The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads
Untitled | |
---|---|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | (93%)[1] |
Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Pitchfork Media | (9.2/10)[4] |
Robert Christgau | A−[5] |
Seattle Weekly | (favorable)[6] |
The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads is a double live album by Talking Heads, originally released in 1982. The first disc featured the original quartet in recordings from 1977 and 1979, and the second disc the expanded ten-piece lineup that toured in 1980 and 1981. The album contains live versions of songs that appear on their first four studio albums, Talking Heads: 77, More Songs About Buildings and Food, Fear of Music, and Remain in Light. The cassette edition of the album included "Cities" as a bonus track not included on the vinyl edition – this track has been included on the subsequent CD release.
The title of the album is a reference both to the group's preference for having no expressed definite article within the band name (as opposed to "The Talking Heads") and to David Byrne's minimalist introductions to songs. The album opens with one such introduction: "The name of this song is New Feeling. That's what it's about."
An expanded version of the record, on CD in the United States for the first time, was released in 2004 by Sire/Warner Bros./Rhino. It duplicated the pattern of the original with the first disc featuring the quartet alone, and the second disc a ten-member band. Additional tracks from 1978 are among the eight extra songs on the first disc, and correct running order for the set from the larger band on the second disc. The introduction to the song "Crosseyed and Painless" was edited out on the CD version, however.
The remastered and expanded edition of the album is No. 15 on the Metacritic list of all-time best-reviewed albums.
Track listing
Original (1982) LP track listing
All songs written by David Byrne except as noted.[7]
Side one
Recorded for WCOZ broadcast, Norther Studios, Maynard, Massachusetts, November 17, 1977 [7]
- "New Feeling" - 3:10
- "A Clean Break" - 4:57
- "Don't Worry About the Government" - 3:08
- "Pulled Up" - 4:08
- "Psycho Killer" (Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth) - 5:34
Side two
Recorded at The Capitol Theater, Passaic, New Jersey, January 17, 1979 [7]
- "Artists Only" (Byrne, Wayne Zieve) - 3:48
- "Stay Hungry" (Byrne, Frantz) - 4:00
- "Air" - 4:09
- "Love → Building on Fire" - 3:36
- "Memories (Can't Wait)" (Byrne, Jerry Harrison) - 3:58
Side three
Recorded at Emerald City, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, November 8, 1980 -November 9, 1980 ; Central Park, New York City New York, August 27, 1980 ; Sun Plaza Concert Hall, Tokyo, Japan, February 27, 1981 [7]
- "I Zimbra" (Byrne, Brian Eno, Hugo Ball) - 3:33
- "Drugs" (Byrne, Eno) - 4:47
- "Houses in Motion" (Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth) - 7:00
- "Life During Wartime" (Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth) – 5:03
Side four
Recorded at Emerald City, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, November 8, 1980 -November 9, 1980 ; Central Park, New York City, New York, August 27, 1980 ; Sun Plaza Concert Hall, Tokyo, Japan, February 27, 1981 [7]
- "The Great Curve" (Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth) - 6:58
- "Crosseyed and Painless" (Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth) – 7:05
- "Take Me to the River" (Al Green, Teenie Hodges) - 6:43
2004 CD reissue track listing
All songs written by David Byrne except as noted. Dates and places are for the first and following tracks.[8]
Disc one
- "New Feeling" – 3:09 for WCOZ broadcast, Northern Studios, Maynard, Massachusetts, November 17, 1977 [8]
- "A Clean Break (Let's Work)" – 5:05
- "Don't Worry About The Government" – 3:03
- "Pulled Up" – 4:04
- "Psycho Killer" (Byrne, Weymouth, Frantz) – 5:31
