Believe all the raves: Remain in Light is the zenith of the Heads' career and a classic essential for anyone who loves inventive music. This is a madly addicting collision of new-wave, pop, dance-rock and African trance that hasn't dated in the least. From David Byrne's masterful way with melodies to Brian Eno's impeccable onion-layered production work to Adrian Belew's stunt-guitar effects to the all-pervading percussion, every piece of the whole is perfect and falls into place just right.

The core of the album of course is the songs; the mad dance frenzy of "Crosseyed & Painless" and "The Great Curve," the beautiful tones of "Once in a Lifetime" (one of the Greatest Songs Ever), the slow trance of "Houses in Motion" and "Listening Wind" (which remains relevant enough to be downright eerie). Underneath there are layers upon layers of fascinating rhythm throughout, which make it much more than just a bunch of repetitive danceable beats (this release is also augmented by four bonus unfinished/demo tracks that give a nice window into how the original was constructed).

RiL has finally gotten the remastering that's been long overdue, so there are nuances of sound and percussion here that probably haven't been audible on any recording since the original LP. The sound improvement alone makes this an upgrade well worth buying.. assuming you can play it.

But that's one of the problems with this reissue: it's in Dualdisc format, which means a fair amount of CD players old and new won't be able to play it. And as novel as the idea of a single disc with CD & DVD sides is, it also makes storing/protecting the thing itself much more difficult than it needs to be. More strange, this release is in a cardboard/plastic digipak. It's a horrible way to store regular CDs to begin with, let alone discs that are vulnerable to scratching on *both* sides. Can someone explain this? What am I missing?

I dock a star for the crummy packaging, but hearing this masterpiece in all its sonic glory is still a treat not to be missed (I recommend just burning a CD-R of the audio). If all you've heard is the previous CD, to hear this is to discover Remain in Light all over again.

This has always been my favorite TALKING HEADS album, along with one of my favorite albums of all time. At the time this came out, I remember that most of us "punk-newwavers" were pretty amazed by their previous album FEAR OF MUSIC, and all the innovation and texture that was on that album. (Lyrics in Swahili, dense percussion, outrageous conceptual songs, etc.) It seemed that Eno and the Heads could go no further. But before REMAIN IN LIGHT was created, Eno and David Byrned did that MY LIFE IN THE BUSH OF GHOSTS album, where they investigated african rythyms, dense overlayed lyrics, and many other innovations that perhaps we take for granted now. Anyway, REMAIN IN LIGHT had the critics mouths hanging open. I remember in ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE, the review said that this album was so far ahead of its time, that the rest of the bands would take years to catch up. It was an accurate observation. In fact, this was as "arty" as the Heads ever got. Even tho the entire band is credited on each track, so is ENO. Apparently, the other Heads besides David Byrne, the head HEAD, felt that they were no longer a band for the people, or had become too esoteric, whatver. After this album, they moved back into a more direct, commercial sound with their next album, and Eno was not involved. So, that leaves us with this masterpiece of the NEW WAVE movement, and one of those great treasures that unfortunately, many people who didnt come up at that time, know not much about. After all, except for that cool cover that LIVING COLOR did from this album, not many bands followed this direction, except for the electronic bands. Maybe they felt it was too much like "ART ROCK". (except this is music, that hardly has more than one chord, or two, on any song.) The sad fact is, that this kind of music takes a lot of developement, and intellect, and education (they were all ex-art school students), and that is a path not taken by today's pop-punk bands, or computer generated mash ups, remixes, etc. If just as inspiration as to what is possible, this would be a fantastic album to study.

What is offered on this DUAL DISC is simply amazing. The Heads know that this is their best album, and they didnt want to disappoint. When they went to expand their mixes to 5.1, this was the first album they remixed. The reasoning is clear. So many layers and layers of sound lay buried in the old stereo mix, that hearing it for the first time in that 5.1 mix, is a revelation. The back speakers play the percussion parts, or sometimes four of the speakers will swirl the synth and guitar parts around your head, as in THE OVERLOAD. Even on the cheapest DVD home theater system, the sound and expanded clarity is astonding. Instruments are pulled out of the mix, that were only at best hinted at, when the old vinyl was spinning on the stereos. Plus, the regular stereo remastering has been greatly improved upon.

There are plenty of extras with this release, including four new studio outtakes, three of which have vocals. I dont mean to say lyrics. I suppose that an album with this much call and response, and triple layered vocal parts, etc, needed a lot of experimentation and trials, in order to find what it was that ENO and the Band were after. Now, these new songs are great to hear, and they are not demos, or early versions of other songs. They DO stand on their own, at least to me. (At the very least, they are as good as the "SONG" numbers from CATHERINE WHEEL, which the Talking Heads had incorperated into their live act.) The four new songs, help to deconstruct this recording and writing process. As far as I'm concerned, anything that helps to explain how this album came about, I want to hear.

