Remain in Love
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3.8 • 9 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
'As the Brits say: I'm gobsmacked. I devoured this book... one of the most potent examples of living the dream' DEBBIE HARRY
'A great drummer who has written a great book' BILL MURRAY
'A revealing inside account of the highs and lows of a band who looked and sounded like nobody else' OLIVIA LAING, Guardian
Chris Frantz's memoir tells the story of his life with Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club and his life-long love affair with Tina Weymouth. He remembers the early performances at CBGB alongside the Ramones, Patti Smith, Television and Blondie and recording the game changing albums, Talking Heads '77, More Songs About Buildings And Food, Fear Of Music, and Remain In Light. During a break from Talking Heads, Chris and Tina formed Tom Tom Club; in the process creating a hybrid of funk, disco, pop and electro that would have a huge impact on the club scene around the world.
Warm and candid, funny and heartfelt, Remain in Love charts the rise of a band that began as a dream and culminated with their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and reveals the once-in-a-lifetime love story and creative partnership between Chris and Tina, one of the greatest rhythm sections of all time.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Talking Heads drummer Frantz delivers a bright memoir that reads more of an entertaining greatest-hits compilation than complete life chronicle. He discusses his early musical influences (R&B, Fela Kuti, and Kraftwerk) and how the band first came together in 1973 at the Rhode Island School of Design as a herky-jerky art-rock trio called the Artistics, with singer-songwriter David Byrne and bassist Tina Weymouth (whom Frantz later married). The band moved to Manhattan the next year and its burgeoning punk music scene, where, Frantz notes, the Talking Heads "were not afraid to appear straight." His account of their 1977 Europe tour with the Ramones, studded with set lists and bright detail, is particularly thrilling ("we were post-punk before there even was punk"). In 1991, the band broke up when Byrne left. (Frantz writes of Byrne's self-aggrandizement and suggests he is on the spectrum.) Later sections on Frantz and Tina's epochal dance-band, Tom Tom Club, and their time recording and producing in the Bahamas, are replete with fun cameos (the Clash, Robert Palmer, Grace Jones). Fun, cheerful, and eventful, this memoir has just the right amount edge.
Customer Reviews
Look who’s talking
Only 3 stars if you're not a Talking Heads fan
Author
American. Drummer and founding member, with his wife Tina Weymouth, of Talking Heads, a groundbreaking music group of the 1970s and 1980s, and an all time favourite of mine.
Summary
Frantz and Weymouth both came from military families—her father was an Admiral and his a General. He was born in Kentucky and she in California. Both were aspiring artists and met at the Rhode Island School of Design, reputed to be the Harvard of art schools. There they met David Byrne, the lead singer and best known member of Talking Heads. He had dropped out but was still around "the scene." David and Chris formed a band, called The Artistics, and after Chris and Tina left art school, they all moved to New York. The boys couldn't find a suitable bass player so they conscripted Tina, who had a musical background and learned to play bass. They got their start at legendary club CBGB on the Bowery, where fellow acts included Ramones, Television, Patti Smith Group, Debbie Harry and Blondie, yada, yada. Luminaries like Lou Reed made appearances too. Having established their chops playing mainly original music (Love - Building on Fire, and Psycho Killer were two early ones), they recruited keyboard and guitar player Jerry Harrison, formerly of Modern Lovers, and became Talking Heads. Byrne proved a difficult character, and took most of the credit for the work they produced, but the band's distinctive sound owes as much if not more to Frantz and bassist Weymouth: one of the most accomplished rhythm sections in rock music. If you don't believe me, listen to the acoustic version of 'Psycho Killer' and compare it with the released version featuring Weymouth's trademark driving bass, which has been copied many times. "Life During Wartime' ditto. Frantz and Weymouth went on to found Tom Tom Club, a totally different style of band that enjoyed at least as much if not more commercial success than Talking Heads, which was regarded as "art house." The most remarkable thing is that Frantz and Weymouth remain in love, together nearly 48 years, married for 43s, with 2 boys, despite the excesses of a rock'n'roll lifestyle. Tom Tom Club is still; active too.
Writing
Frantz covers the early days well but tends to get somewhat repetitive when describing the relentless touring and studio grind. (Hash, cocaine, and alcohol aren't great for your memory). On Talking Heads first tour to Europe, they were support band to the Ramones. The next time they headlined with XTC in support on the continent and Dire Straits in the UK. U2, Elvis Costello, and the B-52s all opened for them on occasion. They weren't just big, they were huge, which is why they were inducted into the Rock'n Roll Hall of fame in 2002, the first year they became eligible. David Byrne comes across as a difficult man to work with, who eventually announced the band had broken up without bothering to speak to the others first. Frantz goes out of his way to avoid being overcritical of Byrne not to criticise too, whose solo career, while successful, pales in comparison to Talking Heads. Tina Weymouth is writing her own book. I suspect she might pull less punches given some of the stories Frantz airs.
Bottom line
One for the true believers (me). Interesting even if you're not, but Frantz should probably stick to drumming in future.
Note
'Remain in Love' is a riff on the title of the 1980 Brian Eno-produced Talking Heads album 'Remain in Light'