Talking Heads' fourth studio album Remain in Light was released in 1980. The band began sessions for the album in the Bahamas, where the band worked on developing rhythms that crossed African and rock influences. Once they completed these basic tracks, David Bryne began working on the lyrics, which were often improvised in the studio, and a few sessions musicians including guitarist Adrian Belew were hired to further embellish the music. Once released, the album received critical acclaim and today is often considered Talking Heads' best album as well as one of the greatest albums of all time. It sold about as well as their previous two releases, peaking at 19 on the US Billboard.
While Talking Heads continue to master studio techniques by adding layers upon layers of guitars, synthesizers, and vocals to their songs, the increased influence from African music adds just enough warmth to open up the complex rhythms that they began creating on Fear of Music. Meanwhile, Byrne's lyrics see remarkable growth as he expands on previous topics to further explore themes of politics, paranoia, and existentialism. He skillfully obscures the line between the oppressor and oppressed on the opener, brings the character from "Psycho Killer" to life on the blood-curdling "Seen and Not Seen" (their first hit always was a pretty limp cardboard cut-out of a murdering maniac, wasn't it?), and writes the highly metaphorical and his greatest lyric "Once in a Lifetime." Though many consider "Once in a Lifetime" to be the masterpiece of Talking Heads' career, I prefer "The Great Curve" for its fast pace, the choir of vocals, and the synthesized guitar solos that combine to bring side one to an explosive end. That said, it's erroneous to dissect Remain in Light as a collection of individual tracks. It plays like one long song, which is pretty incredible considering how distinct and diverse each cut is. A
