David Byrne has made some strides over the years, but he has also had some setbacks. His voice has lost nearly all of its youthful charm; the plaintive, almost matter-of-fact richness of his sound has given way to an aged flatness of intonation. While his new works do explore some interesting territory, his insistence upon putting himself in front comes off almost as pretentious.
Byrne has a legacy of musical cultural assimilation, most notably through his promotion of Brazilian artists in the US. He still provides musical interest through his exploration of a variety of musical contexts, which continues to give a certain freshness to his work. However, the vocals should be sung as the other instruments are played: by musicians experienced in the palette of eclectic styles Byrne sews together, and not by Byrne himself.
This piece shows some of Byrne's self-important rhetoric, such as his strange disdain for the classical "Imperialist" format of musical expression (is he contending that Brahms, Mozart, and even Beethoven were vile imperialists at heart?). Oddly, the only demonstration of his African influence comes from an old Talking Heads album, the song "I Zimbra" from the album Fear of Music. Still, the piece does illuminate his ability to create something fresh, such as the final meditative singing without words.
Byrne's Legacy
Brian Allemana
Posted on June 15, 2004 at 02:15 PM
David Byrne has made some strides over the years, but he has also had some setbacks. His voice has lost nearly all of its youthful charm; the plaintive, almost matter-of-fact richness of his sound has given way to an aged flatness of intonation. While his new works do explore some interesting territory, his insistence upon putting himself in front comes off almost as pretentious.
Byrne has a legacy of musical cultural assimilation, most notably through his promotion of Brazilian artists in the US. He still provides musical interest through his exploration of a variety of musical contexts, which continues to give a certain freshness to his work. However, the vocals should be sung as the other instruments are played: by musicians experienced in the palette of eclectic styles Byrne sews together, and not by Byrne himself.
This piece shows some of Byrne's self-important rhetoric, such as his strange disdain for the classical "Imperialist" format of musical expression (is he contending that Brahms, Mozart, and even Beethoven were vile imperialists at heart?). Oddly, the only demonstration of his African influence comes from an old Talking Heads album, the song "I Zimbra" from the album Fear of Music. Still, the piece does illuminate his ability to create something fresh, such as the final meditative singing without words.