Talking Heads - “77” (1977)

Musikörat (the Ear of music) was a classic record shop in Uppsala (Sweden), people who knew music got their LP:s there and those who worked in the shop were real experts. At the time of the purchase of this record Musikörat was situated at Sysslomansgatan (Sysslomansstreet) and was quite a small and intimate shop. Since my brother had had work experience program here, I knew that one of the staff's favorite bands was Talking Heads. In a way this was a problem for the 13-year-old Markus.

Talking Heads was formed in 1974 and 77 was their first LP. They had previously released a single, "Love - Building on fire”. For the kids in my age TH were not well known, I remember playing a game with some friends where you chose a theme and then randomly selected a letter. Then as quickly as possible, you would say something on the theme that began with that letter. Once the theme was "Rock Bands" and the letter was "T" so of course I screamed "Talking Heads!". My friends refused to believe that a band with such a name existed. I tried desperately to explain that they actually were a real band, but eventually I had to play one of their records in order to convince them. Even then they doubted it was true. However, you must remember that this was in the 80s in Sweden and, as mentioned in previous posts, it was mostly Heavy Metal or synth music at the time except the usual pop a la Sabrina, Wham! and Samantha Fox.

This was not the first album with Talking Heads I bought, but it was the first one I bought from Musikörat. I mentioned that this was kind of a problem and I will clarify this. At that time (1986) you often listened to the records in the shop to see if it was something that interested you. However, could a generally insecure 13-year-old Markus listen to a TH-record in a shop where the staff loved this band and then NOT buy the album? It would be like saying that you didn’t like the record. For me, the need for confirmation from the staff was considerably greater than to come home with a good album. In other words, I had somewhere in the back of my mind already decided to buy the LP before I even listened to it. The listening in the store was only symbolic.

I remember when I listened to the album that I thought it wasn’t that good. It has a rather dry, stripped-down sound, combined with David Byrne's thin and generally neurotic voice. But of course I bought the album, what else could I do? I got not only a record but also, and this was a lot more important, the feeling that the staff thought I was a pretty cool guy. This was problably not true, but I didn’t know that. It was worth the 79 kronor (about 11 dollars) the LP had costed me.

In my teens and my 20s, I played this album on a regular basis but there were many other LP:s that were spinning more frequently on my turntable. 77 was never an easy album to get into and I found it hard to really groove with the music. Finally I stopped playing the record and kind of forgot about it, but about five years ago I for no reason took it out and played it. It was a totally new experience this time! I was surprised and fascinated by the high quality of the music. The sound was not as I remember it, this can partly be explained by the fact that I now listened to it on better equipment. But I also enjoyed the songs much more than I did earlier and in a different way. I suddenly saw new things in the music, or rather heard. Probably I could, with increased age, maturity (?) and more experience with music relate in a new way to this LP. I guess I wasn’t really ready for it at the age of 13. I recommend this record, but it probably does not suit all. And I also recommend you to dig out your old records you haven’t heard for 20 years and give them a new chance. You might be surprised.

Favorite Tracks

No Compassion

First Week/Last Week

 

Tracklist

Side A

1. "Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town" 
2. "New Feeling" 
3. "Tentative Decisions" 
4. "Happy Day" 
5. "Who Is It?" 
6. "No Compassion" 

Side B

7. "The Book I Read" 
8. "Don't Worry About the Government" 
9. "First Week/Last Week…Carefree" 
10. "Psycho Killer"
11. "Pulled Up"