This album has been a favorite of mine since September of 1983, when I first purchased it. And whenever I listen to it, it still takes me back to that time. It’s funny how music can do that to you. It can conjure up a certain feeling or smell 25 years later and make you feel like you have been transported back in time. This is one of those albums.
It was the first one I ever purchased from Talking Heads, which led me to buy all of their previous albums by the time of their next release (1985’s back-to-basics "Little Creatures"). I love all eras of Talking Heads - from their early, simple New Wave beginnings onto their Brian Eno-helmed, pan-African "Remain in Light" period, right up til the very end in 1988 with "Naked." But "Speaking in Tongues" is still the one that stands out just a little brighter than all the rest. Maybe because it was the one that got me into them. Maybe because it was simply their “masterpiece.” Maybe a bit of both. It’s one of those inspired creations where every second of the album is sheer perfection. The songs, the performances, the sequencing - it simply could not be improved upon.
Even though it was not produced by Brian Eno (like their previous three albums had been), it clearly shows his influence. They had learned well from the master. It takes the African influences that they had used to great effect on "Remain in Light" (and the joint album Byrne and Eno put out in 1981, "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" - which is highly recommended) and absorbs them into their own sound more organically. It also is probably their funkiest album and no less of an authority on The Funk - Bootsy Collins himself - stated that the Heads “kept the funk alive” and that this was his favorite recording of theirs. ’Nuff said.
I won’t go into too much detail about “Burning Down the House,” due to the fact that most people already know it. Inspired by a chant that David Byrne thought he heard at a Parliament / Funkadelic concert, it was a huge hit and rightly so. It was one of the catchiest, most fully-realized songs in their canon. And an excellent way to start the album. Definitely a classic.
Next up is “Making Flippy Floppy,” another catchy, extremely funky creation. Most of this album had a real funkiness to it, due to the presence of P-Funk keyboardist extraordinaire Bernie Worrell (amongst others). “Girlfriend is Better” continues in that quirky, funky direction. Why this song was not a big dancefloor hit is beyond me. Made up of Byrne’s usual (and unusual) non sequitur lyrical style, it’s one of the best songs on the album.
“Slippery People” has an interesting gospel “call & response” feel to it. Inspired by the Staple Singers (I believe they later did their own version of it), it’s a sheer pleasure to hear. What it’s about though is anyone’s guess.
“Moon Rocks” and “Pull Up the Roots” are two further brilliant, funky concoctions. They really showcase the excellent production and sense of space on this album. Like I said, the Heads learned well from Eno. His strange but always interesting juxtaposition of instruments and sounds. These songs have brilliant arrangements. Arty and clever (but never overly fussy). They keep you coming back again and again, always hearing something new in the mix (note: check out the 5.1 Surround Sound mixes guitarist Jerry Harrison did recently on all the Heads’ albums. The remasters are nothing short of breathtaking. You‘ll hear new details in the mixes that you never knew existed). Every song on here has it’s own sound and style and yet they all add up to something greater than their individual parts. Like all the best albums.
Lastly, “This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody)” ends the album in quiet fashion. A love song, David Byrne-style. Again, the words are not meant to be interpreted literally and yet they convey a strangely romantic feeling. Byrne found a way to write a love song that doesn’t fall victim to the same cliches as a thousand other love songs. He states his feelings of love in an actually believable way. That indescribable sensation we get of being in love and not knowing why.
I will admit - I am having difficulty describing these songs or why they mean as much to me as they do. Good music is like that. It’s those intangible qualities that grab us by the throat and force us to listen. It’s hard to describe why a piece of art can mean so much to us and yet why some songs or books can simply leave us cold, or worse, make us want to run in the other direction.
I also can’t tell you what these songs “mean.” Like I said earlier, Byrne’s lyrical style is made up of phrases, announcements, bits of overheard conversation, mad ramblings - whatever sounds good. But yet his best lyrics always seem to conjure up certain moods, a certain atmosphere. You may not understand them literally but you “feel” them (“This Must Be the Place“ being the perfect example). I think Michael Stipe is the only other lyric writer out there who has been able to do that successfully on a regular basis.
This is a classic album that I have never gotten tired of listening to, no matter how many hundreds of times I have heard it over the past 24 years. Because it came after "Remain in Light," it has always (unfairly in my opinion) stood in its shadow - but I feel it is a better, tighter collection of songs. Perhaps a bit more “conventional” - but then again, Talking Heads were never really a conventional band. Their songs were always quirky and original. They never sounded like any other band out there and I don’t believe any band since then has ever really captured the Heads’ sound or style. They were true originals. And "Speaking in Tongues" is a great reason why.

Jay Mucci

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