Talking Heads - Remain in Light
Critic Score
Based on 7 reviews
1980 Ratings: #4 / 157
User Score
1980 Rank: #1All Time: #37
Liked by 1,416 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
Pitchfork
The album presents such a strange artistic vision, foreign to what came before but operating as though it were the culmination of a long tradition, that it seems to declare the power of weirdness itself.
100
AllMusic

Even without a single, Remain in Light was a hit, indicating that Talking Heads were connecting with an audience ready to follow their musical evolution, and the album was so inventive and influential, it was no wonder.

100
Rolling Stone
The Heads had already mastered minimalist funk, but here they built jams around thick, slurred rhythms, with additional musical contributions from producer Brian Eno.
100
The Needle Drop
The way these funky modes of popular music are reinterpreted to feel a little more cold; a little more digital—all of this compounding into one of the best; one of the weirdest, but yet also one of the most irresistible listens of the 80s.
90
Slant Magazine

With Remain In Light, Talking Heads took what was being increasingly regarded as a generally cerebral extension of punk and turned it into something far more global in musical and lyrical scope.

90
Uncut
The innovative groove breakthrough, with the usual musical “narrative” of melody and chord progressions downgraded in favour of cyclical funk and Afrobeat figures, realised through a larger cast of helpers.
BradTasteMusic
93

This album is the shit

ElectricMess
100

The groove of Born Under Punches is just fucking unfair

Edit 04/26/21: This is one of the best things ever.You know that. I know that. So here’s just some specific moments I’ve been in love with recently.

- The strange, freakish imagery that pops into my head when the chorus sings “we move in between”
- David Byrne invented ad libs
the moment when the first chorus joins the “Heat Goes On” refrain is peak music
- David Byrne’s ‘rap’ verse ... read more

zachthesnack
100

Edit: this grew on me

My power is out right now because of a snow storm so I didnt appreciate being taunted on Born Under Punches :(

And the heat goes on
And the heat goes on
And the heat goes on
And the heat goes on
And the heat goes on

Bitch I wish the fuck it would, ya boi has icicles for toes.

floir
100

Too many heads, who am I talking to

wanderingstar
100

It can be said that there exists a nebulous boundary where rock intersects with funk, where dance collides with punk, and where the ethereal hum of drone meets the pulsating beat of rhythm. It is within this intricate web of sonic exploration that Talking Heads' seminal album *Remain in Light* finds its place, daring to blur the lines and redefine the conventions of popular music.

From the moment the needle drops, *Remain in Light* commands attention with its dense and intricate tapestry of ... read more

100

yeah probably my favorite album of all time ngl, front half is back to back bangers and the back end is interesting

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#1/Paste
#2/Rolling Stone
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Added on: September 24, 2012