1001 Albums Summary

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