Chris Frantz is the drummer and co-founding member of Talking Heads; one of my favorite bands of all-time. He's also the husband of my favorite member of the band, Tina Weymouth. From reading this book, I also have learned that he's either an amazing storyteller or someone who incredibly happened to have amazing timing being involved in the formation of so many important bands and creation of pieces of music during the late 1970s through the early 1990s.
Frantz gives a nearly day by day account of how he met and wooed Tina during the early days of Talking Heads. Every stop on the band's inaugural tour of Europe opening for the Ramones is covered in depth. Chris's Kentucky wedding to Tina practically covers the entire guest list. And the married couple's origination of the Caribbean/pop/dancehall project, Tom Tom Club, due more to financial necessity than the ultimate achievement of a lifelong dream, goes through more twists and turns than a week's of soap opera. But when it comes to the demise of the band, Chris Frantz barely spends more than a dozen pages on the topic.
In 1984, while performing in New Zealand, frontman David Byrne stormed off stage and had to be prompted back to finish off the set by Frantz. That event which basically signalled the end of Talking Heads in concert as well as the beginning of the end of the band, isn't even mentioned in this book. One might argue that Byrne is the villain of the book. But I feel that despite as contrarian David Byrne was, not to mention devious and backstabbing he allegedly was, Frantz does a heck of a job giving the self-diagnosed autistic musician a heaping benefit of the doubt.
One reason the end of the band isn't covered as in-depth as their origins is because how Frantz tries so very hard to focus on the happy times. The name of the book is 'Remain in Love'. However, it could also have something to do with the author's raging cocaine habit that developed right along with the end of Talking Heads. Maybe it's that period of time is too hard for Chris Frantz to document. Maybe his binges were so destructive, Chris just doesn't have very much memory of those times.
I've gained an enormous amount of respect for Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth thanks to this book; though my level was already high before. I've also grown to appreciate the forgotten Head, Jerry Harrison, a lot more. I'm also listening to more Tom Tom Club than just 'Genius of Love'. An account of the career of the Ramones is definitely on my to-read list thanks to this biography. Though I doubt it's anywhere as rosy a read as this book was. But above all, I want to read David Byrne's side of the story. I think he deserves that chance before I finalize my opinion of him.
Oh... And before I forget! David, Chris, Jerry and Tina: can we please get 1 final tour before I die, please!!!
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.
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