Talking Heads
Скрытый текст - Англицкая википедия: Talking Heads was an American rock band formed in 1974 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison. Auxiliary musicians also frequently made appearances in concert and on the group's albums.
The new wave musical style of Talking Heads combined elements of punk rock, avant-garde, pop, funk, world music and art rock. Frontman and songwriter David Byrne contributed whimsical, esoteric lyrics to the band's songs, and emphasized their showmanship through various multimedia projects and performances. Critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine describes Talking Heads as being "one of the most critically acclaimed bands of the '80s, while managing to earn several pop hits."
In 2002, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Four of the band's albums appeared on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and the Channel 4 100 Greatest Albums poll listed one album (Fear of Music) at number seventy-six. Their concert film Stop Making Sense is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of the genre.
1974-1977: First years
Talking Heads at Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto in 1978
David Byrne, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth were alumni of the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island. There Byrne and Frantz formed a band called "The Artistics" in 1974. Weymouth was Frantz's girlfriend and often provided the band with transportation. The Artistics dissolved within a year, and the three moved to New York, eventually sharing an apartment. Unable to find a bass player in New York City, Frantz encouraged Weymouth to learn to play bass by listening to Suzi Quatro albums. They played their first gig as "Talking Heads" opening for the Ramones at CBGB on June 8, 1975.
In a later interview, Weymouth recalled how the group chose the name Talking Heads: "A friend had found the name in the TV Guide, which explained the term used by TV studios to describe a head-and-shoulder shot of a person talking as 'all content, no action.' It fit."
Later in 1975, the trio recorded a series of demos for CBS, but the band was not signed to the label. In 1976, they added Jerry Harrison (guitar, keyboards, vocals), formerly of Jonathan Richman's band The Modern Lovers. The group quickly drew a following and was signed to Sire Records in 1977. The group released their first single, "Love → Building on Fire" in February of that year.
Their first album, Talking Heads: 77, which did not contain the earlier single, was released soon thereafter.
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 producer Brian Eno, who had previously worked with Roxy Music, David Bowie and Robert Fripp; the title of Eno's 1977 song "King's Lead Hat" is an anagram of the band's name. Eno's unusual style meshed well with the group's artistic sensibilities, and they began to explore an increasingly diverse range of musical directions. This recording also established the band's long term recording studio relationship with the famous Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas. Though "Psycho Killer", from the debut album, 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 catchphrase, "This ain't no party, this ain't no disco." 1980's Remain in Light, heavily influenced by the Afro-Beat of Nigerian bandleader Fela Kuti, to whose music Eno had introduced the band, explored African polyrhythms, foreshadowing Byrne's later interest in world music. In order to perform these more complex arrangements the band toured with an expanded group, first at the Heatwave festival in August, and later in their concert film Stop Making Sense. During this period, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz also formed a commercially successful splinter group, the hip-hop influenced Tom Tom Club, and Harrison released his first solo record. Likewise, Byrne - in collaboration with Eno - released My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, which incorporated world music, 'found' sounds, and included a number of other prominent international and post-punk musicians. All were released by Sire.
The Remain in Light album's lead single, "Once in a Lifetime," became a Top 20 hit in the UK but initially failed to make an impression upon its release in the band's own country. But it grew into a popular standard over the next few years on the strength of its music video.
Talking Heads, Stop Making Sense, (Special Edition, 2003.)
After releasing four albums in barely four years, the group went into hiatus and nearly three years passed before their next release, although Frantz and Weymouth continued to record with the Tom Tom Club. In the meantime, Talking Heads released a live album, The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads, toured the US and Europe as an eight-piece group, and parted ways with Eno, who went on to produce albums with U2.
1983-1991: Post–Brian Eno
1983 saw the release of Speaking in Tongues, a commercial breakthrough that produced the band's only American Top 10 hit, "Burning Down the House." Once again, a striking video was inescapable owing to its heavy rotation on MTV. The following tour was documented in Jonathan Demme's Stop Making Sense, which generated another live album of the same name. The Speaking in Tongues tour was their last.
