{"id":1201,"date":"2018-10-16T18:59:47","date_gmt":"2018-10-16T18:59:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/needletothegroove.net\/?p=1201"},"modified":"2018-10-16T19:01:51","modified_gmt":"2018-10-16T19:01:51","slug":"the-naked-truth-late-in-the-game-but-still-the-talking-heads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/needletothegroove.net\/index.php\/2018\/10\/16\/the-naked-truth-late-in-the-game-but-still-the-talking-heads\/","title":{"rendered":"The Naked Truth – Late in the game, but still the Talking Heads"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Naked Truth:<\/strong> Despite containing one of the band\u2019s worst songs, Naked is an ambitiously adventurous swan song for one of popular music\u2019s most notable experimenters
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\nIt\u2019s a common occurrence that the last album by a band is rewarded some undue criticism simply by virtue of being \u2018the last album.\u2019 Naked<\/em> is one of those cases. Ask any Talking Heads\u2019 fan of their opinions and their answers range between complete dismissal or an admittance of ignorance. The story surrounding its release fits the common narrative of a band losing their creative steam as time goes on, and critics often tie Naked<\/em> alongside True Stories<\/em> as the worst in their career. But Naked<\/em> was much more ambitious than critics often give it credit for, a unique portrait of a band switching most of their modus operandi in a last effort to breathe life into a well worn career.<\/p>\n

Critiques of the album often note that it appears like an exercise of a band that lost its identity\u2014 which isn\u2019t entirely off base. Conspicuously, Naked<\/em> contains more guest musicians than any other Heads\u2019 record by far. While this does bring an instrumental density typical of the band, many of the songs seem dictated more by the backing band than the core musicians. Furthermore, frontman David Byrne ditches his typical vocal contortions for a\u00a0 more linear songwriting style, resulting in a cache of songs that seem centered around him rather than each individual piece.<\/p>\n

It becomes clear that Talking Heads were shooting for an entirely different approach than any of their preceding efforts. The tense, punkish energy that had undergirded their music up until Naked<\/em> had dissipated, replaced entirely with an abundance of melody, sincerity, and unrestrained groove. Most fans would expect a Talking Heads record to deftly mix elements of punk, funk, dub, and worldbeat together. Conversely, Naked<\/em> tosses much of this formula out in preference of a volatile jumble of Salsa, Afropop and Zydeco, while continuing along their experiments with country from their previous two records.<\/p>\n

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