Talking Heads 77

Preferred other TH albums but still a fantastic offering. Felt a bit Sesame Street in places.

obviously fantastic

So fun and she was one of my favorites

Really interesting. I went into the album with high hopes having enjoyed everything I heard from them before. Some of those aspects came through in the album, particularly in Uh Oh Love comes to town, pulling up, and obviously psycho killer. But besides those individual highlights was actually quite mediocre. I would still listen to again, as their style absolutely matches what i like to listen to in my free time, but would probably prefer to pick and choose than the project as a whole.

This isn't new to me. It is one of the greatest albums ever made. No notes. 10/10

I absolutely love New York’s musical output. The Velvet Underground, Television, LCD Soundsystem and, most recently, Geese have been in constant rotation since I was a teenager - but one of the most beloved bands from the Big Apple have never connected with me in the slightest. I am, of course, talking about The Strokes. But I’ve never loved Talking Heads as much as most people either, as much as I do enjoy them. On paper, they do everything right. That nervous, frenetic energy, the Brian Eno connection, their mastery of the pop song structure in the early 80s. I’ll admit, Remain In Light deserves the hype, but Speaking in Tongues and especially its sister live album, Stop Making Sense, while better in film form, occupy the “good, but not great” area of music that so many albums fall into. Perhaps to unlearn this almost-disdain I’ve built up towards the band, I need to go back to their roots - so here we are, the very first album recommended to me on my second go-around on this site. Talking Heads: 77. This album contains much that I love about the CBGB scene. The plucky, DIY feel is all there, the production is very basic, the songwriting is extremely straightforward - but it doesn’t need to be any more than that. The anxious energy that exudes from a song like Pulled Up, the camp horror of Psycho Killer (arguably the band’s most well-known song), the playful, childlike notions of love of Uh-Oh! Love Comes To Town. It’s clear to me what this album is - a bit of fun. It’s about as unpretentious as you can get, really. OK - those later albums I mentioned earlier clearly have more depth to them, or at least more to chew on. But I can’t help but find something charming about the band’s debut. On this record, what might be an otherwise dull moment for another band is immediately saved by David Byrne’s infectious character, one he continues to portray, even now. So sure, it’s not the second coming of christ, but it’s a good time, and this particular album seems quite happy to be just that and nothing more. 7/10 Do you NEED to listen to it before you die: No

You know... some of the other more quirky Talking Heads albums don't quite do it for me. In fact, I sort of find them insufferable. But this one had obviously their most famous hit AND a bunch of other incredible songs.

buenooo, me gusta mucho como inicia porque es con toda la emoción, pero hay canciones flojas que dañan la vibra, sin embargo la mayoría son buenas.

It’s good. I don’t think it’s anything absurdly original or out of the box as it mostly carries on from where Roxy Music started (particularly Psycho Killer). I find David Byrnes lyrics to be kind of bland and uninteresting on certain songs as well. It strays a bit too arty for my personal liking through the middle section of the album, but there’s first 2 songs and the last 2 are stellar. There’s some genuine belters on this album, so I can’t knock it too harshly. 3 stars, they’ve done much better.

Love the music. Love the lyrics.

Listened before : No Listen again : No I wasn’t a huge fan of this, it felt a bit like it was going through the motions. I’m don’t love psycho killer which didn’t help. The song about the American civil service was a low point.

Boring Don’t like the singers voice

Warbly nonsense flanked by some good ones at the start and end. Psycho killer obviously the best. I'm not worried about the government, more about his mental lyrics. I like talking heads, but I mostly just got irritated by the weird vocals in this one

Strong opener, liking the steel pans in uh-oh, love comes to town. Some nothing-y songs in between Don’t worry about the government is… interesting. Very warbly and nonsensical. I love a bit of talking heads but this album isn’t for me besides the first song and obviously psycho killer unfortunately which do some heavy lifting. Pulled up is a decent-ish ending. Slightly disappointed though!

A couple of fun tracks but I was mostly underwhelmed.