Three more albums followed: 1985's Little Creatures (which featured the prominent hit singles "And She Was" and "Road to Nowhere"), 1986's True Stories (Talking Heads covering all the soundtrack songs of Byrne's musical comedy film, in which the band also appeared), and 1988's Naked. The sound of Little Creatures and True Stories was much more American pop-rock, while Naked showed heavy African influence with polyrhythmic styles like those seen on Remain in Light. During that time the group was falling increasingly under David Byrne's control, and after Naked the band went on "hiatus".
It took until 1991 for an official announcement to be made that Talking Heads had broken up. A brief reunion occurred, however, later that year for "Sax and Violins," an original single that appeared on the soundtrack to Wim Wenders' Until the End of the World. Only Byrne and Harrison appear in the song's video, however, lending doubt to Frantz and Weymouth's participation on the track. During this breakup period, Byrne continued his solo career, releasing Rei Momo in 1989 and The Forest in 1991. This period also saw a revived flourish from both Tom Tom Club (Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom and Dark Sneak Love Action) and Harrison (the Casual Gods album/band).
1992-present: Post break-up
Despite David Byrne's lack of interest in another album, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison reunited for a one-off album called No Talking, Just Head under the name The Heads in 1996. The album featured a number of vocalists, representing some of the most distinctive voices of '80s and '90s alternative rock, including Debbie Harry of Blondie, Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde, Andy Partridge of XTC, Gordon Gano of Violent Femmes, Michael Hutchence of INXS, Ed Kowalczyk of Live, Shaun Ryder of Happy Mondays, Richard Hell, and Maria McKee. The album was accompanied by a tour which featured Johnette Napolitano as the vocalist. Byrne took legal action against the rest of the band because of "The Heads" abbreviation—something he saw as "a pretty obvious attempt to cash in on the Talking Heads name."
Byrne has continued his solo career, while Harrison has become a producer of some note – the latter's résumé includes the Violent Femmes' The Blind Leading the Naked, the Fine Young Cannibals' The Raw and the Cooked, General Public's Rub It Better, Crash Test Dummies' God Shuffled His Feet, Live's Throwing Copper, No Doubt's song "New" from Return of Saturn, and most recently work by The Black and White Years and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Frantz and Weymouth, who were married in 1977, had been recording on the side as Tom Tom Club since 1981. Tom Tom Club's self-titled debut album sold almost as well as Talking Heads themselves, leading to the band appearing in Stop Making Sense. They achieved several pop/rap hits, particularly in the UK. Their single "Genius of Love" has been sampled numerous times, notably on old school hip hop classic "It's Nasty (Genius of Love)" by Grandmaster Flash and on Mariah Carey's 1995 hit "Fantasy." They also have produced several artists, including Happy Mondays and Ziggy Marley. The Tom Tom Club has continued to record intermittently.
Скрытый текст - Руццкая википедия: Talking Heads — американская рок-группа, образованная в 1975 году.
Опираясь на фанк, классический минимализм и африканский рок, Talking Heads удалось создать наиболее оригинальную танцевальную музыку «новой волны». Основатели группы Дэвид Бирн и Крис Франтц вместе учились в одной из нью-йоркских школ дизайна (Бирн увлекается дизайном и живописью и по сей день); еще до того, как записать свой первый альбом, группа съездила с гастролями в Европу, после его выхода также постоянно гастролировала. А альбом, названный «77», попал в американский Top 100. Все их последующие работы также входили в Top 40. В скором времени каждый из участников начал сольную карьеру, хотя группа и не распадалась — наибольшего успеха на самостоятельном поприще достиг Бирн: он и рисует, он и музыку пишет, он и в кино снимается. Группа же официально просуществовала до 1991 года. В 1996 году группа возродилась под названием The Heads (без участия Бирна) и записала новый альбом.
