. I was surprised to hear the first song was really good and it raised my expectations for the rest of the album. Too bad the rest of the album features the terrible lead vocalist. I said that in my last review, "If you remove the main singer, it's actually pretty good" which was proven to be true for this album as well. The album's second half is also much weaker which didn't add to my enjoyment. Guess I shouldn't be surprised that it sucked.

I'm looking forward to reading the reviews of people who gave this fewer than five stars, because I wonder what it was like discovering this record from some source other than growing up with an older sibling who owned it and played it a lot? Surely able to listen to it more objectively than I can. I can't help but think about the tween who fantasized about one day being old enough to to find my own city to live in, and who was shocked by the idea of heaven being a place where nothing ever happens, and who was truly terrified by the sound effects on "Drugs" (confession: when I was home alone, I would usually pick up the needle after "Electric Guitar" because like The Beatles' "For The Benefit of Mr Kite" and Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" and Jimi Hendrix's "Are You Experienced?" this tune scared the shit out of me and even though if you asked me I would tell you that I didn't believe in the devil, deep down I was pretty sure that playing one of these songs at the wrong time could open the gates of hell and summon a demon right into our living room. In any event, certainly not worth the risk.). If you asked me which Talking Heads studio album was my favorite, I would likely say either '77 or Remain in Light. However, upon reflection, this one somehow pulls off a wild balancing act of sounds that are experimental and yet catchy, paired with lyrics that are somehow weird and also relatable.

Whenever I've seen this album's title, I've always imagined that it was not only a Talking Heads classic, but also that it has the vast majority of their best-known songs. I can see why it's a classic, but I'm very surprised that there are almost *no* radio classics on the album. (I can see that "I Zimbra", "Cities" and "Life during wartime" were all singles from the album, but the latter track is the only one that endured on radio playlists, although it definitely makes up for the remainder's obscurity.) Listening to this album nearly 50 years after it was released, it's interesting to hear how quintessentially Talking Heads this is, yet each track is also surprisingly *un*-distinctive (except "Memories can't wait", which feels a lot more like David Byrne's solo work years later)--it's like they created a mold for what a Talking Heads album would sound like, and then left it to past and future albums to create the hits they'd be known for long after they disbanded. Distinctiveness or lack thereof aside, my favorites on the album are probably "Life during wartime", "Heaven", and "Animals". It's interesting to read that Brian Eno (who is everywhere) helped produce this album, as I suspect this album was the reason he was so reluctant to help produce their next album, yet there's no real discussion of whatever scarred either him or the band to working with him (or maybe he was just tired of producing their albums?).

Great album--love Heaven, I Zimbra (how many times have I danced to that?), Life During Wartime, Electric Guitar, well, basically, it's all terrific. I still prefer Remain in Light as the best Talking Heads album, but this might have the best songs.... so good.

