Rei Momo
The former Talking Head's first real solo album (not counting collaborations with Twyla Tharp, Robert Wilson, and Brian Eno) is one of the more charming examples of cultural cannibalism to date. Byrne's now nearly old-fashioned concern with the rootless, consumer-driven insubstantiality of everyday life assumes a goofy irony when sung quirkily over deep Afro-Latino grooves and throbbing choruses cowritten and performed with salsa greats like Willie Colon, Johnny Pacheco, and bassist Andy Gonzalez. Byrne's best songs, "Make Believe Mambo" and "The Call of the Wild," are highly pleasurable if rather anxious demonstrations of the limits of taking the entire world as artistic fodder. His 1989 album sometimes sounds as though he were merely checking items off a list, like a dissatisfied customer trying on countless pairs of shoes in hopes of finding a perfect fit.--Richard Gehr