I have noted more than a few positive references and high regards for the work of David Byrne, pre- and post-Talking Heads. I think the guy is ingenious, a modern musical icon. A deranged cross between Captain Beefheart and Captain Kangaroo on quaaludes.
His career with the Talking Heads is either embraced or disregarded by the members of this forum. Like Elvis, there does not appear to be tepid Heads fans...either you love 'em, or you don't. Saving an inevitably long discussion about the impact of the Talking Heads on modern music, suffice it to say that viewing the entire film documentary "Stop Making Sense" [Jonathon Demme] and purchasing the unabridged complete movie soundtrack CD provides a perfect window into the almost surreal chemistry that existed within the band and its live ensemble(s).
However, David's solo career has been spotty. He does what he wants to do, and always presents great songs. But they are hard to hang your hat on...hard to embrace and file and categorize and hold on to. They defy Gestalt formation, which is all good.
Highlights include Rei Momo, a heavily influenced latin record that is essential for Bryne fans. Also, less accessible but brilliant is his collaboration with Brian Eno entitled "My Life In the Bush Of Ghosts". Put on your seatbelt before trying that one on for size. One of my favorites of all. And the soundtrack to "The Last Emperor" was completely worthy of the high accolades that he garnered for his contribution.
I felt it was worth a separate thread to celebrate his latest solo release entitled Grown Backwards. It is brilliant. I would like to say that it is remarkably consistent in theme or genre, but it is not. However, it is consistent in overall quality and musical genius. On two cuts you can almost feel David turning to Jerry Harrison with a mona lisa smile while Tina and Chris drive the tune to a sound reminiscent of the later-day Heads. There are operetic pieces. Whimsical pieces. Political pieces (not my politics, but whatthehell...great stuff!).
I really like Grown Backwards. Give it a chance if you are a Byrne fan. If not, then don't. Great packaging, and a great package. He may not have the lyrical genius of our boy Elvis, but he makes up for it in other ways...
David Byrne
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Mr. Average
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David Byrne
"The smarter mysteries are hidden in the light" - Jean Giono (1895-1970)
Not a big Talking Heads or Byrne fan, although I like "Remain in Light" and the record with Burning Down the House. I think they have had an influence on modern music, through their collaboration with Eno and their incorporation of "world sounds" (in Remain in Light and in Naked too) which was relatively new at the time. I think Achtung Baby owes a lot to the Talking Heads-Eno collaboration, and so for that matter does Graceland. And both of those records have been influential.
But I think overall Byrne's influence will not be so much the music as his entrepenurial skills. I think he pretty much created that record label which in the late 80s started putting out compilations of Brazilian, Cuban and other world sounds, which became very popular (you could not eat in a "cool" restaurant without hearing those records). At the time no one else was doing that in beautifully packaged formats. In the years that followed, the market was flooded with that stuff and he was replaced by Ry Cooder in that role. But I think he was one of the first to use this pop bona fides to introduce new sounds from foreign places, and to do it in a systematic business-like way that succeeded in getting lots of people to listen to music they otherwise would not have heard.
But I think overall Byrne's influence will not be so much the music as his entrepenurial skills. I think he pretty much created that record label which in the late 80s started putting out compilations of Brazilian, Cuban and other world sounds, which became very popular (you could not eat in a "cool" restaurant without hearing those records). At the time no one else was doing that in beautifully packaged formats. In the years that followed, the market was flooded with that stuff and he was replaced by Ry Cooder in that role. But I think he was one of the first to use this pop bona fides to introduce new sounds from foreign places, and to do it in a systematic business-like way that succeeded in getting lots of people to listen to music they otherwise would not have heard.
I agree with the above posts, and although I enjoy David Byrne's music a lot (and was wowed by him at a solo gig back in the early 90s) I don't feel his influence around as much as Neil Young's, Ray Davies', or our beloved entertainer. That's actually a compliment to Byrne- a unique original who can't really be replicated.
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Mr. Average
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I agree with you, pophead2K. My list of immutable greats is different then yours, so here is my list of the dozen or so artists that have changed the way I look at music, life, and love:
Miles Davis
Elvis Costello
Pat Metheny
David Byrne
Peter Gabriel
Paul Simon (to a lesser degree save for the "Graceland/Rhythm of the Saints" era, two absolutely brilliant and never matched recordings)
Los Lobos (a band with the identity of an individual)
Graham Parker
Josef Zawinul
John Coltrane
Charles Mingus
Eddie Cochran
Miles Davis
Elvis Costello
Pat Metheny
David Byrne
Peter Gabriel
Paul Simon (to a lesser degree save for the "Graceland/Rhythm of the Saints" era, two absolutely brilliant and never matched recordings)
Los Lobos (a band with the identity of an individual)
Graham Parker
Josef Zawinul
John Coltrane
Charles Mingus
Eddie Cochran
"The smarter mysteries are hidden in the light" - Jean Giono (1895-1970)
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laughingcrow
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Mr. Average
- Posts: 2031
- Joined: Sat Jun 28, 2003 12:22 pm
- Location: Orange County, Californication
You are right, Blue. Very similar, but different than anything else that was around at the time. Pioneering. 77 is not the best album to draw conclusions about the Heads. The band grew into something that was tantamount to rock and roll big band before David could no longer constrain his creative juices to that particular vehicle.
Watch Stop Making Sense. It is a story from beginning to end. It is not just another concert documentary. The rock and roll big band concept arises, and the Heads became a band without defining boundaries or lines. In fact, Bernie Worrell became as significant to the bands overall sound as did Chris Franz, the original drummer.
Not long after 77, a band called the Urban Verbs released a record that completely emulated the sound of David Byrne and the Talking Heads. I wonder what ever happened to them.
Even now, I can hear the first few chords of a David Byrne song, without ever hearing it before, and appreciate his 'signature'. Not because t sounds like everything else. Because he has a certain signature that draws your attention to it. I cannot tell you what it is. I don't understand it. Maybe a musician can better grasp it. All I know is that it works, and it makes for a novel listening experience each and every time.
He is not a novelty. But he is novel in his approach to everything. Like Costello, he has been all over the musical map: World Music, SYmphony, film and broadway play soundtracks, rock, jazz fusion, experimental/techno with Eno, latin.
Watch Stop Making Sense. It is a story from beginning to end. It is not just another concert documentary. The rock and roll big band concept arises, and the Heads became a band without defining boundaries or lines. In fact, Bernie Worrell became as significant to the bands overall sound as did Chris Franz, the original drummer.
Not long after 77, a band called the Urban Verbs released a record that completely emulated the sound of David Byrne and the Talking Heads. I wonder what ever happened to them.
Even now, I can hear the first few chords of a David Byrne song, without ever hearing it before, and appreciate his 'signature'. Not because t sounds like everything else. Because he has a certain signature that draws your attention to it. I cannot tell you what it is. I don't understand it. Maybe a musician can better grasp it. All I know is that it works, and it makes for a novel listening experience each and every time.
He is not a novelty. But he is novel in his approach to everything. Like Costello, he has been all over the musical map: World Music, SYmphony, film and broadway play soundtracks, rock, jazz fusion, experimental/techno with Eno, latin.
"The smarter mysteries are hidden in the light" - Jean Giono (1895-1970)