Album Review - Talking Heads - Speaking in Tongues DUALDISC
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.
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