Talking Heads - Fear of Music (1979) [Sire LP, German 1st pressing] 24-bit/96kHz & CD-format

“

I'm impressed with the gritty weirdness of the music.... - Robert Christgau (A-)

”

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 and Brian Eno. The album entered the Billboard 200 in the United States at number 21 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. England'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.


Critical reception

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." John Rockwell of The New York Times suggested that the record was not a conventional rock release, while Stephanie Pleet of The Daily Collegian commented that it showed a positive progression in Talking Heads' musical style. Robert Christgau, writing in The Village Voice, praised the album's "gritty weirdness", but noted that "a little sweetening might help". 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. 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."

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. In the 1995 Spin Alternative Record Guide, Eric Weisbard gave the record a rating of nine out of ten and called it Talking Heads' most musically varied offering. In a 2003 review, Chris Smith of Stylus praised Byrne's personas and Eno's stylised production techniques. In The Rough Guide to Rock published 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".

Accolades

Fear of Music was named as the best album of 1979 by NME ahead of Public Image Ltd.'s Metal Box, by Melody Maker ahead of Ry Cooder's Bop till You Drop, and by the Los Angeles Times ahead of Pere Ubu's Dub Housing. The New York Times included it in its unnumbered shortlist of the 10 best records issued that year. Sounds placed the album at number two in its staff list behind The Specials' eponymous release. 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.

In 1985, NME named Fear of Music at number 68 in its writers' list of the All Time 100 Albums. In 1987, Rolling Stone placed it at number 94 in its list of the best albums of the previous 20 years. 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. In 2004, Pitchfork Media featured the record at number 31 in its Top 100 Albums Of The 1970s list, while, in 2005, Channel 4 ranked it at number 76 during The 100 Greatest Albums countdown.



Track listing

All songs written by David Byrne, unless otherwise noted.

Side one

1. "I Zimbra" (David Byrne, Brian Eno, Hugo Ball) 3:09
2. "Mind" 4:13
3. "Paper" 2:39
4. "Cities" 4:10
5. "Life During Wartime" (David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth) 3:41
6. "Memories Can't Wait" (David Byrne, Jerry Harrison) 3:30

Side two

7. "Air" 3:34
8. "Heaven" (David Byrne, Jerry Harrison) 4:01
9. "Animals" 3:30
10. "Electric Guitar" 3:03
11. "Drugs" 5:10

Personnel

Those involved in the making of Fear of Music are:

Talking Heads

David Byrne – vocals, guitars
Jerry Harrison – guitars, keyboards, backing vocals
Tina Weymouth – bass guitar, backing vocals
Chris Frantz – drums

Additional musicians

Brian Eno – backing vocals, electronic treatments
The Sweetbreaths – backing vocals ("Air")
Julie Last – backing vocals ("I Zimbra")
Robert Fripp – guitar ("I Zimbra")
Ari – congas ("I Zimbra", "Life During Wartime")
Gene Wilder – congas ("I Zimbra", "Life During Wartime")

Production

Brian Eno – producer
Talking Heads – producers
Joe Barbaria – engineer
Rod O'Brian – engineer
Neil Teeman – engineer
Tom Heid – assistant engineer
Julie Last – assistant engineer
Chris Martinez – assistant engineer
Phil Gitomer – engineering crew
Dave Hewitt – engineering crew
Booster McAllister – engineering crew
Fred Ridder – engineering crew
Greg Calbi – mastering

Design

Jerry Harrison – cover art, artwork assistant
David Byrne – artwork
Jimmy Garcia – thermograph photography
Philip Strax – thermograph assistant