Brian Eno is MORE DARK THAN SHARK

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Wondering Sound JANUARY 11, 2010 - by Douglas Wolk

TALKING HEADS: REMAIN IN LIGHT

A revolutionary amalgam of sounds, built from the groove up

When Talking Heads' fourth album appeared in 1980, nobody had ever made an album like it - and nothing much like it has been heard since: a startling, chattering amalgamation of Afrobeat, downtown NYC avant-garde sounds, the hard funk that had evolved alongside disco, snarling rock 'n' roll, and the cadences of frothing-at-the-mouth radio preachers. Expanding their lineup to include lacerating guitarist Adrian Belew, Labelle singer Nona Hendryx and producer/conceptualist Brian Eno, the band built these songs from the groove up, with liberating results. Born Under Punches is magnificent information overload, seemingly six different songs accidentally falling into synch; Once In A Lifetime is half prophecy, half midlife crisis, and all dancefloor-packer.