Команда была основана бывшими студентами дизайнерской школы Дэвидом Бирном (р. 14 мая 1952, Дамбартон, Шотландия; вокал, гитара), Крисом Францем (Чарлтон Кристофер Франц, р. 8 мая 1951, Форт Кэмпбелл, США; ударные) и Тиной Веймаутс (Мартина Мич, р. 22 ноября 1950, Коронадо, США; бас). Сначала трио выступало под вывеской «Artistics», но после того как в 1974 году друзья перебрались в Нью-Йорк, группа сменила название на «Talking Heads». На первом же концерте, состоявшемся в июне 1975-го в панковском клубе «CBGB’S», их приметил представитель «Sire Records» Сеймур Стейн, предложивший ансамблю подписать контракт с его фирмой. В декабре 1976-го вышел дебютный сингл «Love — Building On Fire», на котором уже присутствовал нетривиальный саунд группы. Вскоре к ансамблю присоединился клавишник и гитарист Джерри Харрисон (Иеремия Гриффин Харрисон, р. 21 февраля 1949, Милуоки, США), бывший член «Modern Lovers».
После продолжительных гастролей квартет выпустил первый альбом «Talking Heads», проникнутый воодушевлением и интеллектом. Основной изюминкой релиза была композиция «Psycho Killer», на которой драматический вокал Бирна звучал в полную мощь. Пронзительно выкрикивающий свои партии, Дэвид походил на цыпленка, которому сворачивают шею.
Для записи второго альбома, музыканты обратились за помощью к продюсеру Брайену Ино. В результате на свет появилась замечательная работа «More Songs About Buildings And Food». Эксцентричный вокал Бирна был дополнен потрясающей аранжировкой, и все песни звучали одинаково превосходно. При создании «Fear Of Music» группа снова воспользовалась услугами Ино. Наиболее популярными композициями с этого диска были «Life During Wartime» и сделанная в африканских ритмах «I Zimbra». После этого релиза Бирн занялся сольным проектом, записав в компании с Ино «My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts». «Talking heads» возвратились к своей работе, выпустив блестящий альбом «Remain In Light». Записанный при участии сессионных музыкантов (таких, например, как гитарист Адриан Белью), диск поражал своим экзотическим ударным ритмом и африканской полиритмией. Самая знаменитая композиция «Once In A Lifetime» стала хитом 1981 года.
В начале 80-х музыканты уделяли большее внимание сольным работам. Бирн работал над музыкой к балету «The Catherine Wheel», а Франц и Веймаутс (муж и жена) успешно выступали в клубах со своим побочным проектом «Tom Tom Club». Образовавшуюся нишу заполнил «живой» двойник «The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads», а летом 1983 на прилавках появился студийный альбом «Speaking In Tongues».
Как всегда классно сработанный, диск сопровождался синглом «Burning Down The House», впервые попавшим в американский Топ 10. Во время гастролей «Talking heads» был снят фильм «Stop Making Sense», а вскоре вышел и одноименный саундтрек к нему. Следующий студийный диск, «Little Creatures», оказался коммерчески наиболее удачным. Лучшие песни из него, «Road to Nowhere» и «And She Was», на несколько месяцев буквально забили радиопрограммы. В 1986 году увлечение Бирна переместилось в область кино; его дебют состоялся в оригинальной комедии «True Stories». Впоследствии вышел одноименный альбом, где «Talking heads» исполняли песни, первоначально спетые актерами. Через два года группа начала работу над очередным диском, «Naked». Запись происходила в Париже при помощи продюсера Стива Лилливайта и музыкантов Уолли Бадароу (клавишные), Айвеса Н’Джока (гитара) и Джонни Марра (гитара).
С того момента пути четырех членов группы разошлись. В 1992 году вышел ретроспективный «двойник» «Talking heads», отражавший разные периоды творчества коллектива и включавший некоторые редкие вещи. В 1996-м Веймаутс, Франц и Харрисон с новым вокалистом вместо Бирна выпустили альбом под вывеской «Heads».
Очень хорошая вещь.Недавно вот пару альбомов приобрёл. Делимся впечатлениями.
Последний раз редактировалось Don't Eat It; 17.12.2009 в 14:58.
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