Talking Heads: Remain in Light (Sire)
Purchased so long ago, I couldn't possibly remember
I went to see Jerry Harrison/Adrian Belew play Remain in Light at the Roxian Theatre in McKees Rocks. I don't need further excuse than that, but there were some additional reasons: my wife and I had never been to the Roxian. We're fans of old theaters (the more Art Deco the better) but there hadn't been much happening there before that interested both of us. Also, my daughter had recently bought a CD copy of Remain in Light and was saying how much she enjoyed it.
In a previous posting, I wrote about a live reunion recording of Throbbing Gristle. On the one hand, why revisit this music like an oldies act? On the other hand, doesn't this music still deserve to be performed, and who better to perform it?
Many people find Talking Heads synonymous with David Byrne. I'm skeptical. It was a band with four members, plus (increasingly from album to album) guest musicians. Add to that the production of Brian Eno on the band's second, third and fourth albums (receiving co-writing credit in this case) who helps shape the results. I don't want to not give credit to David Byrne when it is deserving, but I suspect that the other three were far more involved than than we know. In particular, I've read that Jerry was far more responsible for the development of Talking Heads' sound than he is credited.
Let me site some side examples. When you think of The Police, you might think of Sting primarily. But, if you've ever heard the song Stewart Copeland and Stan Ridgway created for the Rumble Fish soundtrack ("Don't Fence Me In"), it's clear that Stewart was probably much more responsible for The Police's sound and direction than we might have otherwise known.
More recently, Roger Waters has reportedly recorded an entirely new version of Dark Side of the Moon, angrily complaining that it was always his work in the first place. This seems like a more obvious example. Roger may have written every lyric on that album (I don't know if that's actually true), but it fails to recognize how important the other players were to creating that album. It's difficult to imagine it without David Gilmour's guitar soloing, who is a distinctively melodic player, or Richard Wright and David's vocal blending. Plus Richard's use of the sharp-9 chord, which he says he learned from a Miles Davis album.
Unless there's many hours of filmed documentation, such as what The Beatles did for Let It Be, we'll never completely be able to look behind the proverbial curtain.
The concert was credited as Jerry Harrison/Adrian Belew: Remain in Light, which is not entirely accurate. They didn't play "Seen and Not Seen", "The Overload", or (I think) "Listening Wind". It's more like recreating the tour that followed the release of that album, one prior to the tour documented on film by Jonathan Demme. It's similar to Stop Making Sense but without the stage show. Add to that a selection of Talking Heads greatest hits (sans "Burning Down the House", interestingly enough), plus a solo Jerry Harrison song and a Belew-era King Crimson song. Vocals were split between Adrian, Jerry (the weakest, he tended to mumble), the saxophonist for the supporting band, and even the female backing vocalists singing "Slippery People".
I was asked recently by Paul Thompson which was my favorite Talking Heads record. With no hesitation, I said Remain in Light. The following record, Speaking in Tongues, is certainly a solid offering, but starting to turn more towards the pop side of things. That idea was only reinforced by Little Creatures, at which point I really start to lose interest. I think they're at their most interesting, most creative on this particular album. I'd give some credit to Adrian Belew's important performing contributions. If I have a complaint, it's that a few pieces seem shorter than they should be, in order to fit LP length. "Crosseyed and Painless" is the best example. Even seeing it live (this tour, the Speaking in Tongues tour, the movie) I want it to go on much longer. At least in concert it's a little longer.
The local music writer for our large paper referred to Talking Heads' "polyrhythmic funk". I think it just sounds good for him to write that, but it's not a term I would use. The songs on this are highly layered though, there's a lot going on. Layered and verging on, but not crossing over into, sounding cluttered. It's not music that could have possibly been made by four players, hence the twelve (+/-) piece touring bands.
The band Kansas is set to play Pittsburgh soon. Pittsburgh has historically been a good place for them. You know who's performing under the Kansas band name? Only two of the original members: the drummer and the rhythm guitarist. Not the vocalist (he can't hit those high notes any longer), the violinist (dead), nor the primary songwriting/guitarist/keyboardist/bandleader Kerry Livgren. (Seriously Kerry, does anyone care about your Christian rock music? Just go back and stake your claim with Kansas again.) It wouldn't be correct for Jerry Harrison to call this recent touring band Talking Heads, and he doubtlessly doesn't have permission. Still, this group is at least as close to the music of Talking Heads from 1981 as the current Kansas is. And if anyone is going to perform it, it's best to have Adrian Belew there to kick up the intensity, like he did on the original album and tour.
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