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Rating: “…That’ s the trouble! Forgot the trouble! That’ s the trouble! Forgot the traaaabol! That’ s the traaaaabol!...”
The Talking Heads were geniuses: stuff that you listen to today and think that clubs are missing something big by playing that Latin-American or techno-house garbage, crafted at the record label's marketing table, instead of, I don't know, a song like With Our Love, an engaging funky rhythm from the first notes, the crazy hysterical voice of David Byrne, typically “new wave” guitar riffs, never abandoning their talent for catchiness, makes even a couch potato like me want to dance… it’s a dream I know, but can you really imagine a place where they play the Talking Heads?
Oh yes, the geniuses of rhythm: someone like Brian Eno realized it right away and, after their first album, 77, didn’t let them get away and decided to produce them for this second album. An album that starts where the previous one ended, with Thank You For Sending Me An Angel which is like the tail of Pulled Up, a melody that seems to gather momentum from afar on the keyboard notes, frenetic and repeated incessantly, with Byrne’s vocal virtuosity starting at full speed.
After the track mentioned above, we proceed with the glam-pop of The Good Thing, but after two verses, this is what's special about these guys!, here's the change of rhythm, marked by the singer's anxious and convulsive voice, which, as usual, seems to handle a tool, making it rhythmic and nervous, then an incredible hysterical and scathing coda with the duel between David's vocalizing and the guitar. And on to Warning Sign, a slow but always funky melody emphasized by electronic effects like gusts of wind (“made in Enoland”) plus a dissonant guitar arpeggio of two close notes repeated multiple times, which creates a disorienting-deviant effect that culminates in a surprising off-beat break: a structure that repeats throughout the song, with Byrne appearing as an insomniac who can't find a position in bed and tosses and turns rambling.
Almost spoken, whining, schizoid, tormented, but rhythmic, still terribly rhythmic. We enter pop territory with The Girls Want To Be With The Girls, dominated by '70s disco keyboards, creating catchy melodies, with the usual extra touch given by the voice, less frantic but equally distinctive. Then an authentic funky masterpiece (listen to how absolutely rhythmic the guitar is), Found A Job, at times almost rap, ending with a purely instrumental finale perfectly synthesizing danceability and paranoid hysteria, and following, the masterpiece: Artists Only. Intro with guitar arpeggio, the usual rhythm change, a melody almost rapped by a very tense Byrne doubled by almost furious keyboards (with high notes contrasting with his deep voice), with the bass providing a counterpoint; then a brief thriller-movie interlude (reminiscent of the initial part of Interstellar Overdrive, just after the introductory riff) building up to the singer's scream, starting again after the tension builds with the nervous rhythm from before.
Subsequently, funk alternated with more purely punk-“new wave” sounds in the chorus in I’m not In Love, then Stay Hungry, another disco track (always intellectual disco, mind you, and above all always funk) with glam hints in the refrain and a finale where Byrne appears almost reflective, always between the spoken and sung but now calm, as if in thoughtful repose.
The last two tracks are where I feel Brian Eno's influence the most. Take Me To The River, a cover of Al Green, was one of the group's biggest hits, but it represents also one of their most experimental tracks, “newwaving” a classic soul song. It is, in fact, rendered completely different from the original thanks to typically “talkingheadian” arrangements, combined with numerous electronic effects, insights that guide the band towards their future path (see the masterpiece Remain In Light, through the splendid Drugs from their third album): the rhythm for once is slow, but the tension focuses on all those staccatos, both in the singing and in the instrumental-electronic accompaniment, and culminates in the final hysteria, made of vocal and guitar screams, releasing previously accumulated neurotic energy, yet at the same time restrained within the still-flat cadence (when they make these slow tracks that manage to convey such a sense of rhythmic neurosis it gives me chills…).
The finale is Big Country, instrumental country (!), with mandolin, with jazz (!) overtones, a splendid sax (!) creating a romantic and intimate atmosphere, finally peaceful; but note the bass line instead typically funky which gives the group’s most distinctive shade.
A genius record, like all the first four of this magical group, similar to Devo but less punk, not far from the Pop Group but more pop, to take with eyes closed, if you have at least a bit of taste for rhythm.
Ah yes… Rhythm. You didn’t catch that, right? (try typing “rhyt” in “Find on this page” and you’ll see… )
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Thank You for Sending Me an Angel (02:11)
Oh, oh, baby you can walk, you can talk just like me
You can walk, you can talk just like me
You can look, tell me what you see
You can look, you won't see nothing like me
If you look around the world
Oh, baby you can walk, you can talk just like me
With a little practice you can walk like, talk just like me
If that's what you wanna do
Well you can look, you'll walk in circles around me
But first, I'll walk in circles around you
But first, I'll walk around the world
I'm walking 'round the world
I...you can
I'll walk in circles around you
But first, show me what you can do
03 The Good Thing (03:03)
I will fight, will fight with my heart
I will fight, will fight with understanding
In my mind the weather never changes
Skill overcomes difficult situations
A straight line exists between me and the good thing
I have found the line and its direction is known to me
Absolute trust keeps me going in the right direction
Any intrusion is met with a heart full of the good thing
Try to compare what I am presenting
You will meet with much frustration
Try to find...similar situation
You will always find the same solution
As the heart finds the good thing, the feeling is multiplied
Add the will to the strength, and it equals conviction
As we economize, efficiency is multiplied
To the extent I am determined the result is the good thing
So I say:
I have adopted this and made it my own
Cut back the weakness, reinforce what is strong
04 Warning Sign (03:54)
Warning sign, warning sign
I see it, but I pay it no mind
Hear my voice, hear my voice
It's saying something and it's not very nice
Pay attention, pay attention
I'm talking to you and I hope you're concentrating
I've got money now, I've got money now
C'mon baby, c'mon baby
Warning sign of things to come (take it over, take it over)
Someone's talking on my telephone (when we're older, when we're older)
Hear my voice, move my hair
I move it around a lot, but I don't care (what I remember)
Warning sign, warning sign
Look at my hair, I like the design
It's the truth, it's the truth
Your glassy eyes and your open mouth
Take it easy, take it easy
It's a natural thing and you have to relax
I've got money now, I've got money now
C'mon baby, c'mon baby
Warning sign of things to come (turn me over, turn me over)
Love is here but I guess it's gone now (hurry up babe, hurry up)
Hear my voice, move my hair
I move it around a lot, but I don't care
Do you remember
What it is that you remember
Baby remember
Baby remember
06 Found a Job (04:59)
"Damn that television...what a bad picture"
"Don't get upset, it's not a major disaster"
"There's nothing on tonight," he said, "I don't know what's the matter!"
