Sand
      in
      the
      Vaseline
     
    
   
   
    
     
      Talking
      Heads
     
     
      (Warner)
     
    
   
   
    
     
       
     
    
   
   
    
     
      SL
      ee:
     
    
   
   
    
     
      Slimy
      yet
      grimy
      *
     
    
   
   
    
     
      displayed
      their
      hookiest
      songcraft.
      The
      now
      defunct
      Heads’
      new
      anthology,
      Sand
      in
      the
      Vaseline,
      a
      generous
      two
      hour-plus
      two
      disc
      set,
     
    
   
   
    
     
      D
      espite
      the
      relatively
      high
      quality
      of
      the
      Talking
      Heads’
      recorded
      output,
      they
      were
      always
      best
      represented
      by
      their
      singles,
      where
      they
     
    
   
   
    
     
      collects
      all
      the
      band’s
      highpoints
      about
      as
      perfectly
      as
      one
      could
      expect.
     
     
      As
      is
      now
      the
      tradition
      with
      box
      set-type
      retrospectives,
      Sand
      in
      the
      Vaseline
      features
      a
      fair
      amount
      of
      rarities
      --
      eight
      actually,
      four
      on
      either
     
     
      end.
      They’re
      all
      interesting
      and
      insightful
      and
      don’t
      particularly
      sound
      like
      odds
      and
      ends
      at
      all.
      Best
      of
      them
      all
      are
      ‘‘
      Popsicle
      ’’
      a
      Speaking
      in
     
     
      Tongues
      outtake,
      and
      ‘‘Sax
      and
      Violins,’’
      from
      the
      Until
      the
      End
      of
      the
      World
      soundtrack,
      which
      contains
      the
      inspirational
      lines
      ‘‘Mom
      and
      pop/
     
    
   
   
    
     
      They
      will
      fuck
      you
      up/For
      sure.”’
     
     
      When
      the
      band
      originally
      appeared
      in
      1977
      with
      the
      imaginatively
      titled
      Talking
      Heads
      ’77,
      they
      essentially
      sounded
      like
      Television
      with
      a
     
    
   
   
    
     
       
     
    
   
   
    
     
      NUS
      And
      that
      was
      all
     
    
   
   
    
     
      pop
      streak.
      Their
      odd,
      tightly
      syncopated
      guitar
      pop
      became
      increasingly
      complex
      under
     
     
      the
      production
      hand
      of
      former
      Roxy
      Music
      guy
      Brian
      Eno,
      who
      gave
      the
      band
      a
      suitable
     
     
      high-tech
      soundscape,
      which,
      like
      Peter
      Gabriel
      or
      Stevie
      Wonder,
      managed
      to
      somehow
     
     
      sound
      natural.
      The
      band’s
      r&b/funk
      influences
      came
      forward
      for
      the
      first
      time
      on
      Fear
      of
     
     
      Music
      with
      a
      wonderful
      take
      of
      Al
      Green’s
      ‘‘Take
      Me
      to
      the
      River,”’
      their
      first
      classic
     
     
      track.
      Though
      the
      Heads’
      first
      three
      albums
      were
      all
      compelling,
      their
      nervy
      sound
      was
     
     
      alien
      and
      imposing.
      The
      band
      righted
      this
      wrong
      with
      1980’s
      Remain
      in
      Light
      (one
      of
      the
     
     
      better
      albums
      of
      the
      eighties
      --
      see
      thingy
      on
      this
      page),
      where
      the
      songwriting
      tightened
     
     
      and
      they
      became
      a
      pretty
      cerebral,
      rigid
      funk
      band.
      The
      two
      songs
      included
      here,
      “‘Once
      in
     
     
      a
      Lifetime’’
      and
      ‘‘Crosseyed
      and
      Painless,’’
      are
      two
      of
      their
      finest.
     
    

    
     
      Around
      1982
      the
      band
      gave
      Eno
      his
      pink
      slip
      and
      released
      Speaking
      in
      Tongues,
      a
      less
     
     
      adventurous
      recording
      that,
      nonetheless,
      was
      the
      band’s
      strongest
      set
      of
      songs
      and
      avoided
     
     
      the
      weird
      filler
      that
      forever
      marred
      Remain
      in
      Light.
      ‘‘Burning
      Down
      the
      House,’’
      another
     
     
      wonderful
      single,
      is
      featured
      here.
      After
      the
      splendid
      soundtrack
      to
      Stop
      Making
      Sense,
      the
     
     
      Talking
      Heads
      lost
      the
      nervy,
      intense
      edge
      that-gave
      their
      earlier
      stuff
      its
      punch
      and
      became
     
     
      a
      rather
      domesticated
      pop
      band.
      They
      still
      wrote
      catchy
      songs
      aplenty,
      however,
      (‘‘Road
      to
     
    
   
   
    
     
      ated
      1A
      LK
      INGHEADS
      Popular
      Favorites
     
    
   
   
    
     
       
       
     
    
   
   
    
     
      Late,’’
      <‘Wild
      Wild
     
     
      Life’’)
      and
      the
      progres-
     
     
      sion
      seemed
      logical
      and
     
     
      mature.
      1988’s
      Naked
     
     
      once
      again
      found
      the
     
     
      band
      globetrotting.
     
     
      Though
      one
      of
      the
      best
     
     
      albums
      of
      that
      year,
     
     
      Naked
      drowns
      in
     
     
      session
      players
      and
      a
     
     
      vacuum-packed
      mix.
     
    
   
   
    
     
      she
      wrote.
      The
      Heads’
     
    
   
   
    
     
      reunited
      in
      1991
      to
      record
      a
      few
      songs
      that
      proved
      this
      band
      is
      more
      than
      the
     
     
      sum
      of
      its
      parts,
      though
      they
      sounded
      chillier
      than
      ever.
     
    

    
     
      The
      Talking
      Heads
      seem
      to
      have
      lost
      some
      of
      the
      sand
      in
      their
      vaseline
      in
     
     
      recent
      years,
      but
      Sand
      in
      the
      Vaseline
      collects
      the
      classic
      tracks
      that
      com-
     
     
      bined
      the
      two;
      even
      fanatics
      will
      be
      hard-pressed
      to
      find
      the
      expendables
      (but
     
     
      “‘City
      of
      Dreams”’
      is
      one
      of
      ‘em).
      Remain
      in
      Light
      and
      Speaking
      in
      Tongues
     
     
      are
      still
      great
      albums,
      but
      this
      is
      one
      of
      the
      two
      hundred
      or
      so
      best
      of
      all
      time,
     
    
   
   
    
     
      .
      Re
     
     
      from
      one
      of
      the
      greatest
      bands
      of
      the
      last
      twenty
      years.
      @
      3
      U
     
    
   
   
    
     
       
     
    
   
   
    
     
      Disc
      OnE