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Talking Heads
Speaking in Tongues
(Sire/Rhino)
First Appeared in The Music Box, March 2006, Volume 13, #3
Written by John Metzger
Sometimes, side projects can spread a band too thin. In the case of Talking
Heads, the distractions made the group even better, at least initially. After
concocting the exquisite but emotionally draining Remain in Light, the
members of Talking Heads embarked upon a series of solo projects. On The Red
and The Black, Jerry Harrison coaxed complex rhythms from his layers of
synthesizers; Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz transformed Remain in Light’s
blend of world beats and urban funk into the bright pop of Tom Tom Club’s
self-titled debut; and David Byrne sharpened his ability to inspire movement
through music by crafting the score for The Catherine Wheel, a dance
piece by Twyla Tharp. The common denominator behind all of these pursuits, of
course, was the propulsive grooves that underscored them, and Talking Heads’
fifth studio effort Speaking in Tongues effectively incorporated all of
these sojourns into its essence.
If Remain in Light proved that Talking Heads didn’t need to sound
quite so fidgety, Speaking in Tongues demonstrated that it could craft
its own, distinctive brand of pop music that was suitable for a dance floor.
Although Byrne’s lyrics still retained, however cryptically, the sense of
distrust, isolation, and fear that had become his calling card, they also were
somewhat lighter in tone. As a result, the claustrophobic air that had settled
upon the band’s previous two endeavors was lifted, and the material’s playful,
pulsating presence was what ultimately mattered most. Augmenting its line-up
with a host of musicians that included a pair of keyboard players (session man
Wally Badarou and Parliament-Funkadelic’s Bernie Worrell) as well as an array of
percussionists, the group utilized every instrument at its disposal to create an
intoxicating stream of hard-driving, tight-knit funk that was broken only by the
considerably unsettling I Get Wild/Wild Gravity, the blues-y strut of
Swamp, and the tranquil romanticism of This Must Be the Place (Naive
Melody). Throughout the set, springy keyboard textures brushed against
rattling guitars, and squiggly synthesizers darted through Making Flippy
Floppy, while on Moon Rocks, they painted psychedelic trails across
the song’s percolating groove.
Given the myriad of sonic effects that splatter the contents of Speaking
in Tongues, its incarnation as a surround sound DUALDISC is undeniably
rewarding. As synthesizers and guitars bounce through the mix, they increasingly
envelop the listener. Even so, it’s the gravitational pull of the underlying
rhythms that make the set so irresistible. As an added bonus, the CD side
includes an alternate version of Burning Down the House as well as the
unfinished outtake Two Note Swivel, while the DVD side includes a pair of
quirky videos (Burning Down the House and This Must Be the Place
(Naive Melody) plus an alternate, 5.1 channel version of Burning Down the
House that was created expressly for this reissue. 
Speaking in Tongues [DUALDISC] is available from
Amazon.com. To order, Click Here!
The DualDisc is no longer available in Canada.
For UK orders, please
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Speaking in Tongues [Original Issue] is available from
Amazon.com. To order, Click Here!
For Canadian orders, please
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For UK orders, please
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Brick [Box Set] is available from Amazon.com.
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For Canadian orders, please
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2006
The Music Box
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