Welcome back to LWA ROTW. This week, the Discogs Randomizer gives us Talking Heads' 77. The first time I'd ever heard Talking Heads was when Take Me to the River (from their second album, More Songs About Building and Food) was played on Casey Kasem's American Top 40 millions of years ago. I remember thinking it was cool that they took an old soul song and twisted it to fit their sound. And that's kinda what Talking Heads do, take their influences and combine them into something different. That said, my first Talking Heads album was Speaking in Tongues (1983). From there I worked my way backwards and pretty much kept up with them.
Some random thoughts while listening to 77 right now (it's been a while). It's a trip to think this was considered experimental back then, but I think a lot of that early New Wave stuff fell under that umbrella. Those angular and arpeggiated guitar riffs. Cryptic lyrics (again, for that time period). This band was on the front line. Look at one of the singles from 77, Psycho Killer (probably their best known song, which is still played, covered and referenced often nearly 50 years later). There was nothing like it back then. This album and this band influenced a whole generation of new bands. If you're interested in rock n' roll history, 77 is a required visit on the journey.