| Frownland |
12-03-2017 12:11 PM |
I think everyone should just take a step back and Remain in Light is the fourth studio album by American new wave band Talking Heads, released on October 8, 1980 through Sire Records. It was recorded at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas and Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia between July and August 1980 and was produced by the quartet's long-time collaborator Brian Eno.
Following the release of Fear of Music in 1979, Talking Heads and Eno sought to make an album that would dispel notions of the group as a mere vehicle for frontman and chief lyricist David Byrne. Drawing on the influence of Nigerian musician Fela Kuti, the group experimented with African polyrhythms, funk, and electronics, recording instrumental tracks as a series of sampled and looped grooves, an innovative technique at the time. Recording sessions also incorporated a variety of side musicians, including guitarist Adrian Belew, singer Nona Hendryx, and trumpet player Jon Hassell.
Byrne initially struggled with writer's block, but soon adopted a scattered stream-of-consciousness lyrical style inspired by early rap and academic literature on Africa. The artwork for Remain in Light was conceived by bassist Tina Weymouth and drummer Chris Frantz, and was crafted with the help of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's computers and design company M&Co. Talking Heads expanded to nine members for a promotional tour, and following its completion the band went on hiatus for several years, leaving the individual members to pursue a variety of side-projects. The album was the last of the band's collaborations with Eno, though Eno and Byrne's My Life in the Bush of Ghosts would be released the following year.
Remain in Light was widely acclaimed by critics, who praised its sonic experimentation, rhythmic innovations, and cohesive merging of disparate genres. The album peaked at number 19 on the Billboard 200 in the US and at number 21 on the UK Albums Chart. Two singles were released from Remain in Light: "Once in a Lifetime" and "Houses in Motion". The record was certified Gold in the US and in Canada during the 1980s. It has been featured in several publications' lists of the best albums of the 1980s and the best albums of all time, and it is often considered Talking Heads' magnum opus. In 2006, it was remastered and reissued with the addition of four unfinished outtakes. The Library of Congress deemed the album "culturally, historically, or artistically significant", and selected it for preservation in their National Recording Registry in 2017.
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