Remain in Light

'Remain In Light' is generally regarded by music critics as being the best Talking Heads album. It was the third album in the Heads/Eno trilogy and was -after 'I Zimbra' on Fear Of Music- their second exploration of African rhythms. 'Remain In Light' was issued in October 1980.

Eno was given sole production credit, and also co-wrote all the songs; originally, only Byrne and Eno were given credits for the music, but before the album was released the rest of the band persuaded the couple to add their names to the credits.

The album featured the new Talking Heads - a multi-personnel band with added percussionists, backing vocalists and guitarist Adrian Belew, who put the wah-wah pedal to its most tasteful use since Jimi Hendrix. The difference was noticeable immediately. Talking Heads songs had always been monologues in the past, but now there were two or three different vocal sections contrasting perspectives on the same issues.

The music was funkier, with more embellishments than before, and 'Remain in Light' represented a completely new approach, rather than an alteration of the old one. The album's most striking track was 'Once In A Lifetime' which - with the help of a dramatically simple and effective video - became the band's first British top 20 single. Talking Heads toured around the world with their extended line-up. In England, the band was supported by U2, then still to win a UK recording contract.

The album's single, "Once in a Lifetime," flopped upon release, but over the years became an audience favorite due to a striking video, its inclusion in the band's 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense, and its second single release (in the live version) because of its use in the 1986 movie Down and Out in Beverly Hills, when it became a minor chart entry.

Byrne sounded typically uncomfortable in the verses ("And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife / And you may ask yourself -- Well ... how did I get here?"), which were undercut by the reassuring chorus ("Letting the days go by"). Even without a single, Remain in Light was a hit, indicating that Talking Heads were connecting with an audience ready to follow their musical evolution, and the album was so inventive and influential, it was no wonder. As it turned out, however, it marked the end of one aspect of the group's development and their last new music for three years.

Tracks:

1. Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)
2. Crosseyed And Painless
3. The Great Curve
4. Once In A Lifetime
5. Houses In Motion
6. Seen And Not Seen
7. Listening Wind
8. The Overload