The rhythm section of
Talking Heads, the husband and wife duo of drummer Chris Frantz &
bassist Tina Weymouth, formed Tom Tom Club in 1980 while Talking
Heads were on hiatus after the tour for Remain In Light. They
had remarkable success with their single “Genius Of Love”, from
their self-titled debut album. The 1981 single has been on of the
most sampled records of the 1980's with artists from Mariah Carey to
Public Enemy to 2Pac. It was an overall bigger success than any
Talking Heads chart single had been (“Take Me To The River”
peaked at #26 on Billboard's Hot 100 while “Genius Of Love”
charted at #31, however it reached #1 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club
Charts and #24 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart). Also reaching #1
on Billboard's Hot Dance Charts was “Wordy Rappinghood” which was
a top 10 hit in the UK.
Their
1983 follow-up album Close To The Bone was
less successful commercially. It charted at #73 as opposed to their
debut's #23 chart placing. The two singles from the album (“Pleasure
Of Love” & “The Man With The 4-Way Hips”) charted briefly
on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Charts at #23 , respectively.
The album is a bit more organically cohesive than the debut and bears
repeated listens simply for the fact that its' two singles haven’t
been played to death on alternative radio for the last thirty-years.
It still has the breathy, ethereal vocals from Lani, Laura & Tina
Weymouth, but it has more synthesized drums in addition to Chris
Frantz's standard kit and more twee synth sounds (which still retains
the Caribbean-feel of the overall aesthetic). As for samples taken
for Close To The Bone, The
Treacherous Three sampled “Pleasure Of Love” on their “Turning You On” single by recording the sample as opposed to taking it from
the Tom Tom Club recording.
It
was initially released on both vinyl and cassette and wasn't released
in a digital format until the Deluxe Edition
release of the debut and Close To The Bone
in 2009.
I
personally think it's a fine release, ripe for rediscovery.
Here's The Video Review:
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