Speaking In Tongues [Vinyl]

On REMAIN IN LIGHT, the Heads fused their twitchy, intellectual geek-rock sensibilities with an organic, spiritual funkiness that catapulted them into a new artistic realm, virtually unfettered by the shackles of their “new wave” past. SPEAKING IN TONGUES picks up where that album left off, expanding on the band’s newfound funk aesthetic and even upping the danceability quotient a notch or two. The Heads let their hair down a bit more here than on REMAIN IN LIGHT, but while the tone is a bit less serious (as on the party-starting “Burning Down The House,”) the highly developed conceptual sensibilites of Byrne and company are still at work, even without the assistance of former producer Brian Eno.
Some of the previous album’s airy abstractions are stripped away here, to make more room on the dance floor. Tunes like “Girlfriend is Better” attack both the feet and the mind, in typically quirky Talking Heads style. “This Must Be the Place/Naive Melody” stands out as a pretty, affecting ballad about finding a sense of belonging (it’s melodic charms were so pervasive it was eventually covered by folk-rocker Shawn Colvin).
Limited 180gm vinyl LP repressing of the New Wave band’s 1983 album.
1 Burning Down the House
2 Making Flippy Floppy (LP Version)
3 Girlfriend Is Better (Album Version)
4 Slippery People (LP Version)
5 I Get Wild / Wild Gravity (LP Version)
6 Swamp (LP Version)
7 Moon Rocks (LP Version)
8 Pull Up the Roots (LP Version)
9 This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) (Album Version)