Talking Heads is an American group formed in 1975 in New York and composed of David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison. Byrne and Frantz will have created a first group called "The Artistics" in 1973.
The group's first Single "Love to Building on Fire" was released in 1977 and went relatively unnoticed. This is not the case for the album "Talking Heads: 77" which comes out shortly after. The album created a stir, notably with its flagship Single "Psycho Killer" and sent the band from shadow to light in a shattering way.
A year later in 1978 the album "More songs about buildings and food" was released. Album which will experience much higher sales scores than its predecessor. The arrival of producer Brian Eno on the adventure had the effect of boosting the creative spirit of the group and the positive results were not long in coming : the group's fame is now spreading around the world. Surprisingly, only one Single will be extracted from it, namely “Take me to the river”. Single which, too, will perform well in the Charts.
The group being on a dynamic of one album per year now, here comes in 1979 the album "Fear of music". Level of success equivalent to the previous one but no major hits. A lack of success due in part to a post-punk rock sound a little too deep.
A new experimental musical phase a year later in 1980 with the release of the album "Remain in light". Album which mixes African rhythms and Arab influences. This originality will pay off because the album is a real worldwide hit, notably thanks to the title "Once in a lifetime". THE title which explodes their notoriety and which will surely remain as one of their most emblematic titles.
At the same time, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz also created the group Tom Tom Club. A group that will quickly establish himself as one of the major groups of the start of the decade. A parenthesis that will temporarily take them away from the Talking Heads ...
The group did not restart until 1983 with the release of the album "Speaking in tongues". A reboot in style, in particular thanks to the title "Burning down the house" whose clip will go bloucle on MTV and which remains to this day the biggest success of all their discography Singles.
Small live parenthesis in 1984 with the release of the live album "Stop making sense". On the other hand, new studio album "Little creatures" a year later in 1985. An enormous album, with a much more pop-rock-oriented sound, and which saw the group obtain its best album ranking to date. An album that will produce no less than 3 mega planetary hits, just that !
Starting with "The lady don’t mind". But also and above all “Road to nowhere” and “And she was” which will appear in the best places in most of the planetary charts. The group is then at the height of its possibilities.
Total mastery of events was confirmed the following year in 1986 when the album "True Stories" was released. New top planetary success mainly thanks to the title "Wild wild life" which will remain as their last mega hit.
We will find them one last time in 1988 with the album "Naked". Album with strong African influences once again and which deals particularly with sex, politics and death. The sales figures are once again impressive. Despite these good numbers and the relative success of the Singles "Blind" and "(Nothing but) Flowers", the group is at the end of its rope and will hardly produce anything. And this until the official announcement of their separation in 1991.
To discover or rediscover...
Discography (among others ...) :
70s Decade :
Love -> Building on fire 1977
Psycho killer 1977
Pulled up 1978
Take me to the river 1978
Life during wartime 1979
80s Decade :
I zimbra 1980
Cities 1980
Crosseyed and painless 1980
Once in a lifetime 1981
Houses in motion 1981
Burning down the house 1983
This must be the place (Naïve melody) 1983
Slippery people 1984
Girlfriend is better 1984
The lady don’t mind 1985
Road to nowhere 1985
And she was 1985
Stay up late 1985
Wild wild life 1986
Love for sale 1986
Hey now 1986
Puzzlin' evidence 1986
Radio head 1987
Blind 1988
Nothing (but flowers) 1988
90s Decade :
Sax and violins 1991
Lifetime piling up 1992
Tracks :
1977 ... beginnings that will be described as promising. And we can already see on the horizon this slightly wacky side which will give all their charm ...
1977 ... the title that will change everything. A completely crazy track, with an extraordinary style and sound, and which propels them in a dazzling way on the front of the stage...
1978...a sequel that unfortunately rhymes with passing 'through'. Too bad the band can't prove afterwards all the good that we could think of him...
1978 ... day and night with the previous title. No more excess, here they are in soft mode, a mode completely opposite to their basic style. A style that pleases in any case given the worldwide success they will experience on this title !
1979...the band can't keep up the pace and one title out of 2 goes unnoticed to say the least. We're going to give them a little more time to stabilize all that...
1980 ... the group mixes all styles, as well as influences. Well, the experiments are going for a while but at some point you will have to find your definitive style...
1980...we'll give him time but it's clear that the group will have to raise his level of play, otherwise the exit from the road could be faster than expected...
1980...yet they really don't need much to pass the level on which they have stumbled since their beginnings. It could be that the next title will unlock the situation...
1981 ... and the definitive style, here it is. They sign here what will surely remain as one of their most emblematic titles. An enormous title which finally allows them to reach the planetary consecration after which they have been chasing for years. MAS-TER-FUL !
1981 ... a truly one of a kind style. Who can produce the exceptional, like the completely wacky. This title would rather be part of the 2nd category ...
1983 ... the level goes up year after year. The group obtains increasingly important sales scores and at this stage becomes one of the phenomena of the moment...
1983...but he still can't settle down definitively on the success side. Some titles work very well, others much less despite a certain quality. Sometimes you don't have to try to understand...
1984...same situation in 1984. The group does not stop making the yoyo in the Charts and the successes follow the 'through'. We are used to it now...
1984...it could still be that the coming year sees a frank and massive return to success, which would allow them to show that they are always and still in the race !
1985...a level of success that will reach its peak in this year 1985. The group will produce no less than 3 planetary mega hits starting with this one, the 'smallest'...
1985 ... a truly exceptional year for the group with literally top-notch inspiration. Results of the races : an exceptional first hit for the group. But the best is yet to come !
1985 ... which will surely remain as the biggest success of all their discography. A group that has reached full maturity and which now fully masters its subject. MAS-TER-FUL !
1985...we suspected that they weren't going to line up the mega hits like we string pearls. This title will somewhat put a stop to the general euphoria...
1986 ... we find them a year later in a once again dazzling form and the result will also be at the height of their form, that is to say dazzling !
1986...the art of moving once again from one extreme to another. After the previous mega hit, here comes a new 'through'. It's hard to understand why as always...
1986... they are going to save the furniture in extremis with this title but really narrowly. What is certain now is that the best years are now behind them...
1987 ... they will still manage to get a few little hits here and there but what is certain is that the great era is well and truly over. Hard law of the trade...
1987 ... the group's production slows down impressively. Added to this is a drop in inspiration which unfortunately drags the group to the bottom. The decline is now underway ...
1988 ... a wacky side and a sound that no longer find their place at the end of the decade where new major currents appear on the horizon ...
1988 ... the group clings, resists a bit but the wave of renewal will sweep everything in its path. We cannot be and have been ...
1991 ... they try everything for everything and here they are in the following decade. Unfortunately, the 90s will not give them a gift. A sumptuous adventure that would have deserved a slightly happier end ...
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