Other extras include two live versions of the songs done on German TV, a booklet with the storyboard for the video of HOUSES IN MOTION. (One of the very first MTV videos that caught massive rotation, and helped to popularize this album.) ALso, there are David's hand written lyric drafts to two songs, one from the album and another that was not used, but perhaps were written for one of the unfinished instrumental with vocalizations. Again, fascinatning to study. IT shows how the lyrical ideas, of having three simultaneous vocal parts, came to be. Adrian Belew even puts a little quote in there, just in case you wanted to know the social impact this album had. It truely was the Sgt Pepper of the NEW WAVE generation. AND, if that were not enough, there are photos on the DVD side of the CD, so when you listen to the 5.1 mix, you can look at pictures as well.

I do want to address the negative remarks made about this edition. First, sure, some CD or DVD players cant play it. For those of you who don't hesitate to buy a new cell phone, so it can take photos, videos, surf the internet, text message, play MP3s, and cook dinner, I can't understand why you would NOT update your DVD player, if you have had it for 15 years, or your CD player. I would guess, that you would have to own an ancient DVD player, for this to be a problem. Also, what is the problem with the gatefold cover, instead of inserts in a CD plastic case? If you dont want the cover scratched up, buy those CD plastic slip covers. Problem solved, for 10 cents. (The real reason the industry is turning to this presentation of CDs, is to prevent cheap reproductions.) As for handling the CD/DVD, it takes no more care, than any CD. If you are hard on CDs, then copy the CD onto a CD-R, and carry that around with you. If it were on 2 CDs instead of just the one, people would have complained about the price. As for no lyrics, well, I'd rather have the reproductions of the original lyrical ideas. I think if you were to go to TALKING HEAD web sites, you could find lyrics. Personally, I think I have most of them memorized--they are not that hard to hear. So, should you update your old CD? I'm not sure about the other DUALDISC TALKING HEAD releases, but this one is well worth the money.

No one agrees on the exact definition of punk, and even if some consensus was reached, the word "punk" would still evoke images of leather clad snotty young men hammering out 3 chord anthems. New wave is considered by many to be nothing more than danceable punk music boasting synthesizers and pop melody. For these reasons, I feel uncomfortable labeling Remain in Light as either a punk or a new wave album. I could say it is an alternative album, but alternative is such a broad and vague term that many fans of the alternative chart-topping groups of the 90's would tilt their head and furrow their brows in puzzlement upon hearing said alternative masterwork Remain in Light, and I wouldn't blame them. This album doesn't have the "cool" of other alternative touchstones such as The Velvet Underground & Nico, Unknown Pleasures or Nevermind. In fact, Remain in Light at times sounds downright nerdy. My utter worship and perhaps even over romanticism of this album did not take root instantly. In fact, when I first heard it, I laughed. This is what inspired bands such as Radiohead? This is what the most respected indie critics cite as the perfection of alternative music? It cannot be, as this is simply a bunch of panicky inarticulate noise! I was right in a way, but I was wrong in a way as well.

From the first seconds of the album, you must engage complete and undivided attention to the music or else become instantaneously alienated. Casual listening is not an option if you wish to completely appreciate Remain in Light. At first, the instruments all seem to be defiantly independent of each other, unaware of what any of the others are doing. The guitars sound almost as nervous as the vocals of front man David Byrne, and the beat is multifaceted and waterlogged with almost African-sounding polyrhythms, hardly danceable, at least not right away. But in reality, this apparently uneasy mess of noise is as exact and calculated as one of Mozart's symphonies. One complaint that is common among those who hear this album but don't truly listen is its apparent lack of hooks. This almost seems the case, but the closer you listen, the more you realize that every single song has numerous hidden hooks. The problem for pop fans is that these hooks are not out wide in the open. It takes many listens to grasp the musical feel and purpose of even one track. You aren't supposed to get an album like Remain in Light. An album like Remain in Light is designed to get you.

Much of the album's sound can be accredited to the participation of ambience master Brain Eno. His production gave Talking Heads a sound that was spacey, expansive and ambient, but not drenched in unnecessary reverb or delay effects that less skilled producers used to try and mimic the sound of this record. But as big I am a fan of not only Eno's production skills but his own compositions; the biggest contribution to the sound is of course due to the band. Every song has a thousand things going on at once, and at first this can cause it to be perceived as messy and unorganized. But as I have said before, these noises were meticulously crafted. How can so much be going on at once, yet not conflict? It seems to be comparable to a situation such as Da Vinci spilling his paints and looking down to find the Mona Lisa.

