Once In A Lifetime
The Talking Heads should have been the least commercial of the storied first-generation New York punk/new wave bands. After all, they didn't have the impact of theRamones, they didn't possess the virtuosity ofTelevision, and they weren't as accessible asBlondie. Or so it seemed. In truth, they turned out to have had enough of all those qualities to surpass their peers commercially over time. And while the group's impact waned in the years after their breakup, this splendidly packaged (albeit cumbersome) box reestablishes them as one of the great pop-art bands in rock history. That was their gift--the ability to mix pronounced artistic ambitions (three of the four members attended art school) with a sneaky pop perspective. They understood how the avant-garde fit with insistent rhythms and melodies, and inDavid Byrnethey possessed a frontman who was undeniably quirky yet surprisingly embraceable. Unlike most of his punk peers, he was uncomfortable rather than repulsed with the way things were.Once in a Lifetimesupercedes 1992's two-discSand in the Vaselineas the essential Heads overview, serving up three discs of music (including a smattering of rarities) and a fourth disc of videos that hold up remarkably well.--Steven Stolder