Rei Momo
| Rei Momo | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 3 October 1989 | |||
| Genre | Latin music, worldbeat | |||
| Length | 63:37 | |||
| Label | Luaka Bop, Sire | |||
| Producer | David Byrne and Steve Lillywhite | |||
| David Byrne chronology | ||||
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Rei Momo is the debut solo studio album by David Byrne and second overall studio album (after the 1981 collaborative album My Life in the Bush of Ghosts), released on 3 October 1989. The album consists of diverse Latin music styles from Cuba (rumba, mozambique, mambo, chachachá, bolero), the Dominican Republic (merengue), Puerto Rico (bomba), Colombia (cumbia, mapeyé) and Brazil (samba, pagode). The album is mostly sung in English and features guest appearances by Kirsty MacColl, Willie Colón and Celia Cruz, among others.
Background
The song Loco de Amor was recorded with Celia Cruz for the Jonathan Demme film Something Wild in 1986. The following year, Talking Heads recorded their final album Naked (1988) which featured a large shift towards Latin American influence, which would then serve as the basis for David Byrne's first full studio album. He had previously released several albums and recorded music for other projects outside of the band, although this is the first album he released outside of Talking Heads with a standard structure of every song containing his vocals.
Release and promotion
The album was co-released by Luaka Bop and Sire on 3 October 1989. Two music videos were released, Make Believe mambo and Dirty Old Town. Initially, the album included three more tracks on the cassette tape than the LP: Loco de Amor, Good and Evil, and Office Cowboy. All songs are present on the compact disc. David Byrne performed Dirty Old Town and Loco de Amor on Saturday Night Live's Thanksgiving show in 1989. The world tour included the first set of performances by Byrne in Latin America, where Talking Heads had never toured.
Track listing
All tracks composed by David Byrne; except where indicated.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Independence Day" (feat. Kirsty MacColl) | 5:45 | |
| 2. | "Make Believe Mambo" (feat. Kirsty MacColl & Willie Colón) | 5:23 | |
| 3. | "The Call of the Wild" | Byrne, Johnny Pacheco | 4:55 |
| 4. | "Dirty Old Town" | 4:12 | |
| 5. | "The Rose Tattoo" | Byrne & Willie Colón | 3:50 |
| 6. | "Loco de Amor" (feat. Celia Cruz) | Byrne, Pacheco | 3:51 |
| 7. | "The Dream Police" (feat. Kirsty MacColl) | 3:00 | |
| 8. | "Don't Want to Be Part of Your World" (feat. Kirsty MacColl) | 4:55 | |
| 9. | "Marching Through the Wilderness" (feat. Milton Cardona) | Byrne & Pacheco | 4:30 |
| 10. | "Good and Evil" | 4:35 | |
| 11. | "Lie to Me" (feat. Kirsty MacColl) | 3:40 | |
| 12. | "Office Cowboy" (feat. Herbert Vianna) | Byrne & Arto Lindsay | 3:40 |
| 13. | "Women vs Men" | 4:06 | |
| 14. | "Carnival Eyes" (feat. Milton Cardona) | 4:04 | |
| 15. | "I Know Sometimes a Man Is Wrong" | 3:11 |
Release history
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worldwide | 1989 | Luaka Bop/Sire | CD | 25990 |
| LP | ||||
| Cassette tape | 4-25990 | |||
| 1995 | CD | 7599-25990-2 |