Talking Heads: 77
by Talking Heads

From InsanityPrawnBoy 02/23/2021 00:09 | #266625 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

I apologise to everyone on behalf of the last reviewers overly-long, rambling, boring comment about other bands. (Edited)

The band's debut. Released in the same year as Television's debut, Marquee Moon, Wire's debut Pink Flag, Elvis Costello's debut My Aim Is True, Ian Dury's debut New Boots, Mink Deville's debut Cabretta, the third album by the Residents, Fingerprince, the third album by Split Enz, Dizrythmia, the fourth album by Dave Edmunds, Get It, and a few months before XTC's debut White Music, a year before Devo's debut Are We Not Men?, Buzzcock's debut Another Music, Rezillo's debut, Can't Stand, and Wreckless Eric's debut The Wonderful World. The music here fits in with what else is happening at the time in both the UK and America. The music of the above artists is classed as belonging to one or other or a mix of these: pub rock, art rock, new wave, and art punk (a genre I'd previously not been aware of). Pub rock is sometimes seen as a precursor to punk rock, but it had a long history in which the attitude and style of music of the main practitioners, such as Dr Feelgood, Nick Lowe, The Stranglers, and Ian Dury, continued into and beyond punk; so, while the two movements might have features in common, they were distinct and separate. Pub rock, like punk, was about the songs rather than the music; unlike punk, it wasn't about attitude or clothing or being part of a movement or making a statement, it was just about playing good songs and entertaining people. As with punk, pub rock had a distain for the flashy, the pretentious, the ambitious, the indulgent, etc; but, unlike punk, in pub rock there was a pride in writing good songs with an awareness of R&B, and playing them well. America didn't have a pub rock scene, though it had CBGB, a New York club, which attracted bands, such as The Ramones, Blondie, Television and Talking Heads, with a similar interest in playing well written and entertaining songs with an awareness of R&B. The difference with CBGB is that the artists there were more aware of being part of a scene, and so were more self-conscious, and often came from an art school or arty background, so there was a little more emphasis on image and appearance, but not so much that it detracted from the music. The music that came from the CBGB artists is generally termed new wave; a genre considered to be closely related to punk rock, and also with pub rock. Generally the difference between punk and new wave is that new wave is mostly seen as being more melodic, more pop focused, more arty, more musical, and less aggressive, less banner waving, and less tribal. The difference between pub rock and new wave is more to do with time and place. Those who encountered The Stranglers early in their career saw them as pub rock, those who encountered them later saw them as either punk or new wave, depending on how closely they looked. If Dr Feelgood had released their first album in 1977 rather than 1975, they likely would have been regarded as part of the UK punk or new wave scene. They might, however, have been regarded as too old and inappropriately dressed for punk, so most likely would have been regarded as new wave.

These days the term "new wave" is regarded as too broad and inclusive to be meaningful, and clearly "pub rock" does not sit well for an American band who only ever played one pub in the UK (The Greyhound in Croydon), but it is still useful to look at what else was happening at the time, to understand the musical impulse. Within that area of music in which Talking Head's debut sits most comfortably, it doesn't really stand out, apart from "Psycho Killer", which was released as a single, caught the attention of Brian Eno, and would point the direction the band would now profitably go in. Without "Psycho Killer" this is no more remarkable than XTC's White Music or Fingerprince by the Residents or Dizrythmia by Split Enz, and somewhat less remarkable than Television's Marquee Moon or Elvis Costello's My Aim Is True. (Edited)

'77' is the first of the Talking Heads opening trilogy of masterpieces. David Byrne's eccentric songs and bizarre stories are underpinned by a brilliant rhythm section that is a hybrid of funk and rock and roll. Although the music on the album is 'catchy', it is only superficially so. Fundamentally, Byrne hints at an underlying nuerosis and anxiety that is offset by a cool detachment and alienation that is first and foremost a postmodern study on communication and perception. 77 was one of the cornerstones of the new wave. Key track: No Compassion.

From CellarDoor TOP 100 COMMENTER 06/07/2009 21:36 | #4661 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

People go on and on about "Psycho Killer", but there are better tracks on the album. "No Compassion" is a personal favourite. It's witty and very funny. And there's a great bass line on "The Book I Read".

The debut album from one of America's greatest bands. '77, is a superb record with great punchy songs. This is before they would start collaborating with Brian Eno so it's more about melody and songs rather than production. Psycho killer, off course is one of Talking Heads greatest songs and arguably the best track here, but there are other standouts; new feeling, tentative decisions, and, the book I read, are all excellent. In fact It's one of the most inventive debuts ever.