Remain in Light is rarely, if ever, discussed as a concept album. This baffles me, because to me it is absolutely clear that this album is about self-realization or lack of it. Shape-shifting is a recurring theme as is societal confusion. The now famous single "Once in a Lifetime" deals with the aimlessness of life, even among those who proclaim to have "made it". One of the most terrifying tracks is "Listening Wind" which empathizes with a man who finds himself committing an act of terrorism (suicide bombing?) against "the American man" in a last ditch effort to preserve his culture. But David Byrne's lyrics are something not meant to be analyzed or written about, but to be heard and interpreted by the listener. This principle actually applies to the whole album, and is why I had shied away from reviewing it in the past, and I feel that I have still not done it justice.

Remain in Light is not for everybody. Usually when I like an album that I find to be as complex and wonderful as Remain in Light, I cannot help but consider myself somehow superior to those who cannot appreciate it, and as snobbish as it sounds most music fans are guilty of this at one point or another. But with this album this is not the case. When somebody comes to me and says that they cannot find any merit in this alternative opus, I feel genuine pity. Remain in Light is indisputably one of the greatest albums in rock history and totally ahead of its time; but to me, it's influence and essential status among other alternative masterpieces are not near as important as its seemingly never ending well of merit that reveals more surprises and intrinsic worth with each careful listen. Buy this album. If you don't like it, don't keep it on the shelf. Give it to somebody else who could end up appreciating it. The plastic on which this album is burned should never go to waste or be forgotten among the millions of others. Remain in Light is an album every rock fan should hear, whether they end up liking it or not is unimportant. Remain in Light is a twisted journey every music fan should be required to take.

I have yet to be able to play this disc at full 96K audio resolution. All of the DVD-A players I have tried it on choke on the DVD-A track.

That being said, they can all access the regular DVD Dolby 5.1 track, and while that isn't as good as the unplayable DVD-A track, it still sounds great. The remastering is really top notch, and the surround format works very well with this highly percussive and multi-tracked recording. This is one of my favorite albums, and it has never sounded better. A huge improvement over the original CD release.

Which is why it irks me all the more that I can't get to the DVD-A track. I bought two other Talking Heads DVD-A discs, and they all exhibited exactly the same problems. The whole set should have been recalled. This disc is just good enough that I won't send it back, but if had been any lesser recording I would have demanded my money back.

I have had an infuriating experience with Warner Music Group lasting a year, first, over the Rhino "Brick" box, and now the individual T-Heads DualDisc titles. My problem is physical damage to the discs, unnecessarily caused by obvious careless handling & packaging at the pressing plant.

In the "Brick", the unique white jewel cases come gouged and scratched, and the discs in both the Brick and individually-packaged titles, have fingerprints, smears, scratches, and pits.

This began last year when I purchased the "Brick" upon release. When I opened the set, every jewel case was damaged. These cases have a solid white rear panel, and can't be commercially replaced. They are not individually shrink-wrapped (which would eliminate the problem), and are obviously forcefully shoved into the box set's plastic outer shell at the plant, hence the damage.

It was worse inside each jewel case: All of the discs literally looked like they were used. Several were so badly artifacted they couldn't be read in any player or drive.

So, following web site direction, I e-mailed "Dr. Rhino". I received a reply, which directed me to return the set for replacement. As this is an expensive item, that entailed going to the Post Office to buy Insurance & Delivery Confirmation at my own cost. Annoyed, I decided to wait a few months, reasoning that perhaps the first production batch was bad and they would sell through. I stood in line at the USPS for 45 minutes, mailed it and waited. Six weeks later, the replacement showed up, carelessly packed into a crushed box, and the entire set was in worse shape than the first one. I e-mailed again, didn't get an answer for 2 months, and when I did, it was "send it back again"! The audacity of that response was pretty amazing: Why would I keep wasting my money and time to cycle their defective product?

So, I contacted the CD store where I purchased the original set. All the TH titles had been released individually, so the store manager & I decided we would change out the box for the separate titles, and he would return the bad ones.

I just received those yesterday: In five of the eight titles, all the same surface-damage artifacts. Several digipaks had their plastic disc retaining spindles broken with shards floating around inside. Also, inside each digipak, there is a 3.5"-square paper "DualDisc" tutorial insert. In some of the digipaks, it was tossed on top of the disc, where it rubs against the disc, an additional cause of surface damage.

So, the store manager is going to continuously order in each individual title and open them, looking for virgin discs. He is going to return all the defective discs, and repeat the process going until he finds five clean discs. Which is pathetic.

I've been thru three complete sets in one year, which means you are almost certainly going to run into this problem with your purchase. So, when you buy the Brick or any of the individual titles, please do not accept & settle for damaged product. Send it back to Amazon, e-mail Rhino, do whatever you have to do to get what you paid a lot of money for.

This would have never happened, or would have certainly been quickly corrected, when Messrs. Foos & Bronson, who founded Rhino, were in charge. Unfortunately, in 1998, Rhino was swallowed whole and "WEA-fied" by the odious Warner Music Group, where CEO Edgar Bronfman is obviously far more interested in extolling the virtues of DRM than he is in running a business that can deliver quality.