Weird og bra, digger talking heads

6/10

Nous sommes en 1979 et l'aiguille du sismographe musical est complètement folle. Le punk a déjà craché son venin originel et se regarde crever dans le miroir, le disco parade sous ses boules à facettes en attendant le coup de grâce, et une nouvelle vague, plus froide, plus nerveuse, commence à déferler. Et au milieu de ce bordel, il y a les Talking Heads. Les intellos, les excentriques de la scène du CBGB qui, au lieu de se contenter de trois accords et d'une pinte de bière, préféraient débattre de l'architecture moderne et de l'art conceptuel. On les avait laissés deux ans plus tôt avec des albums brillants, "77" et "More Songs About Buildings and Food", qui posaient les bases de leur son si particulier. Mais avec "Fear of Music", troisième volet de leur triptyque avec le sorcier Brian Eno, on bascule. On quitte le loft d'artiste pour l'asile de fous. Un asile où, curieusement, tout le monde danse. Je dois l'avouer, à sa sortie, j'avais neuf ans et mes préoccupations musicales se limitaient à savoir si Goldorak avait une meilleure bande-son qu'Albator. C'est plus tard, au mitan des années 80, en pleine adolescence boutonneuse et avide de sons qui sortaient des clous, que ce disque m'est tombé dessus comme une enclume. Et quelle claque. Dans les bacs de la médiatheque où je trainai, la pochette m'avait d'abord intrigué. Toute noire, gaufrée comme une peau de reptile ou la semelle d'une Doc Martens. Pas de photo, pas de fioritures. Juste un titre, menaçant : "La Peur de la Musique". Ironique, pour un disque ou alors terriblement lucide. Car la peur, mes amis, est la véritable matière première de cet album. Ce n'est pas un concept fumeux, c'est l'air même que respire chaque sillon. David Byrne, notre guide dans cette descente, n'est plus seulement le type bizarre qui chante des trucs bizarres. Il est l'incarnation de l'anxiété moderne. C'est l'homme dans la foule qui se sent observé, le citadin qui voit sa ville comme un organisme hostile, l'individu qui analyse chaque interaction sociale jusqu'à la nausée. Ses textes sont des petits chefs-d'oeuvre de paranoïa, des vignettes surréalistes d'un monde devenu trop complexe, trop rapide, trop bruyant. On parle d'animaux, de villes, du paradis (où, apparemment, "rien ne se passe jamais"), de surveillance. C'est le journal intime d'un névrosé qui aurait décidé de mettre ses angoisses en musique. Et c'est là que réside le coup de génie absolu de "Fear of Music". Parce que cette angoisse, cette claustrophobie, cette peur panique, elle est posée sur des rythmes qui te donnent une envie irrépressible de bouger ton cul. C'est la grande schizophrénie du disque, le cerveau te crie de te planquer sous le lit, mais tes jambes ont déjà commencé à taper le rythme. La section rythmique, bordel ! Tina Weymouth et Chris Frantz forment un duo d'une efficacité monstrueuse. Les lignes de basse de Weymouth sont des serpents qui ondulent, simples, hypnotiques, implacables. La batterie de Frantz est métronomique, sèche, mais avec ce groove irrésistible qui doit autant au funk qu'à la froideur allemande. C'est l'album où l'influence des rythmes africains, qui explosera sur le chef-d'oeuvre suivant, "Remain in Light", commence à poindre très sérieusement. Le morceau d'ouverture, "I Zimbra", basé sur un poème dadaïste et chanté dans une langue inventée, est une déclaration d'intention. C'est une transe tribale et futuriste, un truc complètement barré qui annonce que non, on ne va pas écouter un simple disque de rock. Puis vient l'hymne, "Life During Wartime". Pour moi, ce morceau est l'un des plus importants de cette époque charnière. "This ain't no party, this ain't no disco, this ain't no fooling around", tout est dit. C'est l'anti-fête, l'anti-insouciance, c'est la bande-son d'une guérilla urbaine, une course-poursuite haletante. Et pourtant, impossible de ne pas danser dessus. C'est la BO parfaite pour une fin du monde où l'on déciderait de faire la fête une dernière fois, même si le coeur n'y est plus. C'est cynique, tendu, et incroyablement jouissif. Brian Eno, encore lui, enveloppe tout ça d'une production qui est un modèle du genre. Il crée des espaces, des textures étranges, des sons qui semblent venir d'une autre dimension. Il n'enjolive pas, il accentue le malaise. Il fait sonner le groupe comme s'il jouait dans un bunker stérile, sous des néons blafards. Chaque son est à sa place, net, tranchant. Il n'y a pas de gras, pas de bavardage. C'est direct, cérébral et pourtant viscéral. Un 4/5 pour un disque essentiel, un jalon du post-punk et de la new wave ? Mais pourquoi pas la note parfaite ? Peut-être parce que "Fear of Music" est l'oeuvre d'un groupe en pleine mutation, le chaînon manquant, sombre et fascinant, entre la nervosité pop de leurs débuts et la polyrythmie mondiale et expansive de "Remain in Light". C'est un album de transition, mais putain, quelle transition ! C'est le son d'un groupe qui a trouvé un équilibre parfait au bord du précipice, juste avant de décider de sauter dedans. Il n'a pas l'évidence pop de certains de mes chouchous de l'époque, comme The Cure sur "Seventeen Seconds", ni la noirceur totale de Joy Division. Il est ailleurs, dans une zone grise où l'intelligence et l'instinct primaire se livrent un combat sans merci. Au final, "Fear of Music" est un disque qui demande un effort. Il ne se livre pas à la première écoute, il faut accepter de se laisser contaminer par son ambiance fiévreuse, par sa nervosité contagieuse. Mais une fois qu'on y est, c'est une expérience unique. C'est un album qui a incroyablement bien vieilli, parce que les peurs qu'il décrit – la peur de l'autre, la peur de l'avenir, la peur de soi-même – sont plus que jamais les nôtres. Les Talking Heads avaient simplement trente ans d'avance. Un disque à écouter quand on se sent un peu trop à l'aise dans son époque. Juste pour se rappeler que le danger n'est jamais loin et qu'on peut toujours danser dessus.

