THE 50(ISH) GREATEST ALBUMS OF ALL TIME
Remain in Light, Just A Little Longer
Album #39 : Talking Heads — Remain in Light
The fourth track on this album, Once in a Lifetime, could stake a fairly legitimate claim for The Best Song Of All Time. It is an indescribably brilliant tune. It has been covered by countless people, all of whom have fallen well short of the original (apart from the version by Kermit the Frog… that’s actually pretty good. He has a big David Byrne suit and everything…) — it is 41 years old. Forty One. It still sounds so fresh. It sounds like it was released yesterday.
The trouble is, though, that the rest of the record suffers because of its excellence. That isn’t to say that the rest of Remain In Light is bad — the opposite, actually, it is a great album — but nothing else ever reaches the lofty heights of Once in a Lifetime. If this were a cricket team, it would be England’s test team. Joe Root, in at number 4, carries the team every time — he is head and shoulders above the rest. There are other good players in there (some world class, to be honest) but Root is the best by far. Once in a Lifetime is Joe Root. This analogy doesn’t really work unless you have an in-depth knowledge of both the Talking Heads and English cricket…
Anyway, the point is that when listening to this record I spend the first three songs waiting for Once in a Lifetime and the final four songs wishing I was still listening to Once in a Lifetime. I am enjoying both the build-up, and sure I’ll enjoy the aftermath, but I can’t stop thinking about that bit in the middle…
In what I am sure is a totally unrelated piece of information, it may interest you to know I am getting married two weeks today. I’m trying to enjoy the build-up, and I’m sure I’ll enjoy the aftermath, but I can’t stop thinking that I would quite it to be that bit in the middle.
It has been a long, long wait for me and my fiancée to get married. We were engaged in the autumn of 2018 and two weeks ago should have been our one-year anniversary. (Thanks, Covid). Now it is finally here and I keep telling myself to slow down and take it all in but, honestly, I just want to be married.
Still, I know I should wait and enjoy the build-up. After all, it’s a day that will only happen once in my life. Once if a Lifetime you might say… yeah, I think I’ll pass the time listening to that.
Thanks for reading — over the course of 2021, I’ll be reviewing 50(ish) of the greatest albums ever recorded. You can see the list here:
There is also a playlist featuring the best song from each album here.