Wow that was surprisingly bad for talking heads. I was hoping that was gonna be good. It was a little funky which was cool Highlights Uh Oh Love comes to town First Week/ Last Week.. Carefree (fav, like the horns even if the first half of the song isn't great) Psycho Killer

It’s fun but I really only loved psycho killer because it’s familiar

Stand out was obviously psycho killer, everything else was good but not really for me

Really odd album, not much like the stuff they would do after. The vocals got kind of grating after a little bit, but it was still a fun listen

lovely

Talking Heads debut here. Props to the song Psycho Killer, loved Goose's cover of that track at Fiddler's Green 25, but other than that I really just can't get into this band. Not for me

great songs but not my style at all

Psycho Killer the only song I was really familiar with coming into this (and yes it's quality!) but the whole thing flows together well. Great debut from the Heads

Heard this before. Pretty solid debut for an all time great band. Nowhere near a favorite for me and not one I go back to often but some really good early Talking Heads tracks on here for sure.

Fantastic!

It was fine. Didn't love it, kinda boring

I like Talking Heads a lot, but this wasn't my favorite. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for it at the time.

2/5

Dober 👍🏼

My favourite Talking Heads album.

One of the Talking Heads albums I know less well, I haven’t listened properly in yonks. It’s very interesting how foundational to their sound it is, certain elements really wouldn’t change much at all, and yet there’s a naivety and looseness to it all that’s really endearing in how much of a debut it is. The guitar tone is absolutely gorgeous on it, and although I love how razor sharp it got by Speaking In Tongues there’s a softness and a fullness to this that is really lush whilst also keeping that textbook TH spidery sound. Ultimately I think it is a little too basic and wholesome to stand up to their later material and to really blow me away, but it’s a wonderful debut and I’m very glad it’s on the list.

Three Talking Heads albums in my first 56 albums... joy. I can fully appreciate that this band and David Byrne are very important to a lot of other musicians, and a lot of people love this band. I just don't really enjoy Byrne's vocals. As I mentioned on the other two records so far, I don't necessarily mind new wave, I just hear portions of these songs that lean into punk beats and melodies and that's what excites me. The artist-y parts are just not as interesting to me. I find myself waiting for Psycho Killer just two songs in. The weird stuff like Tentative Decisions gets exciting at times, but for the most part, I only find a few sections of each song that connect with me. It might be different without Byrne's vocals, but he's the key songwriter, so I don't know how you could ever detangle those. Alas, it's just not for me, and that's okay.

Really good album with a couple of absolute bangers at the end

Rate: 8/10.

Not as great as Remain in Light or Buildings and Food but a lot of fun anyway. Lays down a groove and rides it for just the right length of time.

Very nerdy, reminds me of Devo and therefore of my father. A twitchy, bespectacled album

great album!!

Some fun sounds & ideas, but the same-y vocals quickly grow a little grating overall.

Two Talking Heads albums and neither one is Stop Making Sense? That just does not make any sense. Which David Byrne would probably appreciate. This is a good album, but I am marking it down to 3 because it is not Stop Making Sense (see also Remain in Light below). If they give me another Talking Heads album that is not Stop Making Sense, I think I will blow my top.

I’ve been trying to not hate the simplicity of this album ever since I discovered this band when Speaking in Tongues came out. Today is the day when I finally got it. This isn’t Fleetwood Mac or the Eagles; Talking Heads 77 was a blurry look at the future of rock, even if the band was still finding its way.

I hated this. David Byrne’s vocals annoyed the hell out of me almost from the start, and once that got under my skin there was really no coming back from it. A lot of this sounds like somebody took the English punk and ska coming out around the same time, stripped out everything I like about it, and replaced it with twitchy art-school weirdness. “Don’t Worry About the Government” was at least mildly entertaining because I liked the tongue-in-cheek lyrics. “Psycho Killer” was decent too, although I’m sure familiarity helped. It also helps that Byrne mostly sings like a normal person on that one instead of doing whatever the hell he’s doing on most of the album. I know Talking Heads are supposed to be hugely influential, but this did absolutely nothing for me. Mostly I just found it irritating.

So Durchschnitt wie etwas nur Durchschnitt sein kann.

Nachdem ich schon das ein oder andere Album von denen probiert habe, das hier aber noch nicht kannte, gebe ich mir jetzt mal die ganze Diskographie. Neuentdeckung.