Love this album. It’s funky and groovy and way ahead of its time, as the Talking Heads were. I never delved this deep into their stuff before but I’m glad I did.

This is a very good album, and I really like it a lot. I think Talking Heads has probably been my favourite artist to come out this list, considering I had never listened to a song (or at least, recognised a song) by Talking Heads until I got More Songs About Building and Food. So this review is really going to draw a lot of comparisons to that album. Fear of Music is an interesting one. I really enjoyed it, and I spent a long time listening to the album over and over, I think I listened to it 6 times in total. The reason why is I couldn't decide whether this was worthy of a 5 or not, and I don't think it is. This album is carried by Life During Wartime, which is an incredibly cool, funky, fun song. To me that song sounds like peak Talking Heads. But the rest of the album just doesn't stack up to that song. Once you get past it, there's a few licks on there that sound good; like Air, Heaven, and Animals. All good listens. But once I get past the magic of Life During Wartime, nothing really peaks my interest as much as that song. Another thought, is this album better than Buildings & Food? Absolutely not. If that album doesn't get a 5, then this doesn't either. That's not to say this album doesn't fucking rock. I am yet to listen to a Talking Heads song I dislike, it's just not as good as Buildings & Food, and there's not much that stands out outside of the lead single. See you at Remain in Light.

Enjoyed more on average than Songs about Buildings and Food, also includes one of my favourite songs from the group. Really not sure what to say. I feel that the band is just going to be a love it/hate it deal for most people that mostly comes down to your feelings on David Byrne's vocal style & delivery

Not even that scary. Yet another case of false advertising from Byrne & Co.

The type of album where you listen through once and it's not all that impressive but hey it was only 20 minutes. So I may as well give it another spin. Finish it again, hey may as well give it another spin. Then you've realised you've been listening to it all day and the album is over 40 minutes 10/10

I found it difficult to rate this album since it contains two of my top five favourite Talking Heads songs, it also contains some deep cuts that are enjoyable enough but aren't particularly memorable. Except Mind, that one is memorable but not in a particularly good way. Another issue with this album is that the songs I do like on here are better performed on Stop Making Sense. Having said all of that, the songs on here that I consider to be GREAT are lumped in with songs that I would call GOOD. It is better to interpret Talking Heads as the musical output of an art collective rather than a band. And unlike CERTAIN art collectives who make 'albums' (Throbbing Gristle), this shit actually rocks. I was umming and ahhing over whether to score this a 4 or a 5, but then Drugs came on and I remembered my favourite video of my cat Charlie (the queen of my world) has her thousand yard staring the camera to this song. So for personal reasons I am giving this a 5. Special shoutout to Animals for sounding exactly what I think it must sound like in the head of the guy who yells at me on the bus sometimes. Also the guy who played congas on I Zimbra is named Gene Wilder. Not the same person as the actor. Highlights: I Zimbra, Cities, Life During Wartime, Heaven, Drugs

Hot Dang!! I forgot how good this was- it just drills into your psyche and sits there shivering and twitching. A restless eclectic Post-Modernist masterpiece before such things existed. So many ideas, so fast, mind.....can't....cope........

Offbeat, nerdy, art music. Favorites are Life During Wartime & Heaven.

I do like Talking Heads, and I enjoyed the album … but I really don’t remember anything about it.

it took me a while and multiple tries, but i finally get this album and love it as much as i love other talking heads projects. it proves that the best way to convey the doom of modern living is not through drudgy gloomy sounds, but through perky synths and syncopated groovy beats. it makes the case that one wouldn't want to trade the hellish present for the promise of a better afterlife, because nothing happens there.

Very good !

