I have been reading this book named after the Early Talking Heads Song Love Goes to Building A Fire about 5 years in the development of music in New York in the mid 70s. It is a roller coaster of a narrative as the author tracks the parallel and sometimes intersecting paths of Jazz, Salsa, Disco, Minimalism and the Punk of the Max's Kansas City and CBGBs scene. This was also a time when
Like all good music books it has me both reaching back into my collection to renew myself with old music and taking notes to check out some new music as well.
Fitting somewhere between the minimalism of Philip Glass, some latin influences and with a definitely new sound at the time somewhere between disco and punk came Talking Heads. It is hard now to think that they shared the bill with the Ramones on most weekends and also on their first tour of the UK. I picked up Talking Heads 77 and More Songs About Building and Food at the start and end of 1978 respectively. While the former certainly was NOT a hit with my Wainui friends the latter became one of the go to albums of my first year flatting in 1979.
77's songs like titles No Compassion, New Feeling, Tentative Decisions, Don't Worry About the Government and of course Psycho Killer all provided a new take on looking at
Both albums were produced from songs the band had been developing since they formed in 75. One review at the time said that they presented in a "Sing if you are proud to be nervous" aura. That certainly seemed to be the case when I saw them in 1979 in the Wellington Town Hall. Bathed in white light they played songs from both these albums and their then just released Fear of Music.
The whole show was in stark contrast to when I saw them 5 years later when an expanded band bounced around the stage for 90 minutes of a mixture of funk, afro, disco and new wave grooves. I thought it was one of the best shows I had ever seen but Tina Weymouth recalls it as the worst show they ever did. I like to think that was because it was indeed the last full show they ever did.
There seemed a natural progression from '77 through More Songs, and onto Fear of Music. Fear of Music had songs like Cities and Life During Wartime that later they would expand in both sound and approach and the start of the inclusion of extra players that became their hallmark for the following few years.
In one interview at the time of the release of More Songs, bass player Tina Weymouth said they wanted "to make their mark on music history" they had not at the time of these albums but in time I believe they did.
Their journey to that point will be the subject of another post.
Like all good music books it has me both reaching back into my collection to renew myself with old music and taking notes to check out some new music as well.
Fitting somewhere between the minimalism of Philip Glass, some latin influences and with a definitely new sound at the time somewhere between disco and punk came Talking Heads. It is hard now to think that they shared the bill with the Ramones on most weekends and also on their first tour of the UK. I picked up Talking Heads 77 and More Songs About Building and Food at the start and end of 1978 respectively. While the former certainly was NOT a hit with my Wainui friends the latter became one of the go to albums of my first year flatting in 1979.
77's songs like titles No Compassion, New Feeling, Tentative Decisions, Don't Worry About the Government and of course Psycho Killer all provided a new take on looking at
Both albums were produced from songs the band had been developing since they formed in 75. One review at the time said that they presented in a "Sing if you are proud to be nervous" aura. That certainly seemed to be the case when I saw them in 1979 in the Wellington Town Hall. Bathed in white light they played songs from both these albums and their then just released Fear of Music.
The whole show was in stark contrast to when I saw them 5 years later when an expanded band bounced around the stage for 90 minutes of a mixture of funk, afro, disco and new wave grooves. I thought it was one of the best shows I had ever seen but Tina Weymouth recalls it as the worst show they ever did. I like to think that was because it was indeed the last full show they ever did.
There seemed a natural progression from '77 through More Songs, and onto Fear of Music. Fear of Music had songs like Cities and Life During Wartime that later they would expand in both sound and approach and the start of the inclusion of extra players that became their hallmark for the following few years.
In one interview at the time of the release of More Songs, bass player Tina Weymouth said they wanted "to make their mark on music history" they had not at the time of these albums but in time I believe they did.
Their journey to that point will be the subject of another post.
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