Fear Of Music:Talking Heads

Fear of Music is the third studio album by American new wave band Talking Heads, released on 3 August 1979 on Sire Records. It was recorded at locations in New York City between April and May 1979 and was produced by the quartet andBrian Eno. The album reached number 21 on the Billboard 200 in the United States and peaked at number 33 on the UK Albums Chart. Three songs were released as singles between 1979 and 1980: "Life During Wartime", "I Zimbra", and "Cities". The record was certified Gold in the U.S. in 1985.

Fear of Music received favourable reviews from critics. Praise centred on its unconventional rhythms and frontman David Byrne's lyrical performances. The record is often considered one of the best Talking Heads releases. It has featured in several publications' lists of the best albums of all time. Britain's Channel 4 named the record at number 76 in its 2005 countdown of The 100 Greatest Albums. In 2006, it was remastered and reissued with four bonus tracks.



Contents
[hide]  *1 Origins and recording  ==Origins and recording[ edit] == Talking Heads' second album More Songs About Buildings and Food, released in 1978, expanded the band's sonic palette.[1]  The record included a hit single, a cover of Al Green's "Take Me to the River", which gained the quartet commercial exposure.[2]  In March 1979, the band members played the song on nationwide U.S. music show American Bandstand.[3]  In the days after the performance, they decided they did not want to be regarded simply as "a singles machine".[4]  Talking Heads entered a New York City studio without a producer in the spring of 1979 and practiced demotracks.[5]  Musically, the band wanted to expand on the "subtly disguised" disco rhythms present in More Songs About Buildings and Food by making them more prominent in the mixes of new songs.[4]  The recording plans were shelved after the quartet was not pleased with the results during the sessions. A decision was taken to rehearse in drummer Chris Frantz's and bassist Tina Weymouth's loft, where the band members played before they signed to a record label in the mid-1970s. Eno, who produced their previous full-length release, was called to help.[5]
 * 2 Promotion and release
 * 3 Content
 * 3.1 Lyrics
 * 3.2 Composition
 * 4 Critical reception
 * 4.1 Accolades
 * 5 Track listing
 * 6 Personnel
 * 7 Release history
 * 8 Chart positions
 * 9 Footnotes
 * 10 References
 * 11 External links

