Talking Heads: 77 cover

Talking Heads: 77

Released

Before the psychedelic Brian Eno collaborations, the movie soundtracks, and the excursions into world-music fusion, there was the debut album: a spare, trebly, and improbably funky set of songs about romantic ambivalence, books, decision-making, federal employment — and, of course, psycho killers. Interestingly, that hit single was the musical and thematic anomaly; at this point David Byrne’s lyrics were much more likely to focus on odd particularities of regular life than on murder, and the rhythm section was much more likely to lay down a tensile funk groove than anything like the grinding beat of “Psycho Killer.” Talking Heads made several great albums after this one, but probably not a better one.

Rick Anderson

Recommended by

Suggestions
Metamatic cover

Metamatic

John Foxx
Low-Life cover

Low-Life

New Order
I’m The Man cover

I’m The Man

Joe Jackson
Henry’s Dream cover

Henry’s Dream

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Uši cover

Uši

Už Jsme Doma
Indoor Life cover

Indoor Life

Indoor Life
Marquee Moon cover

Marquee Moon

Television
Out of Our Idiot cover

Out of Our Idiot

Various Artists, Elvis Costello