[ Talking Heads - Burning Down The House/Life During Wartime ]
Arte [ 2007-08-04 ]

1978-1982: With Brian Eno

It was with their second album, 1978's More Songs About Buildings and Food that the band began its long-term collaboration with art rock pioneer Brian Eno, who had previously worked with Roxy Music, David Bowie and Robert Fripp. As a producer, Eno became a virtual fifth member of the band. Eno's unusual style meshed well with the group's artistic sensibilities, and they gained the confidence to explore in a wide variety of musical directions. Though the first album's "Psycho Killer" had been a minor hit, it was More Songs' cover of Al Green's "Take Me to the River" that broke Talking Heads into general public consciousness.

The experimentation continued with 1979's Fear of Music, which flirted with the darker stylings of post punk rock. The single "Life During Wartime" produced the memorable catchphrase, "This ain't no party, this ain't no disco." 1980's Remain in Light explored African polyrhythms, foreshadowing Byrne's later interest in world music. The band toured with an expanded group, first at the Heatwave festival in August. The album's single, "Once in a Lifetime," failed to make an impression upon its release, but grew into a popular standard over the next few years on the back of its music video, one of the first signs of the power music videos would exert during the 1980s.