(MCA)
When Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison and Tina Weymouth announced a reformation of the Talking Heads, former lead singer David Byrne immediately voiced strong objections and no desire to return to his former band. Threatened lawsuits never materialized, and he granted his former bandmates the right to use The Heads as their monicker.
Without a lead vocalist, the trio decided to recruit 11 outside vocalists for their project. One of them, former Concrete Blonde lead singer Johnette Napolitano, would be their "touring" singer; the rest would make periodic appearances at live shows but primarily be used only on the disc. And while the idea of a diverse listing of vocalists (from XTC's Andy Partridge to Violent Femmes' Gordon Gano) sounds promising, No Talking Just Head is a mish-mosh of hits and misses.
When the Heads are good, they're very good - the collaboration with Black Grape's Shaun Ryder and Kermit on "Don't Take My Kindness For Weakness" could easily pass for a Black Grape/Happy Mondays song, and painting comparisons of how the musical skills of both bands are remarkably alike. Similarly, the title track "No Talking Just Head" (with Debbie Harry on vocals) reminds one of Siouxie & The Banshees' "Cities In Dust", or ironically enough, some of Concrete Blonde's work. "Punk Lolita" (with Harry, Napolitano and Weymouth on vocals) also clicks and returns Frantz and Weymouth back to their Tom Tom Club days.
Unfortunately, there's times when David Byrne's vocals are sorely lacking. With "Indie Hair", Live's Ed Kowalczyk is strangely out of his dimension when Byrne's eclectic warblings would be a much better fit. A similar problem plagues INXS' Michael Hutchence on "The King Is Gone"; his vocals are a wonderful fit with the Farriss brothers in his Australian band, but here, they just leave one longing for Byrne to drop the world music for just a little while.
Worth a listen at the local record store's soundbooth to determine if the "other" songs are inspiring enough to make a purchase.
