Talking Heads "Fear of Music" 1979, Sire Produced: Brian Eno & Talking Heads Recorded: Long Island City, NY, April 22, 1979 and May 6, 1979. The Hit Factory, Atlantic Studios, RPM Sound Studios, The Record Plant, New York All Songs: Byrne (except) Overall- 4.5 David Byrne -- vocals, guitars Chris Frantz -- drums Jerry Harrison -- keyboards, guitars, backing vocals Tina Weymouth -- bass, backing vocals Brian Eno -- backing vocals, treatments Gene Wilder and Ari Up -- congas on 1 and 5 Robert Fripp -- guitar on 1 The Sweetbreathes -- backing vocals on 7 Julie Last -- backing vocals on 1 1. I Zimbra (Byrne, Brian Eno, Hugo Ball) -- 3.5 2. Mind -- 5 3. Paper -- 3.5 4. Cities -- 4.5 5. Life During Wartime (Byrne, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth) -- 4.5 6. Memories Can't Wait -- 4 7. Air -- 3.5 8. Heaven (Byrne, Harrison) -- 4.5 9. Animals -- 4.5 10. Electric Guitar -- 4 11. Drugs -- 3 "To me, everything about the Talking Heads that isn't vocal or lyrical is a little nondescript, only reaching the recognizable status because of their success. All of them are irreplaceable, of course, because of the expertly executed grooves they could stick with for minutes on end. The innovation, then, rests on the vocalist, so what are we left with? David Byrne: professional art-weirdo. Apart from his distinguished singing voice, Byrne riddles his songs with excellent emotion. What emotion that is, I have no idea. Fear of Music shows quite the opposite. Each track is bravely approached as an impregnable vessel for whatever Byrne's weird messages are, all the while compelling the head to nod to the standard 4/4 drum beats. The most affable songs are mainly on the first side, songs during which you can allow yourself to sit back and relax: the weirdness of Byrne has not yet begun. "I Zimbra" is a great opening track, with a great percussive engine about it. Another one of their big ones, "Cities," adds a dark shell to the concept of surrounding yourself in a city, and expecting its atmosphere to affect you. Perhaps the title Fear of Music pertains to how the average listener would react to more than half these tunes. Things like "Mind," and everything after "Memories Can't Wait," with the exception of the straightforward, almost boring "Heaven." Byrne all but screams his head off in "Animals," and all but scares my pants off with "Drugs." It is produced by Eno, after all. Another professional art-weirdo. What you get in the end is an album that is, in its own way, experimental, when you take away what the non-singing members of the band do. My faves: "I Zimbra," "Life During Wartime," "Memories Can't Wait," "Drugs" ('cause it's creepy and sonically diaphanous)" - Strawhenge