I like Talking Heads but I thought this was good and not great. Life During Wartime was the only track that really stood out but maybe that's just because I already knew it.

Fav song: Air Talking Heads were ahead of their time. So fun and interesting but a few tunes lost in the sauce on this one. Can’t believe this was pre-80’s. Madness.

Fantastic album. So creative rhythmically and melodically. Joyful. This is a four star.

least favourite talking heads album

Meh! It's not road to nowhere!

Weird in a good way, not my favourite album of theirs, but Life During Wartime is a bop, and Paper.. very nice

Thoughts before listening: One of the best bands of all time...with one of their best albums. Review: I like that this era of the Talking Heads has a punk vibe but is incorporating so many different sounds. There's a lot of funkiness going on here that makes this very unique. This album probably isn't as good as Remain in Light, but man there are some killer songs on here: "I Zimbra", "Cities", "Heaven", and of course "Life During Wartime" rank amongst the band's best. 5-stars

Most of this was pretty good. I didn't love the song "Animals," it was kind of screechy to me. Most of it was fun, it was very energetic but just didn't really seem like it had much depth to it.

Talking Heads never made a single bad album

Talking Heads get 5 stars cause they're amazing.

Great album

Some great songs, some that I didn't enjoy as much. Good overall. Talking Heads always sounds like something 10-20 years later than it is.

pretty mid honestly

I really like The Heads, but not familiar with this album.

I don't know why but even I like it and there is a few of good songs I don't think I be back to that one

Definitely wish I was high when I listened to this album. Hits and misses but overall enjoyable.

ну вот что-то я не прониклась

I dig their creativity and uniqueness. Embodied in excellent song writing. Not something I'd listen to often but am a fan!

Psycho Killer was the first song I had listened to by the Talking Heads. A stone cold classic introduction. Fear of Music was the first album I had listened to and was/is the album I compare all other Talking Heads records to (and David Byrne’s solo albums). This was my favourite album of theirs for years and I listened to it all the time! It’s playful, experimental and I can hear its influence on just about every post-post-post punk album. What’s immediately striking and tantalizing is David Byrne’s lyrics and vocals and quirkiness. And the whole band is in good form - they were one of the most funky, fun, unique of all the punk/post punk/new wave bands. And to top it off, Brian Eno produces! (I’m a huge fan of 70’s era Eno and love hearing his audio prowess all over this!) Revisiting this album, I still love it - I enjoy its quirkiness and simplicity; I relish in it’s surprisingly dark and ominous sounds. It’s an album of its time but it gloriously captures that time to perfection and makes me wish I was there, at CBGB’s, watching, dancing to and singing songs by a band called Talking Heads!! Every track is a little gem. My Favourite Songs? (I pretty much love them all!): Cities Life During Wartimes Heaven Animals Drugs

liked this - ol Byrne but with funky backing tracks

Meh. It was a little bit out there, but never really caught my attention. Definitely felt more art focused, which can be great, but not one that I'll likely be returning to.

Not the best Talking Heads album but still better than most.

This was great, as have been all of the Talking Heads music I've ever heard. David Byrne is really just an amazing songwriting and musical talent, and his voice is just so unmistakably him, but his backing band is also great and this album really shows off how versatile they really all are as musicians. I listened to this twice -- five stars.

Lo hemos escuchado juntos y nada más empezar a Jaime le ha encantado, muy contentos y ambos coincidimos en la nota: UN 4.

great band - not my favorite album but I enjoyed it. I love David Byrne for myriad reasons (his Brazilian exploring in the late 80s, his painting, solo work, used to come to my gym where I taught in nyc..coolest guy. i think he is true to his art/music and that shld be rewarded, even if I didn't love this album - some is great but the rest eh? Also Tina Weymoth and her hubby - Stood next to Blondie !?!?!!? at the 'World' theater back in 1990 watching the Tom Tom club love them too!

I think this is best consumed in a multi-media environment, where you can see, hear, and gleam the nuances of the whole experience: fun lyrics, iconic sound, and a lot of avant-garde whimsey.

A band that only gets better with each passing year with an album that I have come to appreciate all the more. The next album is full on existential crisis. This one acknowledges things are changing. Still a bounty of raw energy but much more controlled and focused than past albums. Great lyrics and rhythms abound. Classic.