On 22 April and 6 May 1979, a Record Plant van manned by a sound engineering crew parked outside Frantz's and Weymouth's house and ran cables through their loft window. On these two days, Talking Heads recorded the basic tracks with Eno.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-bowman147_6-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[6]  Instead of incorporating characters in society like in More Songs About Buildings and Food, Byrne decided to place them alone in dystopian situations.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-MJ_1-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[1]  Weymouth was initially sceptical of Byrne's decisions, but the frontman managed to persuade her.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-bowman147_6-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[6] She has explained that Byrne's sense of rhythm is "insane but fantastic" and that he was key to the band's recording drive during the home sessions.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-char28_4-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[4]  As songs evolved, playing instrumental sections became easier for the band members.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-bowman147_6-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[6]  Eno was instrumental in shaping their sound and recording confidence and worked onelectronic treatments of tracks once they were all crafted.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-char30_7-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[7] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-inlay_8-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[8] ==Promotion and release<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">After completing Fear of Music, Talking Heads embarked on their first Pacific region tour in June 1979 and played concerts in New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and Hawaii. The album was released worldwide on 3 August.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-shakers_9-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[9]  The LP sleeve was designed by band member Jerry Harrison. It is completely black and embossed with a pattern that resembles the appearance and texture of diamond plate metal flooring.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-bowman158_10-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[10]  The rest of the artwork was crafted by Byrne and includes heat-sensitive photography created by Jimmy Garcia with the help of Doctor Philip Strax.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-inlay_8-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[8]  Harrison suggested the "ludicrous" title to the band. According to Weymouth, it was accepted because it "fit" with the album's themes and the fact that the quartet was under a lot of stress and pressure when making it.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-char30_7-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[7]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">A U.S. tour to showcase the new material was completed during August 1979.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-shakers_9-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[9]  At the time, Byrne told Rolling Stone, "We're in a funny position. It wouldn't please us to make music that's impossible to listen to, but we don't want to compromise for the sake of popularity."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-pitch_11-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[11]  The band shared the headliner slots with Van Morrison andThe Chieftains at the Edinburgh Festival in September and embarked on a promotional European tour until the end of the year.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-shakers_9-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[9]  Fear of Music was certified Gold byRecording Industry Association of America on 17 September 1985 after more than 500,000 copies were sold in the U.S.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-12" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[12] ==Content<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ===Lyrics<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Fear of Music begins with "I Zimbra", whose lyrics are based on a nonsensical poem by Dadaist writer Hugo Ball.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-inlay_8-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[8]  The sound of lyrics, together with the tribal sound of the song, enhanced by guest star virtuoso guitarist Robert Fripp (the leader of "King Crimson"), gave it an "ethnic" style. "Cities" details a search for the perfect urban settlement to live in and was borne out of Talking Heads' preferences for urban homes, especially in Manhattan.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-bowman147_6-3" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[6]  "Paper" compares a love affair with a simple piece of paper.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-bowman146_5-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[5]  In "Life During Wartime", Byrne cast himself an "unheroic urban guerrilla", who renounced parties, survived on basic supplies like peanut butter, and heard rumours about weapons shipments and impromptu graveyards. The character is only connected to the imminent collapse of his civilisation. Byrne considered the persona "believable and plausible".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-MJ_1-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[1]  "Air" is a protest song against the atmosphere, an idea Byrne does not consider "a joke". Inspired by The Threepenny Opera, the lyricist wanted to create a melancholic and touching track about a guy who feels so down that even breathing feels painful.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-bowman147_6-4" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[6] ===Composition<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Fear of Music is largely built on an eclectic mix of disco rhythms, cinematic soundscapes, and conventional rock music elements.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-char29_13-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[13]  Album opener "I Zimbra" is anAfrican-influenced disco track and includes background chanting from assistant recording engineer Julie Last.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-char28_4-3" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[4] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-14" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[14] ==Critical reception<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">The album was well received by reviewers. Jon Pareles, writing in Rolling Stone, was impressed with its "unswerving rhythms" and Byrne's lyrical evocations; he concluded, "Fear of Music is often deliberately, brilliantly disorienting. Like its black, corrugated packaging (which resembles a manhole cover), the album is foreboding, inescapably urban and obsessed with texture."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-RS_20-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[20]  John Rockwell of The New York Times suggested that the record was not a conventional rock release,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-NYT_19-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[19]  while Stephanie Pleet of The Daily Collegian commented that it showed a positive progression in Talking Heads' musical style.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-college_16-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[16]  Robert Christgau, writing in The Village Voice, praised the album's "gritty weirdness", but noted that "a little sweetening might help".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-christg_24-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[24]  Richard Cromelin of the Los Angeles Times was impressed with Byrne's "awesome vocal performance" and its nuances and called Fear of Music "a quantum leap" for the band.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-LAT_17-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[17]  Tom Bentkowski of New York concluded, "But what makes the record so successful, perhaps, is a genuinely felt anti-elitism. Talking Heads was clever enough to make the intellectual infectious and even danceable."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-NY_18-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[18]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Allmusic's William Ruhlmann claimed that Fear of Music is "an uneven, transitional album", but gave it a rating of four-and-a-half stars out of five by pointing out that it includes songs that match the quality of the band's best works.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-AMG_15-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[15]  In the 1995Spin Alternative Record Guide, Eric Weisbard gave the record a rating of nine out of ten and called it Talking Heads' most musically varied offering.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-spin_22-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[22]  In a 2003 review, Chris Smith of Stylus praised Byrne's personas and Eno's stylised production techniques.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-stylus_23-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[23]  In The Rough Guide to Rockpublished the same year, Andy Smith concluded that the album is a strong candidate for the best LP of the 1970s because it is "bristling with hooks, riffs and killer lines".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-rough_21-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[21] ===Accolades<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Fear of Music was named as the best album of 1979 by NME ahead of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Image_Ltd. Public Image Ltd.]'s Metal Box,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-25" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[25]  by Melody Maker ahead of Ry Cooder's Bop till You Drop,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-26" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[26] and by the Los Angeles Times ahead of Pere Ubu's Dub Housing.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-27" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[27]  The New York Times included it in its unnumbered shortlist of the 10 best records issued that year.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-28" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[28]  Sounds placed the album at number two in its staff list behind The Specials' eponymous release.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-29" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[29]  It featured at number four in the 1979 Pazz & Jop critics' poll run by The Village Voice, which aggregates the votes of hundreds of prominent reviewers.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-30" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[30]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">In 1985, NME named Fear of Music at number 68 in its writers' list of the All Time 100 Albums.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-31" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[31]  In 1987, Rolling Stone placed it at number 94 in its list of the best albums of the previous 20 years.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-32" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[32]  In 1999, it was included at number 33 in The Guardian's list of the Top 100 Albums That Don't Appear In All The Other Top 100 Albums Of All Time.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-33" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[33]  In 2004, Pitchfork Media featured the record at number 31 in its Top 100 Albums Of The 1970s list,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-pitch_11-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[11]  while, in 2005, Channel 4 ranked it at number 76 during The 100 Greatest Albums countdown.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-34" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[34] ==Track listing<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">All songs written and composed by David Byrne, except where noted. ==Personnel<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Those involved in the making of Fear of Music were:<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-inlay_8-3" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[8] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-inlay2_35-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[35] ==Release history<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ==Chart positions<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] ==
 * The original LP issue credited all songs to David Byrne, except "I Zimbra". After complaints from other band members, the credits were changed to the above on later CD issues.
 * A limited edition UK LP included "Psycho Killer" and "New Feeling" from Talking Heads' debut album, Talking Heads: 77, on a bonus 7" record.
 * The remastered reissue was produced by Andy Zax, with the help of Talking Heads, and was mixed by Brian Kehew.
 * The DVD portion of the European reissue contains videos of the band performing "I Zimbra" and "Cities" on German music show Rockpop in 1979.