10 80s Albums That Changed Rock Music
4. Talking Heads: Speaking In Tongues (1983)
The road to Speaking In Tongues extended back to 1978, when Brian Eno first teamed up with Talking Heads. Eno recognised something in the group that could be further developed with the integration of African polyrhythms. The group's second and third albums were explorations of this sound, and yielded some truly groundbreaking moments. The release of Remain In Light, in 1980, was the creative high water mark during this period, but it was end of the relationship with Eno.
Although Remain In Light is considered the Heads' greatest album, their followup deserves recognition for its fluid mastery of dance rock. Without Eno steering them, the group opted to self-produce. They retained their erratic nature, but underpinned everything with a funkier fluidity - notable on Girlfriend is Better. The insatiable urge to dance to tracks like Burning Down The House, is only matched by the desire to join in with every chorus - regardless of if you know the words or not.
Remain In Light was the record that secured the band's legacy as innovators of dance rock, Speaking In Tongues confirmed it. Foals would never have developed their unique take on disco rock without this album, and LCD Soundsystem couldn't possibly have written their breakthrough debut without these song.