- "Who Is It?" – 1:44
- "The Book I Read" – 4:22
- "The Big Country" – 5:09 for WXRT broadcast, The Park West, Chicago, Illinois, August 23, 1978 [8]
- "I'm Not in Love" – 4:57 for KSAN broadcast, The Boarding House, San Francisco, California, September 16, 1978 [8]
- "The Girls Want to Be with the Girls" – 3:44 at The Agora, Cleveland, Ohio, December 18, 1978 [8]
- "Electricity (Drugs)" – 3:28
- "Found a Job" – 5:35
- "Mind" – 4:56 for WBCN broadcast, Berklee Performance Center, Boston, Massachusetts, August 24, 1979 [8]
- "Artists Only" (Byrne, Zieve) – 3:49 at The Capitol Theater, Passaic, New Jersey, November 17, 1979[8]
- "Stay Hungry" (Byrne, Frantz) – 4:05
- "Air" – 4:01
- "Love → Building on Fire" – 3:47
- "Memories (Can't Wait)" (Byrne, Harrison) – 3:44
- "Heaven" (Byrne, Harrison) – 4:31
Disc two
- "Psycho Killer" (Byrne, Weymouth, Frantz) – 5:33 at Sun Plaza Concert Hall, Tokyo, Japan, February 27, 1981[8]
- "Warning Sign" (Byrne, Frantz) – 5:40
- "Stay Hungry" (Byrne, Frantz) – 3:56
- "Cities" – 5:00 at Emerald City, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, November 8, 1980 -November 9, 1980 [8]
- "I Zimbra" (Byrne, Eno, Ball) – 3:30
- "Drugs (Electricity)" (Byrne, Eno) – 4:41
- "Once in a Lifetime" (Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth) – 5:57 at Sun Plaza Concert Hall, Tokyo, Japan, February 27, 1981 [8]
- "Animals" – 4:05
- "Houses in Motion" (Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth) – 6:54 at Emerald City, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, November 8, 1980[8] -November 9, 1980
- "Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)" (Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth) – 8:24 at Sun Plaza Concert Hall, Tokyo, Japan, February 27, 1981 [8]
- "Crosseyed and Painless" (Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth) – 5:58 at Emerald City, Cherry Hill, New Jersey, November 8, 1980[8] -November 9, 1980 ; truncated version from original release
- "Life During Wartime" (Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth) – 4:54 at Central Park, New York City, New York, August 27, 1980[8]
- "Take Me to the River" (Green, Hodges) – 6:33
- "The Great Curve" (Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth) – 6:42
Personnel
- David Byrne – guitar, vocals
- Chris Frantz – drums
- Tina Weymouth – bass, percussion, backing vocals
- Jerry Harrison – guitar, piano, keyboards, backing vocals
Additional personnel
- Adrian Belew – guitar, backing vocals
- Nona Hendryx – backing vocals
- Busta "Cherry" Jones – bass, guitar
- Dolette McDonald – percussion, backing vocals
- Steve Scales – conga
- Bernie Worrell – keyboards, backing vocals
- Jose Rossy – percussion
Production personnel
- Talking Heads – producer, mixing assistant
- David Hewett – audio engineer
- Kooster McAllister – engineer
- Rod O'Brien – engineer
- Katshuiko Sato – engineer
- Brian Eno – assistant engineer
- Ed Stasium – mixing engineer
- Butch Jones – mixing assistant
- Clive Brinkwood – mastering engineer
- Greg Calbi – mastering engineer
- Jeff Shaw – mastering engineer
Reissue Personnel
- Gary Stewart – producer
- Andy Zax – producer
- Dave Artale – mixing engineer
- Ken Rasek – mixing engineer
- Bob Ludwig – remastering engineer
Charts
Album
Year | Chart | Peak Position |
---|---|---|
1982 | Billboard Pop Albums | 31 |
1982 | UK Album Charts | 22 |
Notes
- ^ Metacritic
- ^ Westergaard, Sean. The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads at AllMusic
- ^ Westergaard, Sean. The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads at AllMusic
- ^ Pitchfork Media, 25 Aug 04
- ^ Robert Christgau review
- ^ 25 Aug 04
- ^ a b c d e Talking Heads. The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads (Sire Records, 1982).
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Talking Heads. The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads (Rhino Entertainment, 2004).