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What was most hip yesterday often sounds most dated today.

I have had all the Talking Heads albums. Used to like 'em a lot.

I bought this album when it came out & played it a lot for about a week -- and haven't wanted to play it at all since.

Now that we're (way) beyond the 1980s, David Byrne sounds just too affected, too pretentious, too self-consciously striving for hipness.


But something's missing...   July 6, 2004
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Understand that I am a huge fan of Byrne's solo work. (Saw him live just last week!) While the Talking Heads were great, Byrne's solo career keeps moving farther and farther into new worlds of creativitiy and social commentary.

But there's something missing from this album. I may be doing Byrne an injustice, but this album seems a bit pretentious, or perhaps 'self-conscious' would be a better descriptor. The lyrics tend to be either more obscure or more blunt than his other albums; the rhythms and song structures tend to plod along instead of picking you up; and many of the songs lack a strong 'hook'. The elements of his stronger albums are there, but they are do not come together as powerfully as his other albums.

At the least, I'd say it will take you longer to learn to appreciate this album. If you're just getting into Byrne's solo stuff, I'd recommend the following first:
- "Rei Momo" is a great release from his earlier forays into latin rhythms.
- "Feelings" is good.
- "Look Into the Eyeball" - When I got this one, I thought it would be impossible to release a better album...
- "Grown Backwards" - But then "Grown Backwards" was released, and totally knocked me out.

I'd recommend you acquire any of the above before the album being reviewed.


A True Musical Genius.   March 17, 2000
 2 out of 3 found this review helpful

I am a Talking Heads fan and a David Byrne fan. Of David's solo recordings I find that his self titled cd from 1994 is his best. I think it's because he moved away from the Latin flavored sounds of 1989's Rei Momo and 1992's Uh-Oh and back to the kind of music he did with Talking Heads. It's his music not his music over another country's sounds. It's also David's most lyrically straightforward. You can sense what David is really getting at with "A Long Time Ago". "Angels" sounds like an updated version of "Once in a Lifetime" but with a different lyrical slant. "Back in the Box" is an excellent song about hiding from society. "Buck Naked" and "My Love Is You" are nice humorous looks at relationships. The songs are about subjects that Byrne didn't elaborate too much on with Talking Heads. I also liked 1997's Feelings, but I don't think it match's David Byrne. A must have for any Talking Heads fan and for any rock collector.