Talking Heads - Little Creatures (1985)

Note: this release was originally purchased as a LP, later replaced by this CD.

After releasing 5 innovative studio albums, 2 amazing live albums, and the best concert film of all time, this was the beginning of the end for Talking Heads. While not the first TH album with filler tracks, it was the first TH album with a majority of filler tracks. Sadly, that trend would continue until the band ultimately split later in the decade. But the good stuff here is very good, with the singles being the most commercial tunes the band ever released.

Some of the cuts recycle previous Talking Heads grooves and melodies, but try to cover it up by adding a folkish-country-feel or atypical instrumentation to many of the lesser tunes:

"Hey, David, isn't this the same melody as Girlfriend Is Better?"
"Yeah, but we'll add an accordion or steel guitar and nobody will know."

It's as if Byrne's musicological interests moved from an international focus to Americana, a trend that would continue into the frustrating True Stories album. Can you tell I was disappointed in this one? Despite initial critical praise (see below), this album hasn't held up like most of the band's other albums. But after the amazing run that proceeded it, something had to give eventually - nothing lasts forever. Still, as I mentioned, there's a few peaks among the valleys.

Press of the time:

• Spin: "new-wave folk music"
• Robert Christgau (A): "The music is rich in hidden treasures the way their punk-era stuff never was"
• Rolling Stone: "The songs are simple and clearly rooted in pop structures, and Byrne injects a feeling of lyrical giddiness that almost makes this sound like a different band."
• CashBox: "characterized by its relatively simple songwriting"
• Smash Hits (8 out of 10): "finds them calming down and returning to slightly more straightforward melodic pop songs."
• Billboard: "the band's most accessible work yet"
• High Fidelity: "Byrne adheres rigorously to a logic you sense but only he understands"
• Stereo Review (Best of the Month): "back to playing their original quirky, hyperactive variety of avant-garde garage-band rock."
• DownBeat (★★★★): "a taut, compact record that rocks with a vengeance from beginning to end."
• Musician: "the Talking Heads variety show, with something for everyone"

Regardless of what I think, the album is the band's top seller and it topped the 1985 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll as well as the Rolling Stone Critics Poll. The cover art, created by outsider artist Howard Finster, was selected as album cover of the year by both the critics and readers of Rolling Stone:

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard 200: #20
• CashBox: #12
• Rolling Stone: #5
• Billboard Pop CD: #6
• CashBox Top CD: #4

Tracks: The cream of the crop here is And She Was (#54 pop, #33 dance, #11 rock), Stay Up Late (#24 rock), and Road To Nowhere (#25 rock). I'd be hard-pressed to pick a favorite from that trio. However, the first release was track 4, The Lady Don't Mind; that single didn't chart despite having a promotional video directed by the incomparable Jim Jarmusch. I'd include that cut in a second-tier of tracks along with Walk It Down. When compared to the top three, the remainder is fairly bland to these ears.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None. When I played a Talking Heads album in 1985, it was usually Stop Making Sense.

Previously revisited for the blog:
The Best Of (2004)
Stop Making Sense (1984)
The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads (1982)
Fear Of Music (1979)