Did King Crimson's "Elephant Talk" invent Talking Heads?

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

... cos they sound v v v v v v similar.

Over to you ILM.

― chris sallis, Wednesday, 2 March 2005 23:08 (twenty years ago)

Lots of 80s KC sounds just like Talking Heads, but I just assumed there was some mutual influence going on (esp. since Belew worked with both). 80's King Crimson didn't predate TH, did they?

― Jordan (Jordan), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 23:11 (twenty years ago)

I've just looked it up - Elephant Talk was released in '81. Does that settle it? Over to the Talking Heads fanatics (of which, I trust, there are many).

― chris sallis, Wednesday, 2 March 2005 23:17 (twenty years ago)

No it didn't. some African dudes in Senegal or Nigeria did.

― Stormy Davis (diamond), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 23:17 (twenty years ago)

Fripp also has some solo tracks w/Byrne (he was listed as a different name, i forget which now)

― JaXoN Hole (JasonD), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 23:19 (twenty years ago)

that's on the track "Under Heavy Manners," which is from 80

― JaXoN Hole (JasonD), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 23:21 (twenty years ago)

i hate adrian belew's singing on this record, because when i hear him sing, i think about zappa's "sheik yerbouti" and i can't take it seriously.

― cutty (mcutt), Wednesday, 2 March 2005 23:52 (twenty years ago)

hahaha, it doesn't take an "expert" to know that the Talking Heads had been making (successful) albums since 1977.

― Mike O. (Mike Ouderkirk), Thursday, 3 March 2005 01:49 (twenty years ago)

I had a similar feeling when I heard Bohannon for the first time- there's this really crisp clean metronomic guitar sound, a kind of "ching chikka chikka ching ching" pattern that plays over and over and over that is so stiff that it's not like a funky chickenscratch anymore, and it is so damn similar to the Talking Heads it ain't funny- plus they obviously knew about Bohannon because the Tom Tom Club namecheck him in Genius of Love . . .

― Drew Daniel (Drew Daniel), Thursday, 3 March 2005 04:30 (twenty years ago)

The Remian in Light/etc period TH stuff is far more Crimson-y than the bare-bones 70s stuff.

― iang, Thursday, 3 March 2005 04:48 (twenty years ago)

when i hear him sing, i think about zappa's "sheik yerbouti" and i can't take it seriously.

Wanna buy some mandies, Bob?

― Don't Ever Antagonize The Horny (AaronHz), Thursday, 3 March 2005 04:55 (twenty years ago)

Eno's Before and After Science and Bowie's Lodger had more to do with inventing Talking Heads than any Crimson albums did.

― Olias, Thursday, 3 March 2005 04:59 (twenty years ago)

I had a similar feeling when I heard Bohannon for the first time

ditto

― JaXoN Hole (JasonD), Thursday, 3 March 2005 07:19 (twenty years ago)

when I was really young I thought DJ from Lodger WAS a Talking Heads song!

― kyle (akmonday), Thursday, 3 March 2005 17:16 (twenty years ago)

Fripp played guitar on the Heads "I Zimbra" in 79. There was a lot of cross polination going on, but I don't remember anything Fripp was doing beforehand sounding like that.

Also, Eno's Before and After Science was inspired by the Heads, not the other way around. "King's Lead Hat" is an anagram for Talking Heads.

― Robert Myers, Friday, 4 March 2005 04:43 (twenty years ago)

Talking Heads were always way upfront about who they copped from, though--their early interviews talk about how much they like P-Funk and KC & the Sunshine Band and Bohannon.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Friday, 4 March 2005 04:45 (twenty years ago)

One other thing I just remembered. According to Fripp, the Discipline album was largely influenced by Javanese gamelan music, and not so much by African music.

― Robert Myers, Friday, 4 March 2005 04:47 (twenty years ago)

1
Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)
Byrne, Eno, Talking Heads
5:46

2
Crosseyed and Painless
Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison ...
4:45

3
The Great Curve
Byrne, Eno, Talking Heads
6:26

4
Once in a Lifetime
Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison ...
4:19

5
Houses in Motion
Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison ...
4:30

6
Seen and Not Seen
Byrne, Eno, Talking Heads
3:20

7
Listening Wind
Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison ...
4:42

8
The Overload
Byrne, Eno, Talking Heads

― cutty (mcutt), Friday, 4 March 2005 04:48 (twenty years ago)

I think TH had that upfront attitude cos they weren't "just" (yes, I know) ripping people off, they were taking ideas/sounds wholesale and using them their own way, go them (I think they beat Bohannon pretty easy)

― A Viking of Some Note (Andrew Thames), Friday, 4 March 2005 04:48 (twenty years ago)

Speaking of Eno's "King's Lead Hat" and uh, influence, does anyone else think the Cars lifted its verse melody and rhythm for "Shake It Up"?

