Talking Heads - Speaking in Tongues

Observe as David Byrne finally learns to dance. Non-Western sounds and funky rhythms had infected Talking Heads music prior to this 1983 pop breakthrough, but Speaking in Tongues is where the beat truly gels. The band's quirky, nerdy persona somehow blends easily with music borrowed from the African Diaspora on "Stop Making Sense" and "Burning Down the House." The album also marks one of the last true band collaborations, before Byrne reduced his partners to mere sidemen. If their edgier early albums now sound more challenging and unique in hindsight, Speaking in Tongues at least documents the New York quartet's singular blend of World Beat, art school rock, and the always irresistible dancefloor. --Steve Appleford Amazon.com essential recording

#1

I second the pull up the roots comment! Might be my favorite song on the whole album. This entire album is awesome though, and its really good on a long drive in the summertime. July 20, 2008

an intoxicatingly grooving, virtually flawless album

The Talking Heads' 1983 album "Speaking In Tongues" is a dazzling, groove-oriented collection. The music here is so impeccably crafted and paced that you're truly left in awe, that is if you're not busy simply dancing and/or singing along.

The album is remarkably cohesive, yet intriguingly varied at the same time. The massively funky "Girlfriend Is Better" has one of the most insanely catchy choruses ever, plus hilarious vocal asides from David Byrne. "Making Flippy Floppy" and the huge hit "Burning Down The House" are ultra-funky gems as well. "Slippery People" has an incredibly catchy gospel-ized call-and-response chorus, sumptuous bright keyboard textures, and a neatly 'off-the-beat' bass line. The swinging "Swamp" is fittingly titled, with a swampy New Orleans R&B groove, Byrne singing much lower than usual, and an amusingly growling singalong chorus. "I Get Wild/ Wild Gravity" has a light reggae feel and yet another irresistible chorus. The closing "This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)", with its memorably looping guitar line, has a weirdly optimistic tone and is a wonderful way to end the record.

In short, "Speaking In Tongues" is a marvelous must-have record, from a terrific band, that any serious music fan will want to listen to over and over and over. One of my all-time personal favorites. April 18, 2007

Best. Talking. Heads. Album.

I have a special edition of this with a DVD side and I can listen to this in 5.1 surround sound. It is an earth movign experience. I love every song on this album. In fact, I think this is my favorite album ever by my favorite band ever and it includes my favorite song ever, This Must Be the Place. April 7, 2007

Superb MASTERPIECE

I picked this album up used at an old record store. Popped it in my cd player and WOW! This is by far the greatest Talking Heads Album Making Flippy Floppy is a really well composed song. What is neat about this album is it has a sort of reggae funk to it with all kinds of random lyrics. YOU WILL ENJOY THIS IF YOU ARE A TALKING HEADS FAN OR ARE NEW TO THEM! August 27, 2006

One song too many

ALSO AVAILABLE AS A DUAL DISC WITH SOME EXTRA TRACKS.
HOPEFULLY IT HAS BETTER SOUND.

Released in 1983, this is the Talking Heads' fifth studio album. It came after three years after Remain In Light. In those days, 3 years between albums was a long time. In the sixties some groups released a couple of albums a year. If they didn't you wondered what happened to them. Now, groups go up to a decade between album releases.

The sound quality on the original CD is OK but not excellent. It is a little bit muddled and not as sharp as it should be, especially considering the musical style the band used at the time. There is new version out, on a dual disc. One side is a normal CD and the other is an audio DVD. There are some extra tracks on this.

This might be the Talking Heads best album, if it didn't all sound the same and eventually get stale and boring. I think if they had left out Pull Up the Roots, the album would have been near perfect. Pull Up The Roots just drones on with a disco beat. It almost sounds like one of those extended mixes created just for discos.

Otherwise, this CD is just filled full of great songs and real classics: Buring Down the House, Girlfriend Is Better and Swamp. When I first heard Swamp, I had no idea who it was.

This album is the basis for much of the live CD/DVD, Stop Making Sense. I think that many of the songs are even better on this live album.

If you like this album, than you should check out the early Tom Tom Club albums, especially Dark, Sneak, Love Action. Tom Tom Club is spin off band featuring Franz and Weymouth. June 9, 2006

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