I haven't really listened to much Talking Heads (first one on here for me, though I did get a Tom Tom Club album). I've been a bit unsure what I would make of them, I know they get a lot of acclaim but I also tend to not be super into the new wave stuff. I enjoyed this a lot though, it's a really solid album. This is their third album and seems to be a bit of a transition point for them. This is their second album with Eno involved, and it sounds like Eno's hands are all over it. There aren't too many major standouts here ("Life During Wartime" and "Heaven" are the two best songs for my money), but the album sound is incredibly consistent. David Byrne's vocals are consistently great, he has this kind of breathless quality that really works (apparently he was literally running during the recording of "Drugs" to get this sound). "Life During Wartime" is a an interesting song too., it seems like a fairly clear commentary on New York City in the late '70s. I always find myself forgetting how bleak things were here at that time, but it's interesting context to keep in mind for artists that were living here at the time. You don't often get a song that addresses it so clearly though, I enjoyed that. Also "Heaven" was covered on the Simply Red album I got on here, this version is way better though. Favorite song: Life During Wartime Other: I Zimbra, Mind, Paper, Cities, Memories Can't Wait, Air, Heaven, Drugs 2/9/25

Hade nog lite större förhoppningar.

Every song sounds the same

This is a band I've respected but never loved, and in all honesty have never really explored so the material here was enjoyably unfamiliar. It's a heady mix of hypnotic rhythms, cop-show theme tune arrangements and Krautrock synths with some snappy songwriting, angular production and Byrne's idiomatic voice/lyrics - a very neat perversion of pop which gets darker and weirder as the album goes along. After an eclectic start it really grew in strength up to an amazing second side. I don't just respect this album, I quite like it in general and loved a good few songs. Also: Tina Weymouth!!! Favourite tracks: Paper, Cities, Life During Wartime, Memories Can't Wait (great run of tracks across the middle of the record!), Heaven, Drugs

Teenage me did not appreciate Talking Heads at all, fifties me does! Another great album, so glad I was introduced to them by a work colleague.

Fun album

1. zimbra - 1.5 2. mind - 1 3. paper - 1 4. citiez - 1 5. life - 0 6. memoriez - 1 7. air - 1 8. heaven - 1.5 9. animalz - 0 10. guitar - 0 11. drugz - 0 12. money - 0 13. life - 0 14. citiez - 0 15. mind - 0

I’ve never really appreciated the Talking Heads, and this album did not change that.

The ravings of a madman

first time heard 4-4.5 round to 4 mayybe 5 actually 2nd half rly strong

To me, Talking Heads is a band that makes accessible, decently fun, and very well produced music that, for some reason, has almost no charm to it. It's like pop but slightly better, excerpt slightly better is not enough for me to be a fan, because I don't like pop. Yeah, their music just doesn't impress me in any way. Their next album, Remain In Light, is slightly better, in my opinion, but I also couldn't find anything to praise it for. Good music, but nothing remarkable. 7/10

Love the talking heads, couple songs on here aren't my favorite. 4/5

Not a fan really of the talking heads, or maybe just more of David Byrnes yodeling. But this was pretty good. Some very interesting arrangements.

Not bad but not super memorable?

i dunno, its not in my taste, it sounds not great, but good enough.

3.8. Fun groves and some good atmospheric songs. Some duds but overall really enjoyed

This has always been my favorite Talking Heads album.

I haven't done a deep dive into the Talking Heads, I'm mostly only familiar with their hits like Psycho Killer and Once In A Lifetime. I quite liked most of this album, although a lot of the things I liked also strongly reminded me of other artists (David Bowie, Devo, Joy Division). I think it fizzles out towards the end, but it's still pretty good overall. I'm going to rate this 4 rather than 3 because I suspect it will grow on me. I'm also going to watch Stop Making Sense, that's apparently a good jumping off point for the Talking Heads. (I watched Stop Making Sense and it was great)

2.36. I must say I'm warming up to Talking Heads.

Not my cup of tea.

