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In 1976 Disco was still a twinkle in Philly Soul's eye and Punk was incubating in the East Village. If you were a teenager in Canberra The Beatles still ruled the roost and Pink Floyd's prism decal was everywhere. There are very few Bands that can release songs let alone albums that are truly instant classics - The Beatles did it, so did The Stones and The Floyd. Led Zep were amongst that elite rarefied air where albums 1 - 4 were and still are classics. The problem was you never saw them or heard them as they collectively did not give interviews or release singles so any information received or found (remember there was no 'InterWeb') was picked over like a vulture with a rotting carcass, so when wind reached Australia that a live album and a soundtrack to a film reached our shores it was received like the missing tablet from Moses. When the album arrived it was dense black and thick with real coloured photos of these Gods of musical war. The music was loud brash roaring down the mountainside but what gave it life was seeing these musicians moving and their facial expression hinted at battles fought and won. To hear live versions of Whole Lotta Love, Dazed and Confused and the greatest song ever written - ne need to name it - gave life to only previously heard album cuts. I'll never forget sitting around with my friends discussing what a 'Supergroup' of all the Bands that were around would look like, who would be the best drummer? easy - Bonham, who would you have as the lead vocalist - obvious Plant, who would you have as the Bass/keyboardist, probably John Paul Jones and what about the guitarist, maybe Beck but overall Page, wow what a Band that would be!!

Occasionally an album comes along that sweeps away what has occurred before, or underlines what is happening at that moment or lays down a blueprint for what is to come. Remain In Light did all three. I thought I had discovered a new Band when I first head this album and to my dismay learnt they had been around since 1977. Talking Heads were a quirky ensemble orbiting the cooler Punk scene emanating from CBGB's but they never really identified with any sub-genre. They tipped their musical hats to the past with an instinctive cover of Al Green's Take me to the River which hinted at what was to come. Their career was seemingly stalled when the urbane Byrne teamed up with Brian Eno which at first appeared like pouring oil into water but their musical collaboration resulted in a Daliesque Gumbo of avant-garde, African and Ornette Coleman Jazz phrases to produce a striking multi-faceted piece of orchestral genius combined with cubist stream of consciousness lyrics but what was more strikingly apparent was the individual musical brilliance of the other three perpetrators to produce an album that didn't sound like anything that went before and still sounds as fresh today. So, If you've danced to the Sun comes up to Burning Down the House, or hummed along to And She Was or giggled at Wild Wild Life, go back and give this old girl a listen.