Casual Gods
	Produced by Jerry Harrison
	Released on February 1988
	US CHART POSITION #78
	Find it at GEMM
25663-1 cover [high resolution photo]

P roof that I’m not perfect: the previous review of Casual Gods. The record just didn’t inspire me to great things, still doesn’t in fact, but sometimes we have to rise above our surroundings. The short line on Gods is this: Talking Heads without the helium arrangements. Since I haven’t heard The Red And The Black, I can’t connect the dots, so I’m left pointing limply to underwhelming Heads songs like “Swamp” and “Ruby Dear.” Jerry Harrison has a serviceable voice, mildly threatening in an Arto Lindsay kind of way, and in fact Lindsay serves as a reference point for the funky arrangements of songs like “Are You Running?” as well. I know, this review is taking a pedestrian turn, so let’s talk about the little wrenches: occasionally intoxicating keyboard ornaments, funky guitar riffs and some eye-opening insights (e.g., “Man With A Gun”). If David Byrne was a man on fire, Jerry Harrison is a man with a pesky sunburn. He slips coolly into the dark places looking for a little relief, casually relating the minor demons that plague him. Harrison has a knack for interesting arrangements, abetted by likeminded east coast artistes (David Van Tieghem) and familiar faces (Bernie Worrell, Alex Weir). If you’re looking for a good time, however, the party’s not happening here. Jerry Harrison may be the serious Head, though not as serious as the album artwork would suggest. You won’t find the answer to life’s troubles here, nor the missing link of light remaining, only a competent collection of prickly rock tracks from a name that still turns heads in certain quarters. There, that’s better.

25663-1 back cover	25663-1 picture sleeve

TRACK LISTING

1. REV IT UP    (Jerry Harrison/J. Sieger/Ernie Brooks)    4:17
2. SONG OF ANGELS    (Jerry Harrison)    3:35
3. MAN WITH A GUN    (Jerry Harrison)    4:35
4. LET IT COME DOWN    (Jerry Harrison)    4:52
5. CHEROKEE CHIEF    (Jerry Harrison/Ernie Brooks)    4:30
6. A PERFECT LIE    (Jerry Harrison/Arthur Russell/Ernie Brooks)    4:25
7. ARE YOU RUNNING?    (Jerry Harrison/Ernie Brooks/Monique Dayan)    4:20
8. A.K.A. LOVE    (Jerry Harrison)    4:10
9. WE'RE ALWAYS TALKING    (Jerry Harrison)    4:40
10. BOBBY    (Jerry Harrison)    4:03
11. (*CD bonus track:) BOBBY (12" VERSION)

CREDITS

JERRY HARRISON -- guitars, keyboards & vocals
RICK JAEGER -- drums
ALEX WEIR -- guitars, bass
Joyce Bowden -- singer (6)
Monique Dayan -- singer (5)
Arlene Holmes -- singer
Yogi Horton -- drums (3)
Dickie Landry -- sax (6)
Robbie McIntosh -- guitars (5,6)
Lovelace Redmond -- singer
Arthur Russell -- singer (6)
Chris Spedding -- guitars (1,5)
David van Tieghem -- drums, percussion
Bernie Worrell -- bass synthesizer (6)
Ernie Brooks -- assistant producer
David Vartanian -- engineer, overdub engineer, mixing
Dave Avidor -- overdub engineer
J.C. Covertino -- overdub engineer
Robin Laine -- overdub engineer
Jay Mark -- engineer (8), mixing (6)
John "Tokes" Potoker -- overdub engineer, mixing, additional engineering
Eric "E.T." Thorngren -- overdub engineer, mixing
Sebastiao Salgado/Magnum -- photography
M&Co. -- design

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