Now here is a weird band. To me their music is simplistic, minimalistic to the extreme. But sometimes less is more, and when they get it right, boy do they get it right. I have their greatest hits album, but that is the only album of theirs that I have heard, unless there was one on here earlier that I've forgotten about. Life during wartime is the only track I recognised, but the others were OK. Really not sure whether I'd buy any album by them other than greatest hits, but on the whole this one was ok. A solid high 3 from me.

A bit one paced. I do like Talking Heads but this one not one of my favourites, he sounds more demonically possessed than normal.

Talking Heads are a bit like Marmite, sometimes they hit the spot, and sometimes it's just brown sludge. This was definitely the former I've never listened to this before, and it's well worth another spin. There was a lot going on, so I was unable to appreciate the subtleties, another few plays and it might get a higher score.

No había escuchado este disco de Talking Heads, y menos mal, porque lo mismo habría sido el último. No me ha interesado nada. No es malo, así que 2 estrellas y listo.

en tykänny

Yeaaah, this one just isn't it for me. It's extremely repetitive, some of the songs sound like they were constructed from really cheesy music sample packs, I'm not hearing anything that's catchy, a lot of songs grate on me. To be fair, I've never been a huge fan of Talking Heads, even on the songs I do like (Burning Down the House and Psycho Killer), but this is just not good. Maybe I'm being too hard on it, but stuff like Electric Guitar and Drugs are awful. Like, I can see where they were going on *some* of the album, but it just doesn't work at all. This'll be my first 1/5. Really struggled between a 1 or a 2, but yeah, nothing on this comes close to being enjoyable for me. (I somehow came out of this record with Psycho Killer stuck in my head... what?)

Wild that there aren't more hits on this album. The sound is cool, but the album as a whole does kind of fizzle out on the B-side. Brian Eno's influence is noticeable, but I like Eno so it wasn't a negative. I love musicians who just do their own thing, and David Byrne definitely falls into that category.

Not the album I would have chosen - good but not their best

When they're good, they're great. When they're not good,they sound like a weird novelty act.

I like talking heads but this isn’t the best version of them.

I like the first few tracks enough, but the whole album feels a bit samey in sound and vibe. I Zimbra is a cool start to an album, and I liked the different feel Drugs provided. Their default sound reminds me of Bowie. Like 'Fame' (1975), 'Let's Dance'. I think this is just cool 70s music.

Also kinda dull, maybe I don’t get it

shortest 40 minutes ever tbh.................the kind of balance of jarring chaos and sharp hyper-rigidity that can be made by many people but only perfected by The Autistics. ive not heard remain in light in a long while, and its a record im v attached to as one of my single most important gateways into music, but ive grown increasingly attached to this record's jaggedy, splattery vignettes, all of which feel so vivid and distinct and mesmerizing. the potency of this record is as such that it has at least once song i can barely listen to without crying (heaven) and at least one song i can barely listen to without cackling (animals), and theyre right next to eachother! it would take a full talking heads dive to completely confidentially solidify this as my fave record of theirs, but its certainly the one id be most excited to listen to at any random time

A classic! Still, prefer their biggest hit.

It’s ok i guess

Upbeat. enjoyable. Don't know if it will b on I come back to but good none the less. 3-3.5

Not very hooky, don’t remember a lot of songs after it was over. Can hear clear influences on modest mouse in a few songs here. Good rhythm and bass lines. Definitely interesting.

Yayyy But i liked the other one much more maybe i didn't love it because my mood is so bad that i don't love anything today

Good stuff

Great album

Pretty good, no special tracks

4.5 after one listen. Will probably go up with repetition.

One of the best by one of the best. I like most of Talking Heads, but this is absolutely at the top of a phenomenal catalogue.

Not bad.

Love talking heads, great songs all around

This is great; Talking Heads have really hit their stride by this point. Side B not quite as strong as side A, but still an overall 5. (Also; another Eno win; I think my average score for albums he's been involved with is close to 5)

balls balls balls

Honestly it is really good, expected it to be worse, but here we are.

Like Devo but disco. If I was a teenager in the late 70s I would have been into this album so hard.

3 songs held up for me. Although I know this is a ground-breaking band, it was a little too out there for me. I wish I could give it one more half-star. Cities, Life During Wartime

I didn't know this album well at all. Obviously Life During Wartime was the big hit from it that always makes Greatest Hits collections and I knew the other singles. It seems to me that it's front-loaded for those singles with a longer, less interesting tail. It's not bad exactly but the evidence is clear: reviewers loved it, record buyers didn't.

