I can't speak to issues of sound quality improvement since I've never heard the album on vinyl, but on CD it combines the sparseness of the band's recording style (16, sometimes only 8, tracks and not overbearingly mixed toward the rhythm section) with the subtlety of their actual performance in an extraordinarily satisfying way. Lattice, rather than wall, of sound prevails, with guitar and drums trading off as the entwining ivy. Interestingly, the album strikes me as more Eno-esque in some ways than their next three, which The Man Himself produced.
Of course, it all comes back to the material, which stands up exceedingly well. What with recurring "seventies revivals," younger listeners may miss some of the album's implicit commentary on the music that surrounded Talking Heads when they first picked up their instruments. I suspect I may be on the older end of that younger group — I kept waiting for the horn section and little Michael Jackson to take over "Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town," only beginning to really appreciate the song for itself after multiple listens.
Given the taxonomic line I've drawn, it should come as no surprise that I enjoyed the twitchy, Lou Reedish "New Feeling" and "Psycho Killer" (especially the acoustic bonus rendition of the latter) more than the rest of the album, but 77 is uniformly listenable — and not just enjoyable, but moving.
Article comments
1 - Rodney Welch
Funny, I love the Velvets and the Heads and never really think of them together, although I suppose a case could be made. I think Byrne would probably lean more toward Cale than Reed though.
Don't forget the Ramones as a potential influence -- I kind of sense them when I hear "Pulled Up." And Television, remember Television -- Talking Heads came out of that same kind of urban artsy thing. But bands bring so much more than just their surrounding influences, and with Talking Heads you had both Dada and modernism and (eventually) Africa working into the mix.
2 - Gordon Hauptfleisch
Good article, glad to see about Rhino's re-releasing. Saw them live--great show, Jonathan Demme's "Stop Making Sense" is still one of the best concert movies (along with Martin Scorcese's The Last Waltz--the Band)
David Byrne was on the same plane I was on once, and I had the thought of going up to him, looking out his window and (quoting from "The Big Country," a song about plane travel, that's on their second More Songs LP)--saying "I wouldn't live there if they paid me," or "look over there, a dry ice factory!). But he's not the most approachable person, and I was still a couple drinks away from being a total jerk.
3 - Larry A. Sakin
Great review- just a factual error to clear up. Jerry Harrison was the keyboardist for the Heads. Chris Franz was the drummer.
When the group became popular, Harrison played rhythm guitar when they toured.
4 - Peter Venkman
I'd really like to know the particulars of what "Eno-esque" is.