What is the best Talking Heads album?

Don't forget The Tom Tom Club! I like them better than the Talking Heads.

David Byrne was reportedly horrible to work with. Just ask The B-52's!

R2 ...or every other member of Talking Heads.

We watched TRUE STORIES again recently. I don't think I'd seen it since it was shown heavily on cable in the early 90's.

It's not great, but I think overall ahead of its time in its intentionally deconstructed, campy approach. David Byrne does get annoying after awhile. His manner is too affected. We loved some of the lesser known actresses of the time like Swoozie Kurtz as the rich lady, Annie McEnroe, and Jo Harvey Allen as the lying woman... she steals the show!

R2 = Chris & Tina, unable to let it go

R5 Hi David!

I always loved David Byrne and Brian Eno's MY LIFE IN THE BUSH OF GHOSTS album. In a sense I've always considered it a Talking Heads record, sort of. It's so "arty 80's," with its use of samples, world beats and overall angular and disconnected sound.

I bought it as a teen in 1981 mainly because I loved the cover so much, and was already familiar with Talking Heads.

This record opened up my ears to Brian Eno, and I soon discovered his "ambient" series... another private obsession from my 80's youth.

People go nuts for this song. I don’t get it.

Fear of Music or remains in the light, hands down

R8 Yeah, I hear that song everywhere. It's crossed over into "muzak" territory. I hear it at the grocery store, call on-hold music, the airport, etc.

I agree. Remain in Light is their masterpiece. With Fear of Music a close second. Both were challenging and experimental, but also each contained one big hit.

Remain in Light mixed electronics and world beats (unusual at the time). Those first long three songs on the album are soaring! But it also had "Once in a Lifetime," probably their signature hit an early example of 80's rock video aesthetics.

Fear of Music was more intentionally bleak and austere, but had "Life During Wartime," a funky song with serious groove that got lots of radio play.

R11 Gerry Todd agrees!

R12 I love you! SCTV reference!

I thought "Stop Making Sense" was just the live movie? It's an album? Or are we talking the soundtrack to the film?

He was working with the B-52's on Mesopotamia, but they had a conflict of interest and they released it as an EP. Still a good album, though. Wonder what the problem was.

Remain in Light musically but its not their greatest party album and the Heads were a great party band.

Mesopotamia still sounds pretty good. Love Cake.

Speaking In Tongues is a MASTERPIECE. It broke them through into stardom. MTV age helped too. "Burning Down The House"...they played that video every hour. Girlfriend Is Better? Total banger.

It all went down hill for them, creatively, after this record. The subsequent ones don't have bite.

The STOP MAKING SENSE live album and film was super-popular in the late 80's. It introduced their older songs to a whole new mainstream audience. "Psycho Killer" is still well-known because of this film.

R19 I've watched that film more times than I can count. If any of you who haven't seen STOP MAKING SENSE on the big screen get the chance (well, post-Covid), you simply must! It is such an experience. I always get choked up. It is such a life-affirming event, like a revival tent situation.

R11 read my mind

R8: because that song is a masterpiece.