― Stormy Davis (diamond), Friday, 4 March 2005 04:53 (twenty years ago)

why isn't eno on the cover of remain in light?

― cutty (mcutt), Friday, 4 March 2005 04:54 (twenty years ago)

He wasn't in the band.

― A Viking of Some Note (Andrew Thames), Friday, 4 March 2005 04:55 (twenty years ago)

please read the credits for remain in light and then tell me he wasn't in the band.

he played bass, keyboards, percussion, sang, produced it, co-wrote the music, and co-wrote words for remain in light.

― cutty (mcutt), Friday, 4 March 2005 04:59 (twenty years ago)

George Martin, Phil Spector, I have read those credits lo many times and think it more fun to KNOW he was "in the band" despite not being in Smash Hits terms in the band

― A Viking of Some Note (Andrew Thames), Friday, 4 March 2005 05:01 (twenty years ago)

johnny marr's on the cover of naked!

― j blount (papa la bas), Friday, 4 March 2005 05:03 (twenty years ago)

jim o'rourke gets to be in pictures with sonic youth!

― cutty (mcutt), Friday, 4 March 2005 05:05 (twenty years ago)

did eno tour with talking heads?

― j blount (papa la bas), Friday, 4 March 2005 05:07 (twenty years ago)

he got tired.

― cutty (mcutt), Friday, 4 March 2005 05:09 (twenty years ago)

The songs on Remain In Light grew out of the Byrne and Eno duo project, My Life In the Bush of Ghosts, which is why Eno gets so much credit on RIL. But as I remember, everybody knew that it would be his last project with the band. He never worked with them again.

But speaking of TH influences, I'm surprised no one has mentioned Al Green. Byrne has always cited him as a huge influence. I was listening to TH's version Take Me To the River the other day and was surprised that I had never realized that the changes and the basic rhythmic feel are almost exactly the same as Psycho Killer.

― Robert Myers (Robert Myers), Friday, 4 March 2005 05:10 (twenty years ago)

Cutty Jim O's in the band, was that a joke?

― A Viking of Some Note (Andrew Thames), Friday, 4 March 2005 05:11 (twenty years ago)

Hey, wasn't Eno in U2 too?

― Robert Myers (Robert Myers), Friday, 4 March 2005 05:13 (twenty years ago)

Cutty Jim O's in the band, was that a joke?

joke, yes.

― cutty (mcutt), Friday, 4 March 2005 05:14 (twenty years ago)

no, daniel lanois was in u2!

― cutty (mcutt), Friday, 4 March 2005 05:14 (twenty years ago)

he should be on the cover of zooropa!

― j blount (papa la bas), Friday, 4 March 2005 05:15 (twenty years ago)

That joke sucked!

― A Viking of Some Note (Andrew Thames), Friday, 4 March 2005 05:16 (twenty years ago)

I thought daniel lanois was in Martha and the Muffins

― Robert Myers (Robert Myers), Friday, 4 March 2005 05:17 (twenty years ago)

Daniel Lanois was in Daniel Lanois

― A Viking of Some Note (Andrew Thames), Friday, 4 March 2005 05:18 (twenty years ago)

Considering what Dylan said about him in Chronicles, he may be the only one who'll take him

― Robert Myers (Robert Myers), Friday, 4 March 2005 05:19 (twenty years ago)

http://www.cutty.org/lanois.jpg

― cutty (mcutt), Friday, 4 March 2005 05:20 (twenty years ago)

Daniel Lanois was in Simply Saucer!

― Stormy Davis (diamond), Friday, 4 March 2005 05:25 (twenty years ago)

Bad blount! Bad!

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Friday, 4 March 2005 17:58 (twenty years ago)

"Also, Eno's Before and After Science was inspired by the Heads, not the other way around. 'King's Lead Hat' is an anagram for Talking Heads."

Talking Heads were a new band Eno was excited about, who released their debut on September 16th, 1977, the same year as Eno's SIXTH solo album, which owed more to his prior FIVE than to the debut of this new exciting band, who, if you listen, owed a lot to Eno's FIVE solo albums (particularly Here Come the Warm Jets and Taking Tiger Mountain) and the TWO he recorded wth ROXY MUSIC.

― Pedantic Ranter, Friday, 4 March 2005 18:18 (twenty years ago)

Actual influences on Talking Heads:
"well respected man" by the Kinks and the book "I am seem to be a verb" by Buckminster Fuller.

― David Allen (David Allen), Friday, 4 March 2005 18:48 (twenty years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.