That one good song saving

2/5 I don’t think this album was for me. Apart from a track or two I didn’t quite get what they were aiming for musically, and the vocals didn’t do me any favours either.

4/5. Underrated in their solid discography. Psycho Killer is. The tru highlight, but it’s not the only song worth checking out. This album is groovy, weird, and just fun. Talking heads are great and this album is no exception. David Byrne is a very fun frontman and songwriter, and serves to make this piece just flat out fun.

Good overall. Psycho Killer is the best song . High energy and intense album.

Made the call to go back and revisit this one proper for this entry and wow, either my tastes have shifted or I've just gotten more mature because suddenly this record sounds really wonderful. Great start for these guys.

Really enjoyed this. It’s sounds like what I think talking heads sounds like. Weird their later stuff I don’t like until they pull out of it into being liked again. Didn’t expect their first album to have their traditional sound.

Some great moments but pretty inconsistent. Can definitely hear the potential of the band but they hadn't reached that yet.

The hits

Right from the start, I'm digging the steel drums in the opening track. And while I'm almost too tired of "Psycho Killer" to continue enjoying it, we're not there yet. I think this might be the most enjoyable Talking Heads album I've listened to so far. While I can't pin down the exact reason why I find it more to my liking, it probably has something to do with the more upbeat, whimsical music. Byrne's lilting vocals enhance the more serious commentary in the lyrics. It's still an average album on a subjective scale, but as a debut album, and for how well the track list is constructed, I can see why it's on the list.

a true classic

Nothing great about this apart from that one song we all know

More less.

Some really fun tracks. They do all sound like different shades of the same color, but it's a good thing that I like that color! Pulled up is a fantastic way to end an album. I love the way his lyrics sound like someone reading instructions and reacting to them.

Don't think I've played this through before, but it sounds kinda familiar (even apart from Psycho-Killer) - the elements prefigure what's coming up for Talking Heads (I knew MSABAF reasonably well), and also more broadly the new wave sensibility coming up. (Noted that the Heads had already been gigging for some time, this stuff was out there.) There are elements I could love (particularly Weymouth basslines, lyrics often quite engaging), some songs have very appealing riffs (particularly No Compassion), others don't really grab me on what might be first listens (and some Byrne vocal stylings are a bit off-putting). What rating? I'll give it points for being influential and for the chutzpah, less points for likeability. Overall, it's at least Good, 7/10. (Might bump it up if/when I get round to listening through a couple more times.)

A fun and playful album, I love the way the band doesn't takes itself too serious. For me it make it feel more genuine Fav songs - Tentative Decisions, Psycho Killer 4/5

Fafafafa

They named this album after the score it deserves. :3 This isn't really my kind of music but I loved it anyway. Psycho Killer was a bit disappointing though, there are much better songs on the album. :3

really good but they have WAY better

Quite fun!

8.7/10 if like two tracks were cut would be a 5

um album legal para ouvir numa viagem. Tirando a lendária Psycho killer, nenhuma musica muito acima da média, mas nenhuma abaixo tambem. Sólido nota 4/5

Oh great.. another Talking Heads album... fuck me. To some degree, it's fascinating that there's so many Talking Heads albums on this list and at the same time I find them absolutely boring and generic. Must be just a peasant who knows nothing about real music. The music would be somewhat okay, but David Byrne's voice is just too anoying.

The world never saw a bass player this sexy since Paul McCartney. As for this album, one of the great first album/first song mission statements. .

Great listen. DB in good form.

Sublime, whether listening at home drinking coffee or standing in a Suffolk field with gassy beer in a plastic cup.

The longevity of David Byrne is fabulous. Great album.

Psycho Killer makes this a solid 3*

6/10

What a debut. I rated remain in light 4 when I got it a few months ago. In retrospect, that’s a 5 and 77 is a 4.

Excelente álbum. Dudé de ponerle 5 estrellas. Muy buen álbum debut y con una energía única que destaca entre las bandas que estaban surgiendo en esa época. Lo tendré que comprar en vinilo.

Álbum que sí tenía que escuchar antes de morir, y puff qué temón psyco killer, en el contexto del disco es hasta mejor. Igual no hubo otras canciones que estén a la altura creo.

