The group's previous album, Speaking In Tongues (1983), had consisted of joint compositions arising largely out of jam sessions by the quartet of singer/guitarist David Byrne, drummer Chris Frantz, bassist Tina Weymouth and keyboardist/guitarist Jerry Harrison, recorded in tandem with no less than 10 backing singers and musicians.
Talking heads we re on the road to nowhere crack#
The closing track on the Little Creatures album that also spawned the hit single 'And She Was', 'Road to Nowhere' actually peaked at number six on the British chart, and although it didn't crack the Top 50 on the Billboard Hot 100, it represented the mainstream apotheosis of an erstwhile art school band whose often‑experimental output comprised an eclectic mixture of punk, pop, funk, world music and the avant‑garde. Yet Talking Heads managed it with 'Road To Nowhere', a UK Top 10 hit that gleefully condemned the prevailing yuppiedom and rampant consumerism of the mid‑1980s. There aren't many artists who can convincingly dress up a depressing topic with a catchy, upbeat, eminently danceable musical arrangement. The track commences with an a cappella vocal ensemble backed by an angelic chorus before segueing into a jaunty, accordion‑embellished melody that belies the bleak lyrics about our aimless, meaningless lives: Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
From left to right: Jerry Harrison, David Byrne, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth. Engineer Eric Thorngren tells the story of its recording. And in some ways, it all began here with this Heads' video.As the first issue of SOS hit the shops in October 1985, Talking Heads were already climbing towards their highest UK chart position.
Next thing we all know Peter Gabriel's clip for the album "So", the hit single "Sledgehammer" is completely made with dazzling effects after effects that was a true test for Gabriel and crew but the result astounded audiences then and now, yet to be surpassed in terms of quality and effort of the work (clips got better over the years but the innocent of its early developments are hard to wash away). Johnson made a good experiment in using it here, it appears quite briefly but caused some impact.
Trust me, there's a purpose behind all this. And as usual with Heads and Johnson there's plenty of artful imagery and it's all to audiences to find a meaning to it or stop trying to find some sense: Jerry Harrison painted like a statue the choral folks singing the song's entrance and finale in the middle of a desert highway the old man who enters a box and later on becomes a baby and those claymation/stop motion effects on David Byrne whether with his chair moving with him or those animated effects on his background. And those amusing images flow in several ways, making us laugh or thinking too much - yes, there's a certain sadness to it even though the music and the rhythm make us feel light and at ease. I just love them, and the editing in their bits is just amazing. Bryne/Johnson concept is to feeds us with the ways of life, the literal and figurative roads we follow through our lifetime, best exemplified in one great fast sequence: real-life couple/band members Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz playing the evolution of a loving couple, from the younger days, to marriage, then comes the child (another evolution) and ending with them growing old (dancing in a strange yet funny manner). Talking Heads presents us "Road to Nowhere", a fun-watching experience with some reflections on the way. Johnson, a year before those phenomenon Peter Gabriel clips. The pointlessness of it all with some meaning in between of that thing we call life is delightfully significant and artistically presented by David Byrne and Talking Heads troupe along with a certain director Stephen R.
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