David Byrne Knee Plays CD

Talking Heads fans sometimes have mixed reactions to David Byrne's solo work, complaining that it lacks the quirkiness and edge of classic Heads material. Those fans will have reason to take notice of the 2007 CD release of THE KNEE PLAYS, Byrne's score for Robert Wilson's opera THE CIVIL WARS. Originally recorded in 1985, THE KNEE PLAYS was Byrne's second solo outing, following THE CATHERINE WHEEL (an instrumental score for a dance production) and preceding his Latin experiments on REI MOMO.
Its position in his discography means THE KNEE PLAYS still bears the residue of Byrne's Heads aesthetic, namely in the spirit of its genre-mixing eclecticism. New Orleans brass band sounds form the skeleton of Byrne's score, with gospel, classical, and avant stylings mixed in. (Byrne provides wry, spoken word recitations for several pieces in the manner of Heads track "Seen and Not Seen".) Inventive and engaging throughout, THE KNEE PLAYS is a worthy addition to the Heads/Byrne catalogue. The CD release appends eight bonus tracks.
For David Byrne, this was one of the last times he would write in the hyperobjective style that marked his work with Talking Heads up through Remain in Light and some of Speaking in Tongues. The occasion, the chance to write interludes -- or "knee plays" -- for a large scale Robert Wilson opera, The Civil Wars, called on this kind of approach, Wilson being as detached as Byrne. Musically, Byrne was strangely influenced by hearing the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and created these brass-led marches that sound like an art school has landed on Bourbon Street, though in places it is also reminiscent of a sunnier patch of the territory staked out in The Catherine Wheel, his other dance score. In the mix, Byrne stirs in some traditional gospel tunes, arranged to match the iconoclastic style. Byrne's words, performed in his dry, ever-so-slightly amused style, are acutely observed and/or humorously naïve slices of American life -- anthropological tomfoolery. The wry aphorism-led "In the Future" ("In the future, water will be expensive"; "In the future, we will not have time for leisure activities") is the album highlight, and a perfect end to this experiment. [Nonesuch issued The Knee Plays on CD for the first time in 2007, adding eight bonus tracks to the original release.] ~ Ted Mills

This DVD/CD set includes the 1985 album never before released on CD, a 13-song piece by avant-garde theatre director/impressario Robert Wilson, as part of his 12-hour the CIVIL warS: A Tree is Best Measured When It's Down. Byrne was inspired by the sound of New Orleans brass bands and gospel music. The DVD includes a slide show of black & white photographs by JoAnn Verburg who shot stills of the original production at 30-second intervals, creating a thorough visual document of the piece. In addition to the 13 tracks, Byrne has released 7 previously unavailable instrumental tracks he recorded for the project.The Wire (p.53) - "Byrne's brass writing is clean and bracing, pitched between funky and classical....Direct as ever, Byrne's experiment is cool and meticulously structured..."
Record Collector (magazine) (p.78) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Byrne drew upon varying genres, such as jazz, gospel and country....Here he's both suitably idiosyncratic and pleasingly accessible."