Brian Eno is MORE DARK THAN SHARK

INTERVIEWS, REVIEWS & RELATED ARTICLES

Rip It Up JANUARY 1982 - by David Perkins

DAVID BYRNE: SONGS FROM THE BROADWAY PRODUCTION OF 'THE CATHERINE WHEEL'

This collaboration between Talking Heads; David Byrne and creative dance-wizard Twyla Tharp produces some of Byrne's mpst inspired and challenging music to date. With the help of an entourage of New York notables, plus Brian Eno, Byrne lays down a richly textured percussive collage, augmented by his dramatic and brutal vocal delivery. There is no room here for the squeamish.

His Wife Refused, which opens the album, sets the pattern. The vocals are narrated over an enduring percussive energy, courtesy of Yogi Horton's magnificent drumming. My Big Hands, with Byrne's droll singing, evokes memories of Frank Zappa, while Big Business combines Byrne's lacerating guitar with Chernoff's choppy style in a marvellous rhythmic extravaganza.

Side Two opens with Eggs In A Briar Patch, using a cast member to narrate over a dense electronic structure. What A Day That Was and Big Blue Plymouth mould into one long trance of incessant activity. Light Bath concludes the work, with Byrne playing triggered flutes over subdued percussion.

A powerful and innovative record from a contemporary giant, but also one requiring perseverance. Note: The version of Catherine Wheel on disc is edited, and the complete work is available only on cassette.