Tom Tom Club Outline Career-Spanning Seven-LP Collection ‘Let There Be Love’
The bubblegum smack of synth that introduces “Genius of Love” holds a special place in the hearts of Tom Tom Club fans. Bold and assertive, the instrumentals scorn the group’s debut self-titled record, trailing the typewriter clicks and subsequent ring of new waves beckoning to early hip hop trends asserted on “Wordy Rappinghood,” the group’s first single. Now, 45 years after their debut, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth’s Tom Tom Club project is gearing up for the release of the three-decade boxing of Let There Be Love via Rhino – a 7LP and 6CD collection arriving July 24.
The new set pulls from Tom Tom Club records such as Tom Tom Club (1981), Close to the Bone (1983), Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom (1988), Dark Sneak Love Action (1991), The Good, the Bad, and the Funky (2000), plus Downtown Rockers (2012). As a compilation, it provides a path for listeners to experience a near-complete oeuvre that links ’80s new wave tendencies to the inception of hip-hop’s dynamic flow.
Frantz, Weymouth, and Talking Heads started recording 1978’s More Songs About Buildings and Food and 1980’s Remain in Light at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas, a place Tom Tom Club returned to during the David Byrne-cited project’s ensuing hiatus a year later. It was there that Frantz and Weymouth began playing with Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, Uzziah “Sticky” Thompson, and Tyrone Downie as the Compass Point All Stars – while also tapping Adrian Belew and vocalists Lani, Laura, and Loric Weymouth.
The pair titled their project after the dancehall where they held their first rehearsal. They went on to release their debut album in 1981, which featured “Genius of Love” and launched a highly sampled piece of pop history, borrowed by the likes of Tupac Shakur, Mariah Carey, Grandmaster Flash and more. During the ensuing years, the duo maintained their experimental inclinations while working with guests such as Lou Reed, Bernie Worrell, and others.
Tom Tom Club made a name for themselves by crafting dancefloor-ready anthems that prompted beads of sweat to form on listeners’ foreheads – bodies in constant motion, reacting to the music. The impending box set offers listeners hours of entertainment, anchored by a pregnant discography that would leave anyone booming and zooming.
Pre-order Let There Be Love.
LET THERE BE LOVE
LP Track Listing
Tom Tom Club (1981)
Side One
- “Wordy Rappinghood”
- “Genius Of Love”
- “Tom Tom Theme”
- “L’éléphant”
Side Two
- “As Above, So Below”
- “Lorelei”
- “On, On, On, On…”
- “Booming And Zooming”
Close To The Bone (1983)
Side One
- “Pleasure Of Love”
- “On The Line Again”
- “This Is A Foxy World”
- “Bamboo Town”
Side Two
- “The Man With The 4-Way Hips”
- “Measure Up”
- “Never Took A Penny”
- “Atsababy! (Life Is Great)”
Boom Boom Chi Boom Boom (1988)
Side One
- “Call Of The Wild”
- “Kiss Me When I Get Back”
- “Wa Wa Dance”
- “I Confess”
- “Challenge Of The Love Warriors”
Side Two
- “Suboceana”
- “Don’t Say No”
- “Shock The World”
- “Little Eva”
- “Femme Fatale”
Dark Sneak Love Action (1992)
Side One
- “Love Wave”
- “Sunshine And Ecstasy”
- “You Sexy Thing”
Side Two
- “Who Wants An Ugly Girl?”
- “Say I Am”
- “Irresistible Party Dip”
Side Three
- “Dark Sneak Love Action”
- “Innocent Sex Kiss”
- “Dogs In The Trash”
Side Four
- “My Mama Told Me”
- “As The Disco Ball Turns”
- “Daddy Come Home”
The Good the Bad and the Funky (2000)
Side One
- “Time To Bounce”
- “Who Feelin’ It”
- “Happiness Can’t Buy Money”
- “Holy Water”
- “Soul Fire She’s Dangerous”
Side Two
- “Love To Love You Baby”
- “(C’mon) Surrender”
- “Let There Be Love”
- “Superdreaming”
- “Lesbians By The Lake”
Downtown Rockers (2012)
Side One
- “Downtown Rockers”
- “Won’t Give You Up”
- “You Make Me Rock And Roll”
Side Two
- “Kissin’ Antonio”
- “Sweets To The Sweet”
