Talking Heads - Talking Heads: Fear of Music
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Free Music Notes for Talking Heads: Fear of Music
Free Music Review: The sound of gunfire, off in the distance, I'm getting used to it now.
Hit: 5 Stars
Talking Heads reached further into the multi-layered, polyphonic sounds with "Fear Of Music", and album truly ahead of its time. I dismiss the other reviews here complaining about this or that. The music is much better digitally remastered. The old cd copy is hollow, and this new remaster really brings the cd side to life, but again, if you really want to be transported to another place you must listen to the amazing 5.1 surround sound mix on the dvd side. "Fear Of Music" sounds fantastic in 5.1, and it reminds you that this is what 5.1 is all about.
It helps that the music is perfect for this format. Such classics as "I Zimbra", "Mind", "Cities", "Life During Wartime", "Memories Can't Wait", "Air", "Heaven", "Animals" and "Drugs" come to life and breath anew. The dvd side has two live videos which are fine for those of us who haven't seen the Heads in concert. On the cd side there are four bonus tracks, three previously unreleased. "Dancing For Money" is interesting as an unfinished outtake. The alternate version of "Life During Wartime" doesn't improve the original. The alternate take of "Cities" is about the same as the original, just longer, same goes for the alternate take of "Mind".
The booklet comes with comments by various popular musicians reminiscing about the Heads contributions to popular music. Jerry Harrison comments about the process of remixing the album into 5.1 surround sound which is interesting. There are no lyrics like the old cd copy had, which is an oversight in my opinion.
All in all, ignore the old crones who are dismissing these remasters and the people who can't seem to get them to play. It's worth rebuying all of the remasters if you have proper equipment. The price is a bit steep, but the sound quality improvement is significant.
Free Music Review: Sounds better; bonus tracks are amazing.
Hit: 5 Stars
The Talking Heads' third album (the first with producer Brain Eno acting as a surrogate member)is an amazing auditory experience in the newly remixed 5.1 version. I haven't done the 5.1 side yet, but the "regular" cd remixes and alternate versions are amazing to anyone willing to wade through the negative technical reviews here. I've plugged these discs through both my car audio system and my pc. I'm hoping it will continue this well. Okay, with that said, this album was the one that helped me through high school. The paranoia that surrounds Animal and Mind were very familiar to any kid who was "different" during that period of time. While I never experimented with drugs, the build-up that accompanies that song is now familiar to me from any severe insulin reaction I've ever experienced. The album flows through with an urgency. I think the beauty of Mind is very underrated, especially after the line "Everything is very quiet" when the cacophony of the previous seconds calms down to a quiet dissonance no one else was doing at the time.
The "bonus" tracks are amazing. Don't skip them, thinking they are just fluff. "Cities" is indeed the long version with the verse about San Antonio which was lost in the original album/cd version (but was included in the Once in a Lifetime box-set). It was thrilling to hear that verse reinstated in "Stop Making Sense". It's even better in the studio version here. "Life During Wartime" and "Mind" are versions that feature the guitar madness of Adrian Belew. These versions are more dissonant and guitar oriented. Again, not to be missed.
Free Music Review: GRATE
Hit: 5 Stars
I just finished listening to the 5.1 version of this cd. Absolutly STUNNING!!!! I was thinking about how great all the T.H. cds sound on 5.1 when Electric guitiar came on- OMG!! Ive been listen to this album since it came out- and I NEVER heard this before- FANTASTIC I cant even describe how much different it sounds then the normal cd but to say its like going from a 13 inch B&W to a 50 inch HDTV. This has been one of my faveorite T.H. cds because of the experimaental nature- but the 5.1 sound turns it into a fantastic aurial experiance- the songs fit together like they never did before everytime I play it I cant believe electric guitair is really the smae song- just the wall of voices that say "this is a crime against the state" which did not come through at all on any other version- this is one of the greatest aurial experiances of all time.
The whole cd I noticed things I nvever did before - like the multi-voices on memories- the way the music at the end of each sentance on cities seems to come down from the cieling- many things. The vocals are so much more clear and intense- but for my money just the way electric guitair sounds is worth the price- also Drugs sounds like a totally different song-its like your locked in a padded room with david and you caN HEAR HIS EVERY BREATH- and he seems to be kinda insaine. I have to say I dont have a fantastic setup - a DEnon that costs about $350 and a sony DVD-SACD player that costs about $80 (It does have some great surround options)All the duel disks are GREAT but the last 2 songs on this one blew my mind they sound so much better.
Free Music Review: Classic TH album remastered but with poor authoring-doesn't play on all CD players/computers/can't upload to iPods 1 star format
Hit: 5 Stars
"Fear of Music" is one of Talking Heads' best albums. This deluxe edition on the surface is a great way to hear the album. If you'll be listening to only the 5.1 side of the disc it will play just fine in computers and on DVD-Audio players. Conventional CD players may have a hard time recognizing the disc though. On the packaging it doesn't carry the compact disc logo. What that means is that the disc isn't blue book compatible and won't play in all players.
For example the CD portion wouldn't play on my computer. This made it impossible to listen to on my ipod (which is the primary way I listen to stuff on the road now). The 5.1 side plays just fine but you can't upload it to your iPod either. Why Warner didn't release this like this did overseas (1 remastered CD disc and the other a 5.1 remastered DVD-Audio disc) is beyond me. Certainly Dualdisc offers a lot of potential but many of these won't play on a lot of higher end CD players.
It's just something to be aware of when purchasing this. Rhino is not replacing the discs with remastered versions as they consider the problem to be minor. If you contact Dr. Rhino at Rhino's website they'll insist that you pay for shipping and handling when sending in the disc or you can try and return it to your local store or amazon.com. Until they work out all of the kinks with Dualdisc just be cautious.
Free Music Review: Start Making Sense
Hit: 5 Stars
Stop whingeing the lot of you! These remasters are brilliant. The Digipacks are fine. Maybe like me you'll want to put them in plastic sleeves to keep them pristine, but unless you treat all your possesions like dirt then they will last your lifetime. If the Dualdiscs aren't working in your gear then it's time to upgrade. The stereo remasters are as they should be, sounding full and rich and clear. The 5.1 surround sound remixes are the best of their kind I have come across. They maintain the colour and texture (yes 'feel' if you like) of the original stereo mix. Jerry says that Fear of Music was a challenge as there were limited overdubs to play with. This I found to be true on I Zimbra but from there on in new dimension was brought to every track. Sometimes in surround mixes you can pick out individual sounds to the detriment of the overall blend and the ear feels let down by discovering the secret ingredients, but in the Talking Heads remixes some of those sounds are even more interesting in isolation but still entwine with everything else to preserve the intention of the stereo mix. How lucky we are to live in these times when technology allows us to listen to great music that's nearly 30 years old and have it sound better than it ever has! And aren't we lucky to be fans of a band called Talking Heads.