Was 1979 the best year for music? Sometimes I think so. Exhibit A. Buzzcocks from Hammersmith Odeon in March. That's about six months before 'A Different Kind of Tension,' the last of a trio of albums that really should be on every shelf. Only one song from that upcoming album was on the setlist that night. Here's the show opener:
I Don't Know What to Do With My Life
Buzzcocks are known for their stellar non-album singles, and here is one from '79 the crowd appreciates. It's one of my favorites too.
Everybody's Happy Nowadays
XTC's trip Down Under in the summer of '79 must have been a tough one for Dave Gregory. He was tasked with filling the shoes of the recently departed Barry Andrews. Can you imagine managing jet lag while playing guitar and occasionally replicating those manic keyboard parts of from the 'White Music' and 'Go2' albums? These early songs recorded at the Marconi Club in Sydney, including an encore medley from the 'White Music' era, document Gregory holding his own.
Meccanik Dancing (Oh We Go!)
Atom Medley: Into the Atom Age/Hang on to the Night/Neon Shuffle
There is nothing wrong with 'Stop Making Sense,' but 'The Name of This Band is Talking Heads' will always be my go-to live album. In 2004, the double LP was reissued with the same theme as the 1982 original: The quartet's live recordings from '77 and '79 are on disc one, and the expanded 10-piece band from the '80 and '81 tours are on disc two. The difference is the reissue increased the number of songs from 17 to a whopping 33.
In 1979, Talking Heads were on the road to support 'Fear of Music,' which hit the shelves in August. Brian Eno's influence is much more evident than on 'More Songs About Buildings and Food,' and the dystopian setting make the album darker and less playful than previous efforts. Still, many consider it the band's best. Here is a song about not trusting the air and a song about heaven... where nothing ever happens. Smiles, everyone, smiles. These come from a Nov. 17 show at the Passaic Theatre in New Jersey.
Air
Heaven
Let's do one more of these shows from '79 next time.
4 comments:
Yes! 1979 was a fantastic year for music, wasn't it?! Maybe coloured by my own experiences of it being the age I was and so immersed in it all, but looking back I can't think of many other years in which such a lot was happening what with post-punk, electronic, 2-tone, mod and rockabilly revivals, Postcard label, etc.
I loved it.
You make a great case for '79 Brian! I got to see Talking Heads, The Clash, Blondie, The Cars, Buzzcocks, Cheap Trick, Patti Smith (So You Wanna Be A Rock n Roll Star live is burned into my mind forever), Ramones and others. It was a year when the bands that I loved began to really break out, find a wider audience and help New Wave, Post Punk, Punk grow roots.
1981 is touted in some quarters as being the best year for music, but I think I'm probably with you Brian. Who can argue with your selections, plus the others mentioned by C & Echorich? And of course 'London Calling', my favourite LP of all time, was released in the dying days of 1979, on December 14th.
Thanks for the live TH songs Brian, I didn't get the re-issued TNOTBITH and clearly should have.
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