"Nothing's ever on," she said, "so...I don't know why you bother."
We've heard this little scene, we've heard it many times
People fighting over little things and wasting precious time
They might be better off...I think...the way it seems to me
Making up their own shows, which might be better than T.V.
(Chorus)
Judy's in the bedroom, inventing situations
Bob is on the street today, scouting up locations
They've enlisted all their family
They've enlisted all their friends
It helped save their relationship
And made it work again...
Their show gets real high ratings, they think they have a hit
There might even be a spinoff, but they're not sure 'bout that
If they ever watch T.V. again, it'd be too soon for them
Bob never yells about the picture now, he's having too much fun
(Chorus)
Judy's in the bedroom, inventing situations
Bob is on the street today, scouting up locations
They've enlisted all their family
They've enlisted all their friends
It helped save their relationship
And made it work again...
So think about this little scene, apply it to your life
If your work isn't what you love, then something isn't right
Just look at Bob and Judy, they're happy as can be
Inventing situations, putting them on T.V.
(Chorus)
Judy's in the bedroom, inventing situations
Bob is on the street today, he's having a vacation
They've enlisted all their family
They've enlisted all their friends
It helped save their relationship
And made it work again...
07 Artists Only (03:35)
I'm painting, I'm painting again
I'm painting, I'm painting again
I'm cleaning, I'm cleaning again
I'm cleaning, I'm cleaning my brain
Pretty soon now I will be bitter
Pretty soon now will be a quitter
Pretty soon now I will be bitter
You can't see it 'til it's finished
I don't have to prove...that I am creative!
I don't have to prove...that I am creative!
All my pictures are confused
And now I'm going to take me to you
09 Stay Hungry (02:40)
I think that we can signify our love now
Ooh girl, you can initiate an impulse of love
Stay hungry, stay hungry, stay hungry
Move a muscle, move a muscle, move a muscle
Make a motion, make a motion, make a motion
Pull it tighter, pull it tighter, pull it tighter
Double beatin', double beatin', double beatin'
Double beatin', double beatin', double beatin'
Palpitation, palpitation, palpitation
Stay hungry, stay hungry, stay hungry
Here's that rhythm again
Here's my shoulder blade
Here's the sound I made
Here's the picture I saved
Here I am
10 Take Me to the River (05:03)
I don't know why I love her like I do
All the changes you put me through
Take my money, my cigarettes
I haven't seen the worst of it yet
I wanna know can you'll tell me
I really love to stay
Take me to the river, drop me in the water
take me to the river, dip me in the water
wash your feet out x3
I don't know why you treat me so bad
Think of all the things we could have had
Love is an ocean that I can't forget
My sweet sixteen I would regret
I wanna know can you'll tell me
I really love to stay
Take me to the river, drop me in the water
Take me to the river, dip me in the water
Hug me, squeeze me, love me, tease me
Till I can't, till I can't, till i can't, till i can't
I don't know why I love you like I do
All the trouble you put me through
Sixteen candles blown on my wall
here am I the biggest fool of them all
I wanna know can you'll tell me
I really love to stay
Take me to the river,drop me in the water
Dip me in the water , drop me to the river
dip me in the water
drop me in the river
push me in the water
11 The Big Country (05:32)
I see the shapes
I remember from maps
I see the shoreline
I see the whitecaps
A baseball diamond, nice weather down there
I see the school and the houses where the kids are
Places to park by the factories and buildings
Restaurants and bars for later in the evening
Then we come to the farmlands, and the undeveloped areas
And I have learned how these things work together
I see the parkway that passes through them all
And I have learned how to look at these things and I say
(Chorus)
I wouldn't live there if you paid me
I wouldn't live like that, no siree!
I wouldn't do the things the way those people do
I wouldn't live there if you paid me to
I guess it's healthy, I guess the air is clean
I guess those people have fun with their neighbors and friends
Look at that kitchen and all of that food
Look at them eat it, I guess it tastes real good
They buy it in the farmlands
Then they bring it to the store
They put it in the car trunks
Then they bring it back home
(Chorus)
And I say, I wouldn't live there if you paid me
I wouldn't live like that, no siree!
I wouldn't do the things the way those people do
I wouldn't live there if you paid me to
I'm tired of looking out the window of the airplane
I'm tired of traveling, I want to be somewhere
It's not even worth talking
About those people down there
Goo Goo Ga Ga Ga
Goo Goo Ga Ga Ga
(Repeat to fade)
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