Talking Heads: 77

Released in superb new surround-sound mixes (along with the rest of the Heads' studio catalogue) it's entirely apposite that New York's quirkiest chart act should now be back in the racks. Let's face it, half of rock's 'new' acts are trading on music created between 1977 and 1981 - the band's creative zenith.

Containing their signature debut hit "Psycho Killer", 77 instantly sets out Byrne and Co's stall. Honed by two years of Bowery dive one-nighters, the songs are the usual mixture of itchy, compulsive bursts of semi-comprehensibility and pop savvy. What's surprising is how lush these remasters sound. Ingenious group arrangements lift songs far above the monochrome sound palettes of their contemporaries, while Byrne's words seem fearless in their attempts to address more than just sexual politics. In retrospect, Talking Heads were always bound to succeed.