Talking Heads - Talking Heads: 77

Next to CBGBs peers like the Ramones and the Voidoids, Talking Heads barely sounded like a punk band. After the startlingly non-conformist "Love Building on Fire," 77 made for a surprisingly tuneful collection of songs: nervy vignettes of urban unease, arranged for a tight little new wave quartet. The most overtly disturbed song, "Psycho Killer," now sounds a touch heavy-handed; more unassuming tracks like "New Feeling," "Happy Day," and "Don't Worry About the Government"--preppie pop with brains--have aged better. The first of four consecutive masterpieces for Sire, 77 is the work of a truly great American band. --Barney Hoskyns Amazon.com essential recording

Heady debut lacking their later brilliance

Debut album for Talking Heads, they were one of the earliest new wave bands, and one of the most well-loved by the arty and punk in-crowd. It's not much of a surprise then that this didn't sell too well. For one, it's a young band still crystallizing their sound and style. For another, despite the disturbing power of the frantic classic, "Psycho Killer," it was a minor hit at best, and not an easy sell either. Most (including me) only picked this up after their later success.

Like the band, "77" improves as it progresses. Unlike their bigger (and better) albums to come ("Fear of Music," "Remain in Light"), the songs on the second half are superior to the sometimes tepid first side. Byrne and crew almost sound reined in and tentative on songs like "New Feeling" and "Happy Day" before loosening up for side two. Compare that to the energy in "The Book I Read," "Pulled Up," and "Don't Worry About the Government." For a debut, it's pretty good, but Heads newbies should start with the aforementioned bigger records.

Best cuts: "Psycho Killer," "No Compassion," "The Book I Read," "Don't Worry About the Government," "Tentative Decisions," "Pulled Up," "Uh-oh, Love Comes to Town" February 13, 2008

A fine start to an awesome career

An odd debut, but a charming one--David Byrne's gawky, nerd-like personality never shone through better than here. It isn't as distinctive as Fear of Music or Remain in Light, and it's not as consistent, either. "The Book I Read"; "Who Is It?" and "Happy Day" did not deserve to make the final cut in my eyes. And it all sort of sounds alike, running together in a giant mush. But the mush sounds great. And it's really interesting to hear the group's twisted take on a pop song (the paranoid "Don't Worry About the Government"; "Tentative Decisions"; "Pulled Up"). And they do branch out of the rhythm guitar-bass-drums-keyboards-jerky rhythm thing once for a song I think is as good as anything else the group's ever done ("First Week, Last Week... Carefree" has horns and marimbas. It's like calypso! And I know nothing about calypso, so I don't know if that's good or not, but I find the song has a quirky charm). Meanwhile, who could've predicted that utter paradigm shift in "No Compassion"? That one really took me by surprise. I thought they were starting the next song, but I was proved utterly wrong. Then there are the two classic tracks: the danceable "Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town" and the sinister funk-rocker "Psycho Killer". You don't want to miss either of those. Especially the second. Oh, and give a listen to the acoustic version of "Psycho Killer" found on Stop Making Sense, preferably the video version. One of the highlights of a concert film that is strictly made up of them. The album isn't bad, either. It gets criticized a good deal, but it's what made me a Heads fan in the first place, so I can't be that hard on it really. This is one of the Talking Heads' very best. I'd put it behind only Fear of Music and Remain in Light. Actually, the group's first six studio albums all range from good to masterpiece, so I recommend them all. It's when you get past Little Creatures when things start to get iffy. September 12, 2007

Great Debut-!!!!

In my personal opinion early Talking Heads are the best. Ranks with Television and Devo. September 2, 2007

A marvelous little debut

Although the Talking Heads' style would continue to shift and evolve throughout their career, the group's 1977 debut has the seeds of just about every element of their ever-changing sound; it's a scintillating combination of punk, art-rock, and funk, with chunks of pop (relatively speaking) and world music (a term I hate, but it seems to fit here) thrown in for good measure. The music is characterized by spiky rhythms, jittering guitars, and lead singer David Byrne's yelping, high-strung vocals. It's a sound that's full of nervous energy and excitable discomfort, a weirdly likeable mixture of catchiness and weirdness. The words are just as wonderfully offbeat. Full of subtle humor, unexpected insight, strange tension, goofball innocence, and nervous paranoia, the group's lyrics draw a wonderfully warped portrait of love and life in the modern world.

The best songs on this album make it an excellent debut. "Uh Oh, Love Comes To Town" kicks off the proceedings with an intoxicating rush of Tropical-tinged weirdo-pop, with its swinging rhythms and spastic vocals. The lyrics are by turns funny and touching, as they relate the tale of an uptight workaholic who finds himself falling straight into love. There's something so wonderfully irresistible in Byrne's rapturous cry of "Jet pilot goin' out of control/ Ship captain on the ground/ Stock broker make a bad investment/ When love has come to town!" Other highlights include the leen, skittery funk-punk of "New Feeling," which simulates a rush of unfamiliar emotions with hyperactive glee. I also love "Happy Day," which builds tension in its brooding main verse before releasing it in a downright orgasmic chorus (seriously). "No Compassion" adds some cruel feedback and a darker lyrical bent to the mix, while "Don't Worry About The Government" is a fluttering, dreamy number with some intentionally naïve lyrics that defy you to figure out weather or not Byrne's being sarcastic. Of course, there's also the classic "Psycho Killer," a darkly funny portrait of insanity and obsession, set to an unnerving rhythm. The record goes out on "Pulled Up," a hyperactive rush that'll get your blood pumping and feet moving.

But it isn't perfect; I could do without the somewhat dull, repetitive "Tentative Decisions," or the stiff, generic pseudo-funk of "Who Is It?" "The Book I read" and "First Week/ Last Week... Carefree" are similarly unimpressive (although the former does have a certain hypnotic charm).

But really, with songs as good as this album's highlights, there's very little to complain about. Great stuff from a band that would get even better. August 26, 2007

my favourite

funky and very singalong. first week last week carefree is my favourite, this has some good saxaphone, dont think they used this instrument often enough on their albums.great pick me up! May 13, 2007

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