Beginning life as an off-shoot from Talking Heads while David Byrne worked on a solo project, Tom Tom Club has endured for over twenty-five years on and off, and this debut album has remained a strong seller, though its follow-up, Close To The Bone, remains mysteriously unavailable.

Thanks to the electroclash movement Tom Tom Club sounds more contemporary now than it did a decade ago, and many of its hooks and beats have been sampled over and over. The best known tracks are the singles Genius Of Love and Wordy Rappinghood, though as they were initially signed by Chris Blackwell to the British Island label, Wordy Rappinghood was not released as a single in America at the time. It was a huge hit in Europe, though, and was revived not long ago by Chicks On Speed. The album works well as a whole, full of light and bounce and rhythm.

The CD of the 1981 album has been somewhat extended from the original vinyl release. The non-album 1982 single Under The Boardwalk, a funky reworking of the old Drifters tune, has been added, along with the remix of Lorelei that was on the 12" B-side. This was rather smoother and less quirky than the original. Very welcome bonuses are the excellent 12" remixes of Wordy Rappinghood and Genius Of Love.

Make no mistake, this Tom Tom Club Album is fantastic BUT as stated very well by MANY MANY MANY previous reviewers their 2cnd album, "CLOSE TO THE BONE" is HANDS DOWN, TOM TOM CLUB's CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT!!! (So I really don't understand why it's so hard for the record/CD company to get their sh*! together and release this already..it would OBVIOUSLY MAKE ALOT OF MONEY!!!) After recovering much of my 80's collection on CD, this is an ACHING SOAR SPOT!!! My cassette tape has worn out from over 25 years of use. Nothing will ever be better than "PLEASURE OF LOVE" and "THE MAN WITH THE 4-WAY HIPS" but the whole album FLOWS together and their is truthfully not one bad track on "CLOSE TO THE BONE"...it should REALLY be RELEASED ON CD in IT'S FULL ENTIRITY!!! I could never get sick of this album. I am thrilled to read that many people are still "discovering" them and guess what?... THEY ALL WANT THIS CD! PLEASE RELEASE TOM TOM's "CLOSE TO THE BONE" on CD NOW!!!

By the time Tom Tom Club released their first album, Talking Heads had already established themselves as an amazing melting pot of musical styles ranging from the electronic influences of Brian Eno to the world-beat type rhythms that made Remain in Light the classic that it is.

Tom Tom Club clearly attempts to take the magic that spilled forth from Remain in Light and drive it in a similar direction while meshing it with the more current sounds of the time. Witness Genius of Love, a landmark achievement that still stands today as one of the great songs of all time. That song alone makes this album worth the price of admission. Fortunately, the rest of the album isn't far behind.

I didn't care too much about Tom Tom Club in the '80s. I'd heard Genius of Love and, of course, thought it was pretty cool. I never bothered to pick up a Tom Tom Club album, though. I found a copy of Close to the Bone on vinyl for $.99 a while back and thought it was good, but not necessarily great. Nevertheless, I kept on the hunt for a nice vinyl copy of their first album. I finally found it last week, for an amazing $4. After just a couple of listens, I think I can easily say that this album is an order of magnitude better than Close to the Bone.

If you're a fan of Talking Heads, world beat, or even just somebody who knows Genius of Love and appreciates it for what it is, get this album. In addition to the well known Genius of Love and Wordy Rappinghood, pay particular attention to L'Elephant, As Above So Below, and On On On On... You will not be disappointed. Join the club.

Like the rest I have always loved TTC. I am moving my vinyl over to CD and really wish the WB would pull the lead out and release "Close to the bone" on CD! It needs to be released, really it does!

I chose to put my comment here since this is their first (and arguably best) album -

WHERE'S THE 'GREATEST HITS' COLLECTION??!!!!!

I'd like to see "Pleasure Of Love", "Suboceana", "Call Of The Wild" and "Devil Does Your Dog Bite?" (From the "Married To The Mob" soundtrack) all on one CD! And while they're at it, they could also tack on those cool live versions of "Genius Of Love" and "Wordy Rappinghood" from the 12" of "Call Of The Wild."

It's not fair that Backstreet Boys and Hillary Duff have 'greatest hits' collections, and they have fewer albums than TTC.

Sire Records - Are you listening?? You put this together, and you'll get my $15!!