Rei Momo
Studio album by
David Byrne
Released3 October 1989
GenreLatin music, worldbeat
Length63:37
LabelLuaka Bop, Sire
ProducerDavid Byrne and Steve Lillywhite
David Byrne chronology
The Last Emperor
(1987) 		Rei Momo
(1989) 		The Forest
(1991)

Rei Momo is the debut solo 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).[1] The album is mostly sung in English and features guest appearances by Kirsty MacColl, Willie Colón and Celia Cruz, among others.

Release and promotion

The album was co-released by Luaka Bop and Sire on 3 October 1989. Initially, the album included three more tracks on the cassette tape than the LP: "Loco de Amor", "Good and Evil", and "Office Cowboy".[1] 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.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Los Angeles Times[2]
New Musical Express6/10[3]
Rolling Stone[4]

The album was well-received by critics. In a retrospective review for The Guardian, Alexis Petridis wrote "Byrne’s first post-Talking-Heads solo album is a cut above and an underrated joy".[5]

Track listing

All tracks composed by David Byrne; except where indicated.

No.TitleWriter(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 Pacheco4:55
4."Dirty Old Town" 4:12
5."The Rose Tattoo"Byrne & Willie Colón3:50
6."Loco de Amor" (feat. Celia Cruz)Byrne, Pacheco3:51
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 & Pacheco4:30
10."Good and Evil" 4:35
11."Lie to Me" (feat. Kirsty MacColl) 3:40
12."Office Cowboy" (feat. Herbert Vianna)Byrne & Arto Lindsay3:40
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

References

  1. ^ a b c Ruhlmann, William. "Rei Momo - David Byrne". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  2. ^ Hochman, Steve (8 October 1989). "Byrne Solos for a New Family of Man : DAVID BYRNE "Rei Momo." Fly/Sire *** 1/2". Retrieved 2 September 2018 – via LA Times.
  3. ^ Brown, Len (28 October 1989). "Long Play: Manuel Labour". New Musical Express. p. 38.
  4. ^ "David Byrne: Rei Momo : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. 16 March 2008. Archived from the original on 16 March 2008. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  5. ^ Petridis, Alexis (14 June 2018). "David Byrne – (almost) all of his albums ranked!". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
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