Lorde has released a cover of ‘Take Me to the River’, as part of a new Talking Heads tribute album. Check out the song below.
The track will be part of ‘Everyone’s Getting Involved: A Tribute to Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense’, a project that was first announced in December by A24 Music.
The record will feature 16 artists sharing their own covers of Talking Heads classics, including Lorde’s version of ‘Take Me to the River’, which Talking Heads themselves covered in 1978, from the 1974 original by Al Green.
Listen to the song here:
Lorde has written about her first memory of seeing Talking Heads perform, when her mum showed her a video of them playing on Top of the Pops.
“In the video I see a band from another time performing on a TV show,” she said. “The lead singer wears a suit, has high cheekbones and slicked-back dark hair. To his left a blonde girl plays bass. They stand in pools of light. The dark haired man is singing a song about wanting someone, not being sure why. He is a preacher, a controlled fire, a wild animal. He’s moving like I’ve never seen anyone move, and his eyes are rolling back in his head. He knows how it feels to kiss with tongue.”
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“I feel a portal open between me and the screen. Humour, lust, rhythm and ritual course through me. I don’t understand what I’m feeling, but I do understand that the band in the grainy video live with the same strangeness that I do. My palms tingle. My insides are replaced.”
The first track from the compilation to be released was Paramore’s version of ‘Burning Down the House’ on January 31. That was the pop-punk band’s first new release since they wiped all of their social media accounts clean, leading to rumours of a split.
Also released already is Teezo Touchdown’s take on ‘Making Flippy Floppy’.
Other artists on the album will include the likes of Miley Cyrus, The National, Girl In Red, Blondshell and BADBADNOTGOOD.
The Cavemen, Jean Dawson, Kevin Abstract, The Linda Lindas and Toro y Moi are also featured.
The album comes in celebration of the recent re-release of Jonathan Demme’s iconic concert film Stop Making Sense, and is designed to both introduce a new generation of fans to Talking Heads’ music, as well as offer a new interpretation of their tracks for longtime fans.
An official release date for the album has yet to be announced.
During a recent interview, David Byrne said he felt “removed” from the experience of re-watching himself onscreen in Stop Making Sense. “It’s almost as if I’m watching a character,” he explained.
Talking Heads drummer Chris Franz hinted last October that there could be a further reunion for the group in the future. The musician participated in a Q&A with his former bandmates at TIFF the previous month, marking their first public appearance together in over 20 years.
Elsewhere, Tina Weymouth said that Talking Heads were “just savouring the moment” while discussing a potential comeback: “We’re so happy that it’s resulted in this wonderful thing that’s lasted 40 years. And we’re not really looking too far into the future.”