"Sherman, set the WABAC for the year 1979 ... "
It's 1979. Your faithful correspondent is going through the
worst nightmare of a year of his young life. He's so skint that he
gets evicted from his flat that he shares with 2 flatmates
because he can't come up with his share of the rent - $55 a month.
(That's not even 30 quid to you lot across the pond. Or 41 Euro
to the ... erm, Euros.) No car, no job, no money - no nothing.
Not even turning 21 in October of that year helped - he had no
money to get legally drunk with.
If ever the phrase "Music Saves My Soul" was true, it was true for
me in 1979. The Year That (Post-)Punk Broke. It may have been
a horrific year for me personally, but it was a fscking insane
year for music. No less than the following all-time-greatest-albums
hit the streets that year:
1. Joy Division's "Unknown Pleasures"
2. Wire's "154"
3. Public Image Ltd.'s "Metal Box"
Meanwhile, back in the States, David Byrne & co. were coming
off of 2 minimalist, skittish Rock classics, the stylistically
similar "Talking Heads '77" and "More Songs About Buildings And
Food". But, much like PiL, they were about to take things in
a vastly different direction.
"Fear Of Music" hit, like the 3 albums above, like an atom bomb.
A huge quantum leap forward for the 'Heads, while it had a few
songs ("Memories Can't Wait", "Heaven", "Paper") that weren't
terribly dissimilar to the first two albums, most of the other
tracks were a big step forward, and a couple ("Life During Wartime",
"I Zimbra") presaged their subsequent conversion in to a monster
Afro-Funk workout outfit. But of the remainder, there are
tracks that just don't fit any mold, T. Heads or otherwise -
all of them brilliant: "Mind", "Electric Guitar", "Air", and,
for me, the most brilliant Talking Heads track of all: "Drugs".
"Fear Of Music" is a great album (especially in headphones) from
start to finish, and it remains timeless to this day. Definitely
my favorite Talking Heads album (with "Remain In Light" a close
2nd) - and they made lots of great ones. Highly recommended.
(Ob313: Erm ... listening to Alex's blackheartdisco mix now!)
- Greg's Geezer Reviews
