The Best of Talking Heads

Performer: Talking Heads
Artist: Brian Eno; Robert Palmer; Bernie Worrell
Engineer: Dave Jerden; Ed Stasium; Eric "E.T." Thorngren; Fernando Kral; Jack Nuber; Neal Teeman; Nick Delre; Stephen Stanley; James Farber; Joe Barbaria; John Potoker; Alex Sadkin; Mark Wallis; Rhett Davies; Richard Manwaring; Rod O'Brien; Butch Jones; Dave Jerden
Producer: Tony Bongiovi; Brian Eno; Talking Heads; Lance Quinn; Steve Lillywhite; Tony Bongiovi; Tommy Ramone; Brian Eno; Talking Heads; Talking Heads (Compilation); Andy Zax (Compilation)
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Talking Heads: Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth, David Byrne (bass instrument); Chris Frantz. Personnel: Jerry Harrison (vocals, guitar, piano, organ, keyboards, synthesizer, percussion, background vocals); David Byrne (vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion, bells); Brian Eno (guitar, piano, keyboards, synthesizer, percussion, background vocals); Tina Weymouth (guitar, keyboards, synthesizer, percussion, background vocals); Yves N'Djock, Adrian Belew (guitar); Johnny Marr (12-string guitar); Mory Kant� (kora); Jimmy Macdonell (accordion); Lenny Pickett (saxophone, tenor saxophone); Stan Harrison (alto saxophone); Steve Elfon (baritone saxophone); Laurie Frink, Jon Hassell , Earl Gardner (trumpet); Robin Eubanks (trombone); Chris Frantz (keyboards, synthesizer, drums, tambourine, percussion, background vocals); Wally Badarou (keyboards, synthesizer, congas); Bernie Worrell (synthesizer); Abdou M'Boup (congas, talking drