DAVID BYRNE
Look Into The Eyeball (Luaka Bop)
Reviewed by Rusty Pipes

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Let's stipulate that I am a huge Byrne fan and I will listen to anything he's associated with. After years of listening to his work, I know I can rely on the former leader of Talking Heads to put out interesting music every album. But maybe not every cut on every album.

Case in point is Byrne's newest album, Look Into The Eyeball, a reference to the unique op-art cover, no doubt. Designed by Byrne himself, the cover is two photos printed in diagonal strips, then there's a overlay for the jewel case that brings one or the other picture to the fore. More diagonal-double pictures are on the other pages of the liner notes; it's a fun toy to play with while you listen.

In general the album has a lot more strings than usual, but as expected Byrne doles out catchy world beat polyrhythms in most all the songs, the best of which is probably "Like Humans Do," a tune reminiscent of the homey sound of the T- Heads on Little Creatures. "Broken Things" features the sly lyrics that Bryne is famous for and may slide right past you on the first listen, but it's a lot of fun when you pay close attention. Also interesting is "Desconocido Soy," a rocker which features David and Nru of the great Mexican band Café Tecuba singing lyrics in Spanish. "Neighborhood" is clearly a tribute to Curtis Mayfield and the arrangement is dead on.

Eyeball is beautifully produced of course, but you won't have much time to play with the trippy cover. The album weighs in at under 40 minutes. Like most of his work, I am sure these cuts will grow on me but I'd rather hear more stuff that could rival the edgy power of "And She Was," "Nothing But Flowers," "Burning Down The House" or "Once In A Lifetime." All this adds up to an album that has its moments, but ultimately will be a footnote in a fine career.

© 2001 - Rusty Pipes