"Heaven" | |
---|---|
Song by Talking Heads | |
from the album Fear of Music | |
Released | August 3, 1979 |
Genre | Country rock [1] |
Length | 4:01 |
Label | Sire |
Songwriter(s) | David Byrne, Jerry Harrison |
Producer(s) | Brian Eno, Talking Heads |
Audio | |
"Heaven (2005 Remaster)" on YouTube |
"Heaven" is a song by the American new wave band, Talking Heads. The song was from their 1979 album Fear of Music , and it was also featured as the second song in their 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense . The lyrics refer to heaven as a "place where nothing ever happens", and describe a bar, a party, and a kiss that repeat the exact same way endlessly. The song has been called "the calm after their unusual ominous storm" by AllMusic [2] as well as something "psychologists would certainly have a field day with" by author and The Guardian journalist Ian Gittins. [3]
Dave Bell, writing for quarterly UK magazine Ceasefire, argued that the song "epitomises pop as Samuel Beckett might write it: tedious, beautiful and desperate". [4]
In 1995 the song was covered by Iva Davies and Icehouse on The Berlin Tapes, the soundtrack album accompanying the ballet Berlin, for which Icehouse performed live on stage.
In 1996 the song was covered by Jimmy Scott who also made it the title track of his album, Heaven. [5] [6] [7]
The song was covered by Eric Burdon on his 2004 album My Secret Life [8] [9] and in 1985 by Simply Red for their album Picture Book . [10] [11]
In 1980 a German cover named "Der Weg in die Ferne" was recorded by Joachim Witt for his album Silberblick .[ citation needed ]
In 1986 Thomas Di Leva made a Swedish cover of the song, named "Himlen". It was recorded for his album Pussel, [12] and was also the B-Side of his single "Snurra bakåt!" [13]
Singer Q Lazzarus covered "Heaven" for the 1993 film Philadelphia . This song has never been available in its complete form.
The National contributed a cover of "Heaven" to the 2024 album Everybody's Getting Involved: A Tribute to Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense. [14]
Talking Heads was an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City. The band was composed of David Byrne, Chris Frantz (drums), Tina Weymouth (bass) and Jerry Harrison. Described as "one of the most critically acclaimed bands of the '80s," Talking Heads helped to pioneer new wave music by combining elements of punk, art rock, funk, and world music with "an anxious yet clean-cut image".
Tony Oxley was an English free improvising drummer and electronic musician.
Icehouse are an Australian rock band, formed in Sydney in 1977 as Flowers. Initially known in their homeland for their pub rock style, the band later achieved mainstream success playing new wave and synth-pop music and attained Top 10 singles chart success locally and in both Europe and the U.S. The mainstay of both Flowers and Icehouse has been Iva Davies supplying additional musicians as required. The name "Icehouse", adopted in 1981, comes from an old, cold flat Davies lived in and the strange building across the road populated by itinerant people.
Mr. Fantasy is the debut album by English rock band Traffic, released in December 1967. The recording included group members Jim Capaldi, Steve Winwood, Chris Wood, and Dave Mason; Mason temporarily left the band shortly after the album was released. The album reached the number 16 position in the UK Albums Chart, and number 88 on the Billboard Top LPs chart in the United States.
"Words of Love" is a song written by Buddy Holly and released as a single in 1957.
Primitive Man, the second studio album by Australian rock band Icehouse, was released on 20 September 1982. In January 1982, Icehouse founder Iva Davies started recording Primitive Man essentially as a solo project. It was co-produced with Keith Forsey, who later worked with Simple Minds and Billy Idol. Forsey supplied additional percussion; Davies supplied vocals, lead guitar, keyboards, bass guitar and programmed the Linn drum machine. Released as an Icehouse album, Primitive Man reached number 3 on the National album charts and provided their international breakthrough single, "Hey Little Girl", which peaked at number 7 in Australia, number 2 in Switzerland, number 5 in Germany, the top 20 in UK, Sweden and Netherlands, and number 31 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. Another single "Great Southern Land" made the Australian top 5; it was later featured in the 1988 Yahoo Serious film Young Einstein, and remains their most popular song according to listeners of Triple M in 2007. To promote Primitive Man on tour, Davies re-assembled Icehouse with Michael Hoste (keyboards) and John Lloyd (drums), and new members: Bob Kretschmer, Guy Pratt and Andy Qunta.
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Thom Panunzio is a music producer and engineer.
"Bye Bye Blackbird" is a song published in 1926 by Jerome H. Remick and written by composer Ray Henderson and lyricist Mort Dixon. It is considered a popular standard and was first recorded by Sam Lanin's Dance Orchestra in March 1926.
"I Can See Clearly Now" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Johnny Nash. It was the lead single from his twelfth album, I Can See Clearly Now (1972), and achieved success in the United States and the United Kingdom when it was released in 1972, reaching number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box charts. It also reached number one in Canada and South Africa. The song has been covered by many artists throughout the years, including a hit version by Lee Towers that reached no. 19 in the Dutch Top 40 in 1982, and another recorded by Jimmy Cliff for the motion picture soundtrack of Cool Runnings that peaked at no. 18 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1993.
"Life During Wartime" is a song by the American new wave band Talking Heads, released as the first single from their 1979 album Fear of Music. It entered the US Billboard Pop Singles Chart on November 3, 1979, and peaked at number 80, spending a total of five weeks on the chart.
The Black-Man's Burdon is a double album by American band Eric Burdon and War, released in December 1970 on MGM Records. It was the last album by the group before Burdon left and the remaining band continued as War.
Sven Thomas Magnusson, known by his stage names Thomas Di Leva or simply Di Leva, is a Swedish singer and songwriter.
Sidewalk is the third studio album by Australian rock band Icehouse, released on 26 June 1984 by Chrysalis Records and Regular Records. It peaked at No. 8 on the National albums chart. Founding member Iva Davies used the Fairlight CMI digital sampling synthesizer on this more sombre and reflective album. This is the first studio album that bassist Guy Pratt worked on as a member of the band. Pratt would later become a session musician, and go on to work with artists such as Pink Floyd, Roxy Music, David Bowie, Madonna and Michael Jackson.
"Spill the Wine" is the debut single by singer Eric Burdon and the band War, released in May 1970. It was backed by the non-album track "Magic Mountain", and was War's first Billboard chart hit.
Man of Colours is the fifth studio album by Australian rock/synthpop band Icehouse, released locally on 21 September 1987 on Regular Records / Chrysalis Records.
The Berlin Tapes is a soundtrack album, credited to Australian rock musician Iva Davies and Icehouse. The record was a collaboration between Davies and classical music composer Max Lambert to accompany the Sydney Dance Company's production of the ballet Berlin, for which Icehouse performed live on stage.
The Second Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards was held on 29 February 1988 at the Sheraton Wentworth Hotel in Sydney. Cliff Richard was the host, with Bryan Ferry, Feargal Sharkey and Ian "Molly" Meldrum included as presenters of the 21 awards. Other presenters were Rudi Grassner, Col Joye and Richard Wilkins. There were no live performances and the awards were not televised. A shouting match developed between manager Gary Morris, accepting awards for Midnight Oil, and former Countdown compere Meldrum who was presenting.
Guilty! is a 1971 album by Eric Burdon and Jimmy Witherspoon. It was the first release by Burdon after he left War.
Heta Himlen is the debut studio album release by the American electropop music artist, The Jellyrox.