The Catherine Wheel

by David Byrne

Overview

Since the breakup of Talking Heads, David Byrne's solo work has been notoriously inconsistent. But before that band's dissolution, he made a couple of very fine albums on his own: My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (with Brian Eno) and The Catherine Wheel, a musical score commissioned by Twyla Tharp to accompany her dance project of the same name. Byrne's score is always interesting and frequently brilliant; it draws on the instrumental talents of such session greats as drummer Yogi Horton, percussionist John Chernoff, guitarist Adrian Belew (who had been recording and touring as a sideman with Talking Heads), and, inevitably, Eno. Horton's drumming establishes a muscular funk foundation for much of the material, which also showcases Byrne's underrated guitar playing. Only the lyrics disappoint; they consist almost entirely of cliched and predictable depictions of domestic suburban angst. Highlights of the program include "The Red House," with its eerie use of deconstructed vocal samples, and the lovely faux-juju "Ade." Highly recommended. ~ Rick Anderson

Product Details

Release Date:	10/25/1990
Label:	Sire / Warner Bros.
UPC:	0075992741828
Rank:	47003

Tracks

1. Light Bath
2. His Wife Refused
3. Ade
4. Walking
5. Two Soldiers
6. Under the Mountain
7. Dinosaur
8. The Red House
9. Wheezing
10. Eggs in a Briar Patch
11. Poison
12. Cloud Chamber
13. Black Flag
14. My Big Hands (Fall Through the Cracks)
15. Combat
16. Leg Bells
17. The Blue Flame
18. Big Business
19. Dense Beasts
20. Five Golden Sections
21. What a Day That Was
22. Big Blue Plymouth (Eyes Wide Open)
23. Light Bath

Album Credits

Performance Credits

David Byrne   Primary Artist,Bass,Flute,Piano,Guitar,Vocals,Clavinet,Percussion,Synthesizer,Sound Effects,Prophet Synthesizer,Oberheim Synthesizer
Bernie Worrell   Guest Artist,Piano,Clavinet,Keyboards,Synthesizer,Moog Synthesizer
Jerry Harrison   Guest Artist,Drums,Organ,Clavinet
Adrian Belew   Guest Artist,Guitar,Drums (Steel),Sound Effects,Guitar (Steel)
Brian Eno   Guest Artist,Vocals (Background),Bass,Piano,Guitar,Prophet Synthesizer,Vibraphone,Keyboards
John Cooksey   Drums
Yogi Horton   Drums,Concert Toms
John Chernoff   Piano,Congas,Guitar,Percussion
Sue Halloran   Vocals
Dolette McDonald   Vocals
Steve Scales   Congas,Percussion
Dollette McDonald   Vocals
Doug Gray   Double Bell Euphonium

Technical Credits

John Chernoff   Composer,Composer
Twyla Tharp   Choreographer
Doug Bennett   Engineer
David Byrne   Composer,Lyricist,Producer
Adrian Belew   Beats
Julie Last   Engineer
Brian Eno   Screams,Composer