Talking Heads garners incredible critical acclaim across the board as one the best bands of the 70s and 80s. With the group’s eccentric singer David Byrne, tight rhythm section of  couple Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth and dynamic guitar parts of Jerry Harrison, Talking Heads were able to create a unique sound that was eventually dubbed “new wave“.

Despite their reputation, Talking Heads is a band that has never fully “clicked” with me. I do like the occasional single from them, but I can’t say that I am a fan of any of their albums or deeper cuts. I’m hoping reviewing their debut album and their subsequent releases will change my opinion of the band and dig up some hidden treasures in their discography.

Uh-Oh, Love Comes To Town

An upbeat opener for the album, that highlights each member of the band’s strengths. An elastic bass and guitar part carries the song, accentuated by Byrne’s sporadic, scratchy guitar. Steel drums come into the song after the chorus giving it a rather calypso feel. Love Comes To Town serves as a good opener to the album and I am keen to hear more. ★★★½

New Feeling

Opening with a riff that reminds me of The Sonics‘ song “How Love Will Travel“, New Feeling quickly breaks into a more frantic groove. I really like the combination of the main riff with the bent guitar notes that soar above. The changes in pace found in the chorus of the song is all an interesting move. The bass playing is something that really stuck with me after repeated listens, very groovy and melodic, underpinning the song masterfully. ★★★★

Tentative Decisions

Tentative Decisions starts initially sounding like a Wire song off of Chairs Missing and then takes a left turn and ends up sounding like a singing, marching band. Very weird and unexpected. I really like groove in this song, but I’m not sure whether the chorus vocals really work. A piano and additional percussion is brought in during the outro of the song which gives it a bit more impetus but it ends too quickly. ★★½

Happy Day

Some lovely piano arpeggios greet me as the intro to Happy Day, one of the more melodic cuts on ’77. With its lush instrumentation, we find Talking Heads utilising xylophone and keyboards in addition to their usual style to really expand their sound. David Byrne delivers one of the album’s best vocal performances as well, with a mixture of high notes interjecting his usual delivery. ★★★★

Who Is It?

The scratchy guitar sound that is usually identified with Talking Heads and other CBGB bands kicks off Who Is It?. With the shortest runtime on the album, this is a rather forgettable song that doesn’t really do much to distinguish itself apart from other tracks. ★★

No Compassion

When I heard the opening riff to No Compassion the first thing that popped into my mind was the intricate guitar work of fellow New York band Television. This is exactly the sort of song that I hoped I would discover by doing this review as I’ve never heard this song before and it immediately clicked with me. As per most of the tracks on this album the bass playing is fantastic, locking into a super tight groove with the drums to carry the song forwards. After the short length of previous song Who Is It? I was worried when the song had a false ending after the first chorus but thankfully it has a much longer duration. The guitar solo before the final verse is enjoyable and again reminds me of Television, specifically the ending of their song Friction. ★★★★½

The Book I Read

Sounding exactly what I imagine a deep cut of Talking Heads would sound like, The Book I Read offers up no real surprises. The piano/clavichord sounding instrument that takes over the song in the bridge is unexpected but quickly grew monotonous, although the guitar arpeggios were a very nice touch. ★★½

Don’t Worry About the Government

A rather introspective song that finds Byrne reflecting on who actually works for the government. It almost has a broadway musical feel to it, with its storyteller lyrics and dramatic chorus. I found this song rather annoying on my first listen but it grew on me the more I listened to it. The vocal melodies are very strong and are the star of the show, with the bass playing a rather restrained part (not to the detriment of the song) in comparison to the rest of the songs on the album. ★★★½

First Week/Last Week…Carefree

This song has a great groove to it, with numerous percussion instruments being utilised to maximum effect. The use of a marimba really gives a unique feel to the song that seperates it from the rest of the songs on the album. Saxophone is introduced, which adds some needed melody to the tune as well. It’s a solid, upbeat album track that helps carry the album.  ★★★½

Psycho Killer

With its iconic bass line, tense vocals and frantic guitar, Psycho Killer is the easily the most popular track on this album. It really is a great track that stands out on this album in comparison to the rest of the tracks. It has the catchiest chorus and gets stuck in your head almost immediately. The outro guitar is creates some great dissonance that really adds a lot to the track. David Byrne’s lyrics paint the image of a pyscho killer in the mould of Patrick Bateman perfectly, with the line “I hate people when they’re not polite” standing out. ★★★★★

Pulled Up

Honestly I’m not sure why the band decided to have Pulled Up be the album closer instead of Psycho Killer, which would have concluded the album with a very definitive statement. Pulled Up is an alright song but it sounds a tad lacklustre after its predecessor. It has a catchy chorus and quite a few nimble guitar lines scattered throughout the verses. I feel it would have been more of a standout track if it was in the middle of the track listing instead. ★★★

Final Thoughts

This is a solid debut from Talking Heads that met my expectations and also gave me a wider understanding of the band. Having listened to this album a few times in its entirety over the last few days I can see that the strong sense of groove and rhythm was always a strong element within the band. Their later albums would see the band continue to work on building these fantastic grooves that they built their songs upon.

I don’t believe that this album is Psycho Killer plus 10 other songs. Happy Day, No Compassion and Uh-Oh, Love Comes To Town are all great songs in their own right and highlight different strengths of the band and its talented members. While not the best debut album to come out of the CBGB’s scene it’s an album that holds up well and rewards multiple listens.

Rating:  ★★★½ (Good, sometimes great)

Buy: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/talking-heads-77/id120135545

Listen to if: You’re a fan of new wave, scratchy guitars, passionate vocals, great bass grooves

Reminds me of: Television, The Police

Favourite Tracks: Uh-Oh, Love Comes To Town, Happy Day, No Compassion and Uh-Oh, Love Comes To Town, Psycho  Killer

Least Favourite Track: Tentative Decisions, Who Is It?, The Book I Read