TALKING HEADS

Remain In Light

Talking Heads fourth studio album Remain in Light, produced by long-time collaborator Brian Eno, saw the group exploring African polyrhythms and launched the album’s single “Once in a Lifetime.”

It was recorded at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas and Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia between July and August 1980. It was the final Talking Heads album produced by Brian Eno.

After the release of Fear of Music in 1979, Talking Heads and Eno sought to dispel notions of the band as a mere vehicle for frontman and songwriter David Byrne. Drawing influence from Nigerian musician Fela Kuti, they experimented with African polyrhythms, funk, and electronics, recording instrumental tracks as a series of looping grooves. The sessions incorporated a variety of side musicians, including guitarist Adrian Belew, singer Nona Hendryx, and trumpet player Jon Hassell.

Byrne struggled with writer’s block, but adopted a scattered, stream-of-consciousness lyrical style inspired by early rap and academic literature on Africa. The artwork was conceived by bassist Tina Weymouth and drummer Chris Frantz, and crafted with the help of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s computers and design company M&Co. The band hired additional members for a promotional tour, and following its completion, they went on a year-long hiatus to pursue side projects.

Remain in Light was acclaimed by critics, who praised its sonic experimentation, rhythmic innovations, and cohesive merging of disparate genres. The album peaked at number 19 on the US Billboard 200 and number 21 on the UK Albums Chart, and spawned the singles “Once in a Lifetime” and “Houses in Motion”. It has been featured in several publications’ lists of the best albums of the 1980s and of all time, and is often considered Talking Heads’ magnum opus. In 2017, the Library of Congress deemed the album “culturally, historically, or artistically significant”, and selected it for preservation in the National Recording Registry.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE A
1. Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)
2. Cross-eyed And Painless
3. The Great Curve

SIDE B
1. Once In A Lifetime
2. Houses in Motion
3. Seen And Not Seen
4. Listening Wind
5. The Overload