Bello, meglio di remain in light ma non lo so

home of Psycho Killers

This worked for me in a way other talking heads hasn’t and I’m not sure why. Is there less going on here than in their other stuff? Whatever it is, this felt more like a band and less like an experiment. 4.5.

Few bands are as good as these guys at finding a groove and just sitting on it for three minutes. No skips but outside of the opener and Psycho Killer nothing to take you to the mountain top either. It makes me chuckle that they did a tour with the Ramones in 1977. I really want to know what David Byrne was discussing with Joey and Johnny in the back of the bus.

I can see the vision, especially in Psycho Killer, Tentative Decisions, and Who Is It? , but the Talking Heads just don't do it for me. Maybe it's Byrne's vocals. I had a fine time listening, but I will never seek out a Talking Heads album and even the songs that make into my rotation I usually skip. It's gonna get a 3, but in my heart of hearts this is a 2.5

TODAAA

Some alright melodies and proper old school music that I like. I do not rate the singer, and with a different singer and a slight melody alter would massively boost the songs. This therefore makes it 3 stars

Good debut signalling the bangers we have to come from the band. Solid but didnt blow me away.

the talking heads debut has all of the elements that’ would make them purely legendary in utero, setting a great foundation for there wider back catalogue

I couldn't possible doubt that this album is super interesting & experimental - the tracks keep you guessing and have a real energy to them. As enjoyable as parts of the album was though, I can't get on board with David Byrne’s vocal style, and the jaunty tracks do get old after a while. Psycho Killer is an obvious killer track, but other than this there wasn't a standout moment to shout about - alot of tracks blur together and lose a bit of their impact for me.

What I love about these guys on this album is that they've found a way to insert each and every song here into my head. At one point or another, each track has been my favorite on the record, starting with "Psycho Killer" and "Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town" (the two I come back to the most), but at various points each one has done the trick. And you know why? Because they've hit on the seemingly simple yet foolproof plan of making sure that each song contains some little thing to lodge it in the mind, some quirk of Byrne's delivery or lyrics, some bass riff, some guitar line, some drum fill. Something jams it up in my brain, and won't let go every time I listen and though it sounds easy, if it were really so simple I'd like everything ever released. My love for this album knows no bounds, well, no bounds within four stars, anyway. I think that the band's songwriting itself got sharper later and the experiments they started laying down as soon as they met Mr. Eno really put them into the stratosphere, but this one's a charmer all over. It's smart, it's funny, it's catchy, it's got something to say. I also like the somewhat mean undercurrent of Byrne's lyrics: "some say compassion is a virtue, but I don't have the time," all of "Psycho Killer", it's clear that some times he's giving us a character study, but the amount that he understands that character and is able to communicate their ideas is funny in itself. I could write for a long time about this record and how much I enjoy it, but that seems like enough for now.

I thought I would like it more than I did, at some point it became kind of annoying.

Previously known.

A fun, catchy new wave record which influenced the next generation of pop and rock music. 8/10

Checking my fourth and final Talking Heads off the list. It's a nice weird low key funky record.

3/5

Not my favourite Talking Heads album. Nothing unlistenable but just a bit too samey throughout.

🕶️🗣️👔🎸📺

Är ganska bra, men jag har svårt för sångaren röst efter typ två låtar vilket drar ner betyget.

Entered wanting to like something more than just psycho killer but unfortunately didn’t come back with much.

Really only liked Psycho Killer. The rest was ok but forgettable.

Songs don't have a very deep sound, very flat sounding. Singer's voice is so damn weird, he never tries to hit any real notes

Never really been my favorite Talking Heads album, they haven't quite locked into that sound that made them hypnotic yet. Still a great album overall however. 8/10

Ca va pas trop mal mais pas ma came mais sympa

MI tipo de música, me inclino más por Led Zeppelin I y IV, pero este álbum termina de consolidar un sonido característico de la banda. Es como si alguien tomara el blues negro del sur de los estados unidos, le diera potencia y lo dejara en Londres. Las guitarras de Paige ya mostraban potencial, y el solo de Bonham en Moby Dick (mi highlight) demuestra por que es uno de los mejores en tocar la batería

3.5 inkább de 3.0 túl szőrösszívűnek tűnik