The B-52's - Mesopotamia (35th anniversary)

Today (January 27th) marks the 35th anniversary of the release of the B-52's EP Mesopotamia. It spent eighteen weeks on the US Billboard Album chart back in 1982, peaking at number 18.

For my full album review, click here.

Talking Heads - Remain in Light (35th anniversary)

Tomorrow (October 8th) marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of Remain in Light, the fourth studio album from Talking Heads. The album spent twenty-seven weeks on the US Billboard Album chart, peaking at number 19.

For my full review, click here.

For more from Talking Heads, click here.

Talking Heads - Little Creatures

Today (June 10th) marks the thirtieth anniversary of Little Creatures, the sixth studio album from Talking Heads. It spent seventy-seven weeks on the US Billboard Album chart, topping out at number 20. Around the world, it reached number 18 in Canada, number 16 in Norway, number 12 in Switzerland, number 10 in Sweden and the UK, number 4 in Austria and the Netherlands, number 2 in Australia, and number 1 in New Zealand.

Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense

Today (October 15th) marks the thirtieth anniversary of the release of Stop Making Sense, the live album from Talking Heads. It served as a soundtrack to the concert film of the same name that was released in theatres in April of 1984. It spent one-hundred and eighteen weeks on the US Billboard Album chart, peaking at number 41. It also went to number 33 in Canada, number 26 in Sweden, number 24 in the UK, number 13 in Switzerland, number 12 in Austria, and number 2 in the Netherlands and New Zealand.

Talking Heads - Fear of Music

Welcome to another edition of Seventies Sunday.

Today (August 3rd) marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of Fear of Music, the third studio album from Talking Heads. This 1979 release, co-produced with Brian Eno, spent thirty weeks on the US Billboard Album chart, peaking at number 21. It also went to number 35 in Australia, number 33 in the UK, number 27 in Canada and number 11 in New Zealand.

Talking Heads - Speaking in Tongues

This week (May 31st) marks the thirtieth anniversary of Speaking in Tongues, the fifth studio album from Talking Heads. This Platinum seller from 1983 went to number 21 in the UK, number 20 in Austria, number 15 in Australia, number 14 in the Netherlands, number 12 in Sweden, number 11 in Norway, number 7 in Canada, and number 3 in New Zealand. Here in the US, it went to number 58 on the Billboard R&B chart, number 15 on the Billboard Hot 200 and number 2 in the Billboard Dance Club chart.

Fun Boy Three - Waiting

After their self-titled debut album in 1982 (click here for that review), the English pop trio Fun Boy Three (Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding) followed up a year later with Waiting. This second album from February of 1983, produced by David Byrne of Talking Heads, would also be the group's last. It charted at number 104 in the US, number 47 in the Netherlands, number 14 in the UK and number in New Zealand.

The US vinyl release differed in the order of the tracks, most notably by flipping the sides and then swapping around the final tracks on each side. For this review to celebrate its thirtieth anniversary, I will look at the songs in the US order.

Talking Heads - The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads

Happy sixty-second birthday today (November 22) to bassist and percussionist Tina Weymouth.

On March 24th of 1982, Talking Heads released their first live album. The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads was a double-album with seventeen tracks total. It charted at number 31 on the US Billboard Hot 200. It also reached number 32 in Sweden, number 22 in the UK and number 7 in New Zealand.

The B-52's - Mesopotamia

Today (January 27th) marks the 30th anniversary of the release of the B-52's EP Mesopotamia.

Mesopotamia was produced by David Byrne of the Talking Heads and was intended to be the B-52’s third studio album. However, things did not work out so only the six songs were produced. Released as an extended play instead, it served as a bridge between the groups first two full length albums The B-52's and Wild Planet (click here and here respectively for my reviews of each of those records) and their 1983 release Whammy!. The EP went to number 35 on the US Billboard Album chart, number 18 in the UK and number 21 in Sweden. All six songs could be found across three single releases as well.

Talking Heads - Remain in Light

For their fourth studio album, the American new wave band Talking Heads turned to long time collaborator Brian Eno to produce it. This proved to be a smart move as 1980’s Remain in Light did very well with consumers and critics. The record went to number 19 on the US Billboard Album chart and number 21 on the UK Album charts. Remain in Light was named best album of the 80’s by Sounds and Melody Maker publications. Rolling Stone put it at number 4 on its 100 Best Albums of the 1980’s list and number 126 on its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. The Guardian in the UK ranked it number 43 on its list of 100 Best Albums Ever.

The original album release on vinyl contained just eight tracks. The expanded CD reissue included additional unfinished outtakes. For this review, I’ll focus on just that original release format.