Album of the day: Talking Heads - The Name of this Band Is . . .
Published August 18, 2004
How could this not be album of the day? A long, long awaited reissue of what turns out to be a definitive entry in the Talking Heads catalog, this has been out of print for, what, nearly two full decades? I was lucky enough to stumble upon a bootleg copy of the vinyl a while back but the sound quality was pretty rough - there was no doubt it came from a well-loved copy of the vinyl. Now Rhino has reissued this amazing live compilation spanning the years 1977-1981 with a whole slew of bonus tracks, filling out both discs to near-capacity. Sound quality is stunning throughout, as is to be expected, with the 1977 material, tracks 1-7 of disc 1, surprisingly possessing a clarity that is unmatched on the rest of the set. Disc 2 comprises 1980-81, but is sequenced in such a way that it flows as an example of one single concert on that tour. Though featuring a greatly expanded band (including guitar wiz Adrian Belew and keyboard meistro Bernie Worrell, among other notable names,) the band actually sounds tighter somehow - the extraneous musicians seemingly caused Byrne and company to tighten the reigns even more than might seem possible for their already minimalist sound, resulting in a band with a lot of texture and little to no excess. Not only is this a great companion to the impressive Stop Making Sense, it'll likely wind up being the superior live document of the Talking Heads.
- Album of the day: Talking Heads - The Name of this Band Is . . .
- Published: August 18, 2004
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- Section: Music
- Filed Under: Music: Alternative Rock, Music: Rock
- Writer: Tom Johnson
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This is great news -- I have everything the Heads did except this one, so I'm anxious to hear how it stacks up against Stop Making Sense, a great live disc which really captures the band in its moment.
a great live compilation great to hear the extra tracks listening to disc 2 great to hear the early stuff giving an extra edge its a shame the broke up it would to hear then again!far surperior to "stop making sense"!!
From my blog, earlier today:
What I've been listening to: The Name of this Band is Talking Heads, the two-CD set of the 1978 live album of the same name, one of the few Heads discs I've never owned in one version or another, so it's a real feast -- or it would be, if I wasn't stuck on Track 13, Disc One: "Mind," from Fear of Music. Much better than the studio version, I think, far more impassioned, with David Byrne slurring and stretching the words -- "Religion won't change yeeeeeeeeewwwww" -- and making me think again what a curiously intense little love song this is; a song equal parts desire and frustration, the exact nature of which is left deliberately vague. When he sings "I need something to change your mind," you can't say for sure whether he wants to seduce an unseduceable girl or if this is about a couple at the end of their road -- stuck in their ways, in who they are, tired of each other, one yearning for the other to be the same but different, to take a quantum leap into being some surprising and spontaneous other being, and knowing, from the beginning, that only a miraculous something will do the trick. I don't know when I'll get around listening to the rest of the CD. I've played the song three times just writing this.
That's an interesting take on the song, Rodney. I hadn't considered that before, but it fits very well. Now I have to go listen to hear judge for myself . . .
Great news, I enjoyed early Heads much more than later, and while I was happy that the entire Stop Making Sense soundtrack was finally realeased, I think you are right that this will be the superior Talking Heads live album.
COuld a reunion tour be far behind? Probably, but if it happens I would be there.
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all i can say is "IT'S ABOUT TIME!!!".
i've got a nearly mint vinyl copy of this one, but i've only had it for a year or so (it took me that long to find a good one).