Bill Leverty not only engineered the song and plays guitar, he also played every instrument you will hear. There was no A.I. used on this song!!!
The History: Talking Heads – ”Psycho Killer”
“Psycho Killer” was the first single by the American rock band Talking Heads, and was released on their debut studio album Talking Heads – 77 on September 16, 1977. Believe it or not, the band’s “signature debut hit” was actually written as a ballad. I don’t know who made the decision to change the song from a ballad to a mid-tempo rocker, but whoever made that decision made the right choice. I honestly do not think it would have ever worked as a ballad.
The track features lyrics that seem to represent the thoughts of a serial killer. Originally written and performed as a ballad, “Psycho Killer” became what the site AllMusic.com calls a “deceptively funky new wave song” with “an insistent rhythm, and one of the most memorable, driving bass lines in rock & roll.”
“Psycho Killer” was the only song from Talking Heads – 77 to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 92. It reached number 32 on the Triple J Hottest 100 in 1989, and peaked at number 11 on the Dutch singles chart in 1977. The song is also included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
A Personal Connection
My older brother was a huge Talking Heads fan. At the time ’77 was released, we were living in Iowa. My room and his room were at opposite ends of the house. Though he was wearing headphones, I can still to this day feel Tina Weymouth’s bass vibrating across the floor.
The album was produced and engineered by Tony Bongiovi (who built The Power Station Recording Studios in New York, New York) and Lance Quinn (known for the two singles, “Runaway” and “She Don’t Know Me,” taken from Bon Jovi’s self-titled release, and Danger Danger’s self-titled album, just to name a few).
Bill Leverty’s Version
Let me ask you this, which would you prefer: a cover song that matches the original perfectly, or a version of a cover song where it sounds as if the musician took a little of his personality and mixed it into the track—a bit of variety, so to speak?
The big question is: “Did Bill just ruin what is possibly one of the top 100 greatest bass line intros of all time?”
My answer is no, and here is why. When I listen to a cover song, what I pay attention to the most—and what I think is most important—is whether the artist or band put their own stamp on the song to enhance it in any way. Who wants to hear a band play a cover song note-for-note? I sure don’t! I want to hear a band perform a cover and hear their own interpretation of it, just as if they had written it themselves.
The Breakdown
Before the intro, Bill used either a snare trigger or a studio effect to give his snare two distinct sounds. One effect sounded like the striking of wood, while the other sounded like the striking of a piece of metal with a claw hammer. These two effects lasted throughout the intro. After the effect is repeated twice, the bass line kicks in. Bill captured Tina’s bass sound and feel perfectly.
Over the top of the bass line, Bill plays an effect. If I had to guess, I would say that the effect was played with a keyboard. However, as advanced as technology is, he could be using his guitar to capture the effect also.
Bill plays an opening and closing hi-hat pattern for the drum line. Two measures into the main musical intro, Bill kicks in a rhythm guitar arrangement. Over the top of the drum rhythm connecting the musical intro with the musical verse, there was a short drum fill. After several play-throughs, I have come to the conclusion that Bill played this with a percussion instrument (I just don’t know which one). However, because it is completely over the top of the drum line, Bill probably added this track in the mixing stage of the song.
The musical verse of the original version consisted of two different rhythm guitar arrangements. Bill used a huge chunk of the same guitar arrangement as the original, and he also used the same guitar effect as David Byrne did. To me, though, from the perspective of a former drummer and recording engineer, it is the way Bill does the opening and closing of his hi-hat that truly makes the musical verse. I’m a former drummer, and I honestly cannot for the life of me figure out what he is doing to give it such a great sound and feel.
There was a short snare/tom-tom fill connecting the musical verse with the musical chorus. Though there was a small guitar change during the chorus, Bill raised the levels of the bass so that great bass line that Tina wrote really gets to shine through. After the last lead vocal line of the chorus, there was a set of all-female backup singers singing vocal accents.
The second verse and chorus were a repeat of the first. The only change between the first and second chorus was the backing vocals. After the second chorus, there was a breakdown section. The breakdown section opened with a bass line over the top of a drum line, which led into the lead guitar solo. After the third chorus, Bill added a second guitar solo. As this solo progressed, Bill slowly and continuously sped the song up, continuing this throughout the rest of the track.
The Verdict
Now here is the 50-million-dollar question: Did Bill improve the original or ruin the original?
As far as I am concerned, he did completely the opposite of ruining it! In fact, he did it so well that if someone did not know this was a cover song, you would have thought Bill wrote it himself. He stripped the song down to its basic blueprint, trashed what wasn’t needed, and built the song up from there.
Very seldom will you ever hear me say a version of a cover is better than the original. In fact, there are only two others: John Lennon’s cover of “Stand By Me” (originally done by Ben E. King) and the Judas Priest cover of the Joan Baez hit “Diamonds and Rust.”
This cover is just absolutely jaw-dropping!!! There is absolutely no way your collection will ever be complete until you have this single in it!!!!
