TALKING HEADS, FEAR OF MUSIC @ 45

 

Released on August 3rd, 1979, the third LP from Talking Heads, Fear of Music, turns 45 years old today. While being one of the bands darkest and most introspectively paranoid albums, it also signalled a change in direction towards a more rhythmically complex and engaging form of dance music.

At the time the band started recording demos for the album, they were working without a producer and conscientiously focusing on more dance inspired rhythms from disco, Afro-beat and funk influences. However, their initial recording attempts proved unsatisfactory, sending the group retreating back to their home base at Chris & Tina's NYC loft, where they'd previously rehearsed before they were signed to their record deal with Sire. It was at this point that they brought producer, Brian Eno, back into the fold to help them get focused, especially after his successful work on their previous album, More Songs About Buildings and Food. Eno came up with the idea to take advantage for their home base sense of comfort and booked a mobile recording facility so that he could wire up Chris & Tina's loft, which is where they recorded the basic bed tracks for the album. The remainder of the album was recorded at a variety of NYC studios in the area, including the Record Plant and Hit Factory.

Eno played a crucial role in helping the band to push their more experimental leanings, crafting unique processing effects throughout the album's songs and bringing in guest musicians like Robert Fripp to add some flourishes to the instrumentation. As previously stated, they were moving into a much funkier groove, with tracks like I Zimbra telegraphing where the band would head on subsequent albums with their Afro-centric sense of poly-rhythms.

Thematically, the lyrics were very much focused on a kind of dystopian alienation, with song lyrics portraying characters racked by paranoia. Songs like "Air" even took that rebellion against existence to the point of rejecting the very atmosphere that surrounds us. Other tracks explored other states of discomfiting separation, like "Drugs", which perfectly captured the sense of disconnection from reality when someone's had a little bit too much of some mind altering substance or another. Even "Heaven" literally had "nothing" happening in it. Everything was out to get you on this album. "Animals" couldn't be trusted and even the musician's companion, the "Electric Guitar" was an adversary you should "never listen to". It's perhaps the band's most neurotic album ever. The album's packaging reinforced this bleakness, coming as it did in a plain black sleeve with an embossed pattern that resembled metal plating used in factories.

Critically, the album was extremely well received and has continued to garner accolades, often being referred to as one of the group's best and most adventurous records. Commercially, it also did well, though its singles weren't quite as successful as those that preceded and followed the album. This was my gateway into the world of Talking Heads and it has remained my personal favourite of their catalogue ever since I picked it up when it was originally released. It's one of those records that never seems to lose its charm and constantly rewards repeat listening, revealing new details with each encounter.