Customer Reviews: Read 106 more reviews...
 The band disappears, its place taken by some kind of hydra-headed polyrhythmic fusion beast December 4, 2008
Jeffrey Blehar (Potomac, MD)
I initially resisted Remain In Light, because of its intimidating reputation for genre-transcending weirdness. In fact, I'll be honest and say that I still think that general critical opinion overrates it (More Songs About Buildings And Food is a better album.)
But this is a no-brainer five-star album nevertheless, and I really want to emphasize that it's not just one of those albums that snooty hipsters try to convince themselves they like without actually enjoying. The appeal to me of Remain In Light is NOT its exoticism, which is indeed upfront (while also being a natural development out of songs like "I Zimbra" and "Cities" from Fear Of Music), but rather how it manages to slap crazy polyrhythms onto winkingly chintzy synthesizer loops and licks, and ties it all together with massive pop hooks to create music which is both avant-garde AND accessible at the same time.
It doesn't always succeed, but when it does, look out Cleveland. "Crosseyed And Painless," "Houses In Motion," and "Born Under Punches" are zany surrealistic delights (TAKE A LOOK AT THESE HANDS!), to be sure. "The Great Curve" is even more impressive, building from a brisk earth-mother fertility incantation ("world moves on a woman's hips") into a delightfully intricate three part tribal chant. (Let's just boil it down: you WILL shake your butt if you play this song loud, even if you're sitting down.) But "Listening Wind" is irksomely flat in its pitching, and the entire premise of the album almost falls apart disastrously on "The Overload," just when it should be building to a final triumph.
And it all comes together for the single greatest moment the Talking Heads ever put to vinyl, "Once In A Lifetime." More than anything, it's this miraculous piece of genius which ultimately earns Remain In Light a space in rock Valhalla. The instantly recognizable lyrics ("MY GOD, WHAT HAVE I DONE?") are clever in their refusal to be parsed literally, but I've always imagined this song as the Talking Heads' elitist rewrite of Kafka's Metamorphosis: David Byrne awakes one morning to find, much to his horror and dismay, that he has been transformed into a perfectly ordinary guy. Lyrical concerns aside, the song has a brilliant rhythm track. Frantz is all over his kit, getting a beat that Jaki Liebzeit would tip his cap to, but notice how Tina Weymouth plays the same two bass notes the entire time, without once deviating? THAT, my friends, is fearlessly brilliant minimalism. That, along with Brian Eno's sturdy backing vocals on the chorus, help the song engage every part of your brain at once, which is why it's an instant classic. The album needs to be heard if no other reason than that.
 Some timeless classics, but some boredom.... November 21, 2007
DonkeyKongFan91 (Perth, Australia)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Whilst the first half of this album contains the CLASSIC Once In A Lifetime and excellent The Great Curve, Crosseyed And Painless and Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On), the second half of this album is rather a snooze fest, with slow, moody songs with sparse instrumentation.
The first four songs are worth this purchase, though be warned about the last four. I particularly recommend the 2006 CD/DVD remaster, the two videos live from German TV show RockPop are great, but the 5.1 remix doesn't do much for me.
Overall, weak compared to their superior previous album, 1979's Fear Of Music. Get that before getting this one.
A brain-bending party November 3, 2007
Laszlo Matyas
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The Talking Heads' fourth album is really really freaking good. `Nuff said.
Okay, maybe not. Here's what you should know: Remain In Light sees the Heads (with longtime producer Brian Eno in tow) creating some of the most intricate, colorful, original, and downright stunning soundscapes in the history of music. The sound of the album is an absolutely ecstatic mixture of funk, punk, and new wave with elements of electronic music, African rhythms, twisted pop, post-psychedelic experimentalism, and good ol' fashioned rock `n' roll. It's the sound of a multitude of musical influences being molded together, shaped and structured in terms of one another, like some kind of musical funhouse mirror. It also rocks.
I mean, just listen to "Crosseyed and Painless." Just listen to it! Listen to that ridiculously propulsive rhythm, which finds the common ground between Chuck Berry, James Brown, and King Sunny Ade. Listen to that squirming bass line, and Byrne's sweaty, paranoid vocals. It's friggin' amazing! And then there's "Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)," with its tight polyrhythm and morphological keyboards. "The Great Curve" mingles heavy metal guitars with a swirling maze of drums. "Once In A Life Time" is a warped new wave classic, with vocals that bring to mind a Revival-era preacher, and densely layered melodies.
The album's second half is a quieter, less explicitly rhythmic affair, but it still packs a wallop. "Listening Wind" is a supernatural tale of imperialism thwarted set to a skin-crawling whisper of melody, while "Houses In Motion" boils with tension. "Seen And Not Seen" is strange, funny, and hypnotic, while "The Overload" is pure slow-burning apocalypse.
It's stunning. Buy this!
One of the all time greats September 29, 2007
David J. Pannell (Australia)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a very special album. One of the best ever by anyone. Daring, original, brilliant, and enduring. If you love music, owning this album is not optional, it's essential.
A perfect album, both challenging and great to listen to... August 20, 2007
Grigory's Girl (NYC)
A friend of mine in high school bought this album, and hated it. I bought it from him for a few bucks, and it was some of the best money ever spent. While the album has a mere 8 songs on it, they are all excellent. A lot of people don't like the last 4 songs, but I think they're just as good as the first 4, though not as up tempo (obviously). Born Under Punches (The Beat Goes On) is a great way to start the album, followed by one of favorite Heads' songs, Crosseyed and Painless. The Great Curve has some of the best harmonizing on the chorus that I've ever heard. Once in a Lifetime is a hit single that great to listen to and to think about (a rare combo). The last four are very moody and eerie. I love them all, especially Houses in Motion and The Overload. Many talk about the intricate rhythms, and yes, they are very, very cool, but I love the vocals here. They're very well arranged, and really blend it to the experimenting here. This album was released in 1983, though it sounds like it could be released at anytime. This is my favorite Talking Heads album. I love the adventurous sounds that Talking Heads and Brian Eno (who is more like a co-colloborator here than just a producer) string together here. Magnificence from the 1980's....
|
