Why Talking Heads' early material was far better

As with so many bands which start with ideas, gel and then things get in the way, Talking Heads' early material was, imho, far better for various reasons. For one thing, David Byrne encouraged Tina W, whose bass became so central, vital, she and hubby Chris's drumming became a unit ... then, with DB, the rhythm section gelled as a unit. 

Add Modern Lovers' Jerry Harrison's multi-instrumentation and DB's weird vocals and there was the sound, if they could write enough good material. Where it went wrong was that it soured between Tina W and DB, she was shunted sideways, he brought in all these blacks, which ruined it, it changed the whole funky art house feel ... and that was that. 

Yet it took a black, (below), to see just how good they really were.  (Just an aside ... I saw them live, during the afternoon, full hall lights on, in a masonic hall.  Go figure. They weren't that great that day ... maybe DB could feel the bad vibes.)