Album of the Day

David Byrne's REI MOMO shares its name with the character who presides over the opening of Brazil's Carnival, and the 1989 collection has the feel of a South American celebration. The worldbeat sounds that had long bubbled under the surface of Talking Heads' music reach full boil on the performer's first real solo outing, which touches on Afro-Cuban, merengue, mambo, cumbia and many other Latin genres. Byrne did the lion's share of the writing here, and if such tracks as “Make Believe Mambo,” “The Dream Police” and “The Call Of The Wild” show how well he's mastered the region's rhythms and styles, his lyrical perspective remains as off-kilter as ever. With guest stars including Willie Colón, Celia Cruz and Kirsty MacColl lending a hand, REI MOMO is inventive and enjoyable from beginning to end, and we'll give it another spin to wish David Byrne a happy birthday.