Don't need to be reminded to listen to Fear of Music.

It’s weird and jittery but super fun to listen to. The grooves are tight and a little anxious, like a funkier version of Devo. Everything feels sharp and deliberate. It’s cool without being cold.

How are there two of their albums on this list?

listened to again definitely oddball, somewhat interesting, not enough for me

Buena segunda mitad

Psychadelic rock with a great groove. I love this sound because it feels historic. It feels like there's something special happening under the hood that isn't quite describable. The first track is my favorite (widely a favorite for many), I Zimbra. It starts with a beautiful guitar riff and some authentic vocal shouts.

Talking Heads continue to be my favourite discovery of this project Obviously I knew their singles before but I had no idea how much I’d enjoy all of their work This wasn’t quite as good as some of their other albums on this list but was still pretty great

One of the best album by Talking Heads but in hindsight it feels a bit like a prelude or test space for the grandiose Remain in Light that would follow. The album starts strong and ends strong and shows their talent. Some of the tracks in the middle are just not as playful or complex. Still a great album though.

i dont know how they do it, i dont know what their diet is, i dont know who the people in this band are, ive never met them, but talking heads is just consistently bewildering

Talking heads is atmospheric but this album didn't quite have the highlights of some of their better singles.

Sounds similar to franz ferninand.

Epic 1980's big-brain new wave music. Very quirky and nerdy in the best way possible.

This one has grown on me so much recently. For some reason it always used to be one of my least favourite Talking Heads albums, but now I would say that it's almost as good as Remain In Light.

not my style i don’t think

Kul sound! Mye deilige disco-vibes og bare en sær energi som driver godt. Men det blir litt ensformig i lengden, siden nesten hver eneste gang byr på null forandring i dynamikk. Beste sanger: Air, Heaven

Fear of Music? More like fear of getting another talking heads album... Neida! Men joda, har enda ikke skjønt meg på Talking Heads. Denne var kanskje litt bedre enn More Songs about Buildings and Food (eller hva den het) men føler fortsatt at de fleste sangene bare vegeterer i et område uten å gå noe sted.

I love this album's pop-centric sound that highlights not just how people lived in the 70s but even today.

Not my cup of tea. "Heaven" is not bad, but the rest is not for me. The song "Air" is not bad either.

🔥🔥 Talking Headsi ljubav, uvijek ih rado slušam. Bez puno duljenja, mrvicu niža ocjena samo zato što imam dražih njihovih albuma od ovog, ali svejedno sam uživala. 4/5, 8/10.

7/10 Slušao sam ovaj album davno pa se ne sjećam baš kako zvuči u komadu ali moram reći da mi je na ovo slušanje bio - tak, ništa posebno zapravo. Teško mi je to priznat za Talking Headse ali eto. Prva, I Zimbra mi je fantastična, odmah sam čuo Frippa i baš mi je žao što nije nastavio u tom smjeru dalje. Heaven bi isto istaknuo, iako je skroz drugačija, dok su mi ostale samo ok. Zanimljivo što mi je prethodni koji smo slušali dosta bolji, a i sljedeći Remain In Light koji će izdati samo godinu kasnije takodjer. Nema veze, vjerujem da će još koji njihov album doći na red ovdje, a do tada ovom ostavljam pristojnu sedmicu.

some talking heads songs are annoying to me because they feel so weird for weird's sake that it's not a pleasant sonic experience. but i gotta love that they go for it anyway.

this was a good album and i enjoy talking heads! they're truly weird for weirdness' sake but still make fun and listenable music, which is basically the ideal combo for me. there are a lot of unique sounds and genres on this record which keep things interesting for the most part. this album has some tracks that don't quite land for me, but that's fine. this really feels most like a stepping stone between the albums that came before (more songs about buildings and food) and after it (remain in light), where you can see the band developing their sound and getting their footing in real-time. also, i don't really care for the album cover/artwork. even though most of their album artwork is pretty simple, somehow this one feels particularly lazy and/or rushed. even the first one feels more out there and weird (likely just due to the clashing colors) than this one. favorites: i zimbra, cities, life during wartime, memories can't wait, heaven

Amazing

I love David Byrne, but I have to be in the right mood for Talking Heads. Even though they’re great I just don’t find myself wanting to listen to them. I was a little reluctant to put this one on, but it is a great album, and I was happy that it doesn’t have any of the songs that we’ve all heard a million times on it.

Definitely eccentric, and not for everyone. I feel like the songs either clicked immediately for me, or just came and went without any second thought. But the songs that did click are quirky, catchy, a little manic, and tie a bunch of sounds together in a way that almost shouldn't work, but still does. Top tracks: I Zimbra, Memories Can't Wait, Air

Great

Some more Talking Heads. Good. Listened to it at work, so I missed some of the song names. The alternate endings were good as well. Standouts: Mind, Cities, Heaven, and Animals.

First time listening to this album in its entirety. Paper and Life During Wartime are my favorites from it.

Sigma

Um pretty good. I really like the talking heads though

Much fun. Great album.

классический токин хедз - я научилась отличать голос но не песни

It's always an interesting listen with the Talking Heads. While Life During Wartime is the most well known song from this album, I especially like Cities, Air and Heaven.

Because David Byrne, and Talking Heads are often cited as an influence for many artists, I feel a little awkward saying that I don't like this album. I also struggle to articulate exactly why. I did read this review by : https://1001albumsgenerator.com/shares/600b2b41df8aed0e2460fa9c who summed the album up as: A spooked ostrich in a house of mirrors. I couldn't agree more.

I was surprised by how much I disliked this album - I feel like Talking Heads has lots of ingredients I should love, but it's the most irritating wank to actually listen to and I guess I'm just missing something here - clearly they are well loved by many, but I just don't get it! I Zimbra was tolerable, I'd be happy to never have to listen to Talking Heads again.

pioneers of the new wave sound, this rock album that came out at the tail end of the 70s is a perfect example of a new era of music bursting from the seams. mysterious and cryptic at times, while this album isn't perfect it stands out by itself and it represents such a specific sound transition, both with the band and with rock music as a whole.

Consider myself a pretty good TH fan. Knew most all of the songs but can’t say I’d heard that album from start to finish before. Really enjoyed that.

Not my cup of tea

Why is 80s music so fucking tinny?

I liked the beginning of this album a lot. If all the songs were like "I Zimbra" this would be a 5/5 album. I think the first half of this album was strong, but then the ending was weak. Also the "alternate version" of "Mind" was better than the regular version. Solid 3.5 album. Liked Songs: "I Zimbra" , "Paper" , "Cities" , "Life During Wartime" , "Heaven"

liked songs: Paper, Life During Wartime This album is... fine. I like Talking Heads in general, but I don't think most of this album is really their best work. 2.5

Prima muziek, maar ik had iets heel anders verwacht van de Talking Heads. Ik vind dit album zelfs een beetje saai. **

Wonderful music.

a little jazzy, very 80s. not really my cup of tea

Certainly was Talking Heads. Not bad, just not really my type of stuff.

The Talking Heads have never made a less than 5 star album. If the highest rating was 3 stars then you borrow the next 2 stars from the following album. Unless that album is Pet Sounds.

My favorite Heads album! Really love the jittery, nervous energy all over this album. It's crazy to think this feels like a band firing on all cylinders, only to make another huge creative jump just the next year with Remain in Light. Maybe it's knowing they were on that precipice is what makes me enjoy this album so much.

Okay damn opening this song is cool

5/5 - Have I heard of this album before? No Do I like post-punk? Heck yes Fear of music is a somewhat older album (released 1979) yet still sounds so modern. The vocals and lyrics sound so raw and powerful. The rhythm section is a sound foundation in this band upon which great songs are written. "I need something to change your mind" Well this album changed me, will definitely return to it.

Not quite as good as the last album, but it has that dissonant guitar, fretless bass and iconic vocals. Some of their best songs are on here. A

Not bad, you can hear the bowie influence

There's some songs on here I like. I am a talking heads fan, didn't realize this was such a seminal album for them.

I could really hear what would become the influences later on Speaking in Tongues and Remain in Light with the hints of African music in there. Had a lot of variety and a bunch of fun songs in there.