Opinz

Talking Heads – Remain in Light

Many innovative bands sprang into being in the wake of punk, but none developed their unique vision as completely as Talking Heads did on Remain in Light: the album is a tangle of Afrobeat polyrhythms and locked grooves with David Byrne delivering strange and provocative lyrics about modern alienation in only the way that his voice can; add Brian Eno’s production to the equation and you’ve got what was perhaps the greatest record of the 80′s, a landmark whose influence can be heard more clearly today than ever before.

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U2 – No Line On The Horizon

Never judge a book by its cover, and never judge an album by its lead single – “Get On Your Boots” is not at all representative of No Line On The Horizon – unlike the single, which is a cheap, thoughtless pile of pap which sounded like it was written and recorded in 5 minutes, No Line On The Horizon is lush (without sounding overproduced), thoughtful (without sounding snobby), and just plain well done all around, from the songwriting to the final production; Brian Eno rarely disappoints and neither does No Line…it’s vintage U2 without sounding like vapid U2.
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U2 – Get On Your Boots

“Get On Your Boots” is being heralded as a return to the Achtung Baby and Zooropa era of U2, but if this is even true it’s only in the guitar production; it wouldn’t make the cut on either album and the lyrical and song writing quality is barely that of a warm-up jam, complete with overlooped and abrupt instrumental changes and nonsensical lyrics…in reality the song is more in line with the astoundingly uninspired pap the band vomited forth on Pop, and this time not even Brian Eno could rescue it. More »

David Byrne and Brian Eno – Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

Byrne and Eno’s first collaboration since 1981′s My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, Everything That Happens is a totally different affair, trading in sampling experiments for funky pop – often producing brilliantly entertaining results (“Everything That Happens”, “Strange Overtones”) but sometimes coming off as unfortunately dated.

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Coldplay – Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends

Undoubtedly their most interesting and sonically complete release to date, Viva La Vida runs the gamut of emotion and feeling with a musical backdrop that could not more perfectly compliment the lyrics, while Brian Eno’s production adds a haunting and beautiful dimension – experimental in a sense, but not at all inaccessible.
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