[Talking Heads' debut album, Talking Heads '77, is an absolute triumph.] (p. 98)

"The Book I Read," like so many of their songs, burbles with excitement, a feeling of expansion overcoming restraint. "Pulled Up" is the real champ, though, a fiercely exhilarating rush of aural amyl nitrate….

Exploring the logic and disorientation of love, decision making, ambition and the need for selfishness, [Byrne] gropes for articulation like a metaphysician having difficulty computing emotions.

Given his relatively unlyrical nature, Byrne's burgeoning persona is not in the least tentative. "No Compassion" asserts all the impatience of Lou Reed in a bad mood, while "Psycho Killer" pulses with vehemence….

Not only is this a great album, it's also one of the definitive records of the decade. (p. 101)

Stephen Demorest, "Talking Heads' Stunning Debut," in Rolling Stone (by Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc. © 1977; all rights reserved; reprinted by permission), Issue 251, November 3, 1977, pp. 98, 101.