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David Byrne
David Byrne Grown Backwards
(Nonesuch)
Review by Matt Robinson
 “To
whom can I speak today?” asks underground icon David Byrne in “The Man Who
Loved Beer.” While the line has little to do with the gently jaunty second
tune from his latest album, it says a great deal about the singer. Byrne’s
attention to detail and love of a lyric (no matter how forced) have always
been among his trademarks. On this latest collection, Mr. Byrne and
company (including vocal artist Rufus Wainwright, accordionist John Linnell,
and bassist John Patitucci) swing from the pseudo-political anthem
“Empire” and the bouncing baby tune “Little Apocalypse” to the
appreciative jaunt of “Glad” and the snare snapping punch of “Dialog Box.”
On “Au Fond du Temple Saint,” Byrne and Wainwright strain against Bizet’s
timeless strains. “Un de Felice, Etera” finds a yearning Byrne reaching
vocally for Verdi’s heavens. Combining flavors from Byrne’s South American
adventures with his Head-y days of yesteryear, Grown Backwards is (as the
title suggests) a subtle retrospective of sorts- nowhere more evident than
in the closing reworking of Byrne’s own classic “Lazy,” which combines the
reminiscent Tosca Strings with the totally today X-Press 2. Weaving old
and new from his own musical catalog and those of the universe, Byrne shows
he continues to grow even in this backwards music world.
- Matthew S. Robinson
c. 2004, M. S. Robinson, ARR
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