Question for Talking Heads fans

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

Please order the first five studio albums in your order of preference, and tell why. I'm thinking of bumping my cassettes up to cd. Not interested in box sets, live albums, greatest hits, or their later albums. I'm talking about:
 
 Talking Heads 77
 More Songs about...
 Fear of Music
 Remain in Light
 Speaking in Tongues

[palahniukkubrick]

1. Remain in Light
 -has best songs (Born under punches is especially amazing, with a weird solo by Adrian Belew)
 2. More Songs
 -has second best songs
 3. Speaking in tongues
 -has hits
 4. '77
 -when they were still punk
 5. fear of music
 -not that good, but better than Little Creatures

[HoyaSaxa03]

this just came out on CD for the first time last august and it's really worth getting (one of my favorite re-releases from last year) ... tough to compare to "stop making sense", but it might be better:
 
   <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0002IQML6.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg" alt=" - " />

[Bombay Chutney]

I know you said no comps/live stuff, but I agree with Hoya.  "The Name Of This Band..." is easily my favorite Heads album.  And the CD has a bazillion bonus tracks, nearly doubling the original length of the LP.
 
 That being said,  from your list I'd go with:
 
 Fear of Music
  - Life During Wartime and I Zimbra are essential IMHO
 
 '77
  - the quirkiness here is what initially set them apart form their peers
 
 Remain In Light
  - Belew, Bernie and Eno
 
 Speaking In Tongues
  - the biggest hits, but not a bad record at all
 
 More Songs About Buildings and Food (last only because I don't know it very well)

My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts

[Cock Van Der Palm]

More Songs - defines the quirky styles of Byrne
 Remain In Light - brings on the funk
 77
 Speaking in Tongues
 Fear of Music

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

I haven't listened to them in the last 10+ years, but memory tells me I had them ranked exactly as you did. Maybe I'd switch #1 and #2. And More Songs was at the bottom only because it was the only one I didn't have it and, like you, wasn't familiar with it.
 
 

Originally posted by Bombay Chutney:
  I know you said no comps/live stuff, but I agree with Hoya.  "The Name Of This Band..." is easily my favorite Heads album.  And the CD has a bazillion bonus tracks, nearly doubling the original length of the LP.
 
 That being said,  from your list I'd go with:
 
 Fear of Music
  - Life During Wartime and I Zimbra are essential IMHO
 
 '77
  - the quirkiness here is what initially set them apart form their peers
 
 Remain In Light
  - Belew, Bernie and Eno
 
 Speaking In Tongues
  - the biggest hits, but not a bad record at all
 
 More Songs About Buildings and Food (last only because I don't know it very well)

[walkonby]

we were listening to the heads at a poker game not that long ago, and one of the wife's comes into the room and says, "what in the hell is this shit you're listening to?  Sounds like african music being sung by a epileptic."  priceless.

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

I played Fear of Music the other day for my wife, and after like three songs, she said, "They must be one of those bands with one or two good songs on each album." But no fear, I will win her over yet.
 
 
 

Originally posted by walkonby:
  we were listening to the heads at a poker game not that long ago, and one of the wife's comes into the room and says, "what in the hell is this shit you're listening to?  Sounds like african music being sung by a epileptic."  priceless.

[Chip Chanko]

This is the order for my favorites...although after a while I usually end up flipping it due to overplaying the top 3 and go with Remain and Fear on their own to balance things out. Stop Making Sense ends up getting the most play in the end since it's a good compromise between all of them. The Name of This Band is also good but too much for one sitting if you just want to listen to an album...so I Stop Making Sense more than that.
 
 More Songs about...
 Speaking in Tongues
 Talking Heads 77
 Remain in Light
 Fear of Music
 
 don't worry about the government.

[chancegardener]

1. Remain in Light. The first side is as danceable and progressive as anything you'll ever hear. The 2nd side starts with "Once in a Lifetime" and turns into bizarre Eno-Byrne rock-dirges from there. It's one of the all-time most creative albums ever made.
 
 2. More Songs About Buildings ... Eno comes on board and the band became the funniest, hippest most happening thing of 1978 .. classic tracks like "Warning Sign", "Artists Only", "Big Country" and of course, "Take Me to the River"
 
 3. Fear of Music -- Eno takes over but the band matches his creativity with out-there classics all over this record  -- "Mind", "Cities", "Memories", "Wartime", "Heaven", "Animals" "Drugs"
 
 4. Speaking in Tongues -- more superb groovy dance music circa 1983, "House", "Girlfriend is Better" and one of their top-5-in-greatness tunes "This Must Be the Place"
 
 5. 77 - Debut Heads; clean, precise, compeletely pogo-able, and full of catchy tunes, including standouts "No Compassion", "Pulled Up" and that fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa song
 
 Keep an eye out for the Dual Disc versions that just came out, if you're willing to shell out $19 a pop.
 
 And go ahead and get the rest of their records as well. "Little Creatures and "Naked" are worth it. "True Stories", um, mebbe not.