Much of this album uses Fela Kuti-inspired Afro-beats, that I previously thought Talking Heads only really approached on their final album Naked. Here, I think, they are used to better effect. As well as trying out new sounds (under the auspices of producer Eno), the group also aimed to be more egalitarian and less “David Byrne, plus backing group”.
Byrne’s vocals are lower in the mix, and rather than conscious songwriting he worked on stream of consciousness based around the melodies, honing the words into some semblance of sense. Which is probably why some of it feels like he’s leaning into hip-hop inspirations as well. On the track Crosseyed he does a bit of freestyling that sounds like Wordy Rappinghood. Once you recognise the African motifs, the influences on the beat and the call-response style to the big single, Once In A Lifetime, becomes obvious. The super-funky beats of Houses In Motion feel like a warm-up to Burning Down The House (from their next album).
The second half of the album becomes quieter and more ambient, yet still borrows from a range of musical styles. Listening Wind uses Middle-Eastern elements to tell the story of an anti-American terrorist setting bombs. The Overload is like an industrial wasteland version of some of Dave Crosby’s tracks on his solo album (If I Could Only Remember My Name).
There are some interesting sounds from guest musicians as well, possibly thanks to some typical post-production tweaks by Eno, I’m not sure. On the track Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On), guest guitarist Adrian Belew’s crazy solo sounds like the noises of a dial-up modem. On Houses In Motion, John Hassel on horns makes noises that sound more like synth keyboards, to the extent that you’d assume it was a keyboard trying to sound like a horn.
This was really good – more than just the same repetition of the New Wave direction that Talking Heads made their own.
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