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By comparison, his main collaborator Fatboy Slim – an artist known for little more than a nauseating crossbreeding of Jive Bunny and the Energizer Bunny – would seem some way out of his league. Indeed, Slim and cohort Cagedbaby’s clunky, heavy handed productions are the weak link here. Too frequently they default to hackneyed production tricks like dated filter sweeps, bubbling 303s and rudimentary, straight-off-the-vinyl percussion loops.
Unfortunately, the album’s other USP, a Gorillaz-trumping cavalcade of female contributors, regularly misfires too. Certain voices – Tori Amos, Candie Payne, Allison Moorer for example – either don’t fit the quirky backings or their delivery style sits awkwardly with the literal, show-tune lyrics required to drive the plot. Moreover, the repeated shifts in tone and multitude of voices serve only to confuse the twin narratives of Marcos and Cumpas, leaving the story arc tricky to follow and the characters impossible to emotionally invest in. The lavish booklet that accompanies the album helps, but with such proven talent on board these songs should really stand up for themselves.
Still, there are some fantastic moments: Róisín Murphy’s slinky disco turn on Don’t You Agree?, Santi White’s righteous strutting on Please Don’t and a striking, near operatic vocal from Shara Worden on Seven Years render the remaining tracks lumpen and conservative by comparison. And Byrne’s unerring melodic touch is everywhere; so much so, not even the MOR grind of Steve Earle can derail it on A Perfect Hand.
Sadly though, the prevalence of mid-tempo, Des’ree-lite ballads and inconsistent quality make this is an exhausting listen over 90 minutes. Fans might have been better served at first by a single disc of highlights, with the full version accompanying the inevitable stage show. The scale and audacity of Byrne’s ambition is hugely impressive, but as an album Here Lies Love is easier to admire than it is to enjoy. --Jim Brackpool
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Now Mr Byrne needs to release a DVD of his last tour and I'll be happy. He's got the footage, some of it appeared on a recent BBC programme about Brian Eno.
David Byrne has clearly written this as a musical and he has achieved this magnificently using a mixture of dance music, catchy pop, and show tunes to create a very accessible and enjoyable musical that could run in the West End for years. It has all the right ingredients, lovely melodies, catchy arrangements and witty and perceptive lyrics. Andrew Lloyd Weber would probably have dragged 3 or 4 musicals out of this strong collection of tunes!
David Byrne has allocated the songs to a comprehensive range of mostly female singers including Florence Welch, Martha Wainwright, Cyndi Lauper, Roisin Murphy, Santigold and Natalie Merchant. This tactic works wonderfully as the voices have been picked to fit the songs and the singers are clearly enjoying themselves and put in great performances. David Byrne only sings on a couple of tracks towards the end of song cycle but he does give himself the "Talking Head" like song "American Troglodyte".
Most of the music is very catchy, melodic and upbeat although the mood gradually darkens on the second CD as the story unfolds. Fat Boy Slim has been brought in to work on the production and give the songs the dance/pop/disco feel that David Byrne wanted and this works very well.
This is not a typical David Byrne album and it may not appeal to some of his usual fans but if you enjoyed Mamma Mia, Evita, or Saturday Night Fever and like melodic catchy and haunting songs with witty lyrics then this is too good to miss. So don't be put off thinking this is too esoteric or difficult. Hopefully someday this will be put on as a show or a musical film and reach a wider audience. It deserves to be heard.
YES he should put out a DVD of the Everything that happens tour; I saw him twice, the second time as a guest of one of the band in Barcelona and that tour was the "must see" gig of 2008/09
If you only know DB from Talking Heads do yourself a favour - BUY THIS
dont cry for me Imelda..
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