Fear of Music
by Talking Heads
- Type: Album
- Released: August 3, 1979
- Label: Sire
- Country: United States
- Length: 40:35
- Community rating: 4.32/5 from 32 ratings
Artists on this release: David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth
Album Notes & Community Reviews
On 'Fear of Music', Talking Heads delves into darker, more anxious thematic territory, with David Byrne鈥檚 lyrics placing paranoid characters in dystopian urban situations. Produced by Brian Eno, the album is built on an eclectic mix of prominent disco rhythms, Afrobeat influences, and cinematic soundscapes, creating a work that is foreboding and rhythmically complex. This transitional album, recorded in part in a loft apartment, bridges the gap between their earlier work and the global funk of their next, and its gritty, deliberately disorienting sound solidifies its place as a landmark of the post-punk era.
Genres
Descriptors: polyrhythmic, experimental, percussive, repetitive, motorik, funky, rhythmic, guitars, witty, bassy
Tracklist
- I Zimbra (03:08)
- Mind (04:12)
- Paper (02:39)
- Cities (04:10)
- Life During Wartime (03:41)
- Memories Can't Wait (03:30)
- Air (03:34)
- Heaven (04:00)
- Animals (03:30)
- Electric Guitar (03:02)
- Drugs (05:09)
Credits
- David Byrne - lead vocals, guitar, backing vocals, concept
- Jerry Harrison - guitar, backing vocals, keyboards, cover concept
- Tina Weymouth - bass guitar, backing vocals
- Chris Frantz - drums
- Brian Eno - producer, treatments, backing vocals, additional vocals
- Robert Fripp - guitar
- Gene Wilder - congas
- Ari Up - congas
- The Sweetbreathes - backing vocals
- Julie Last - backing vocals, assistant engineer
- Hassam Ramzy - surdo
- Abdou M'Boup - djembe, talking drum
- Assane Thiam - percussion
- Rod O'Brian - engineer
- Dave Hewitt - engineering crew
- Fred Ridder - engineering crew
- Phil Gitomer - engineering crew
- Kooster McAllister - engineering crew
- Joe Barbaria - engineer
- Chris Martinez - assistant engineer
- Tom Heid - assistant engineer
- Neal Teeman - engineer
- Greg Calbi - mastering
- Jimmy Garcia - thermograph (heat sensitive photo)
- Dr. Philip Strax - thermograph
- Spencer Drate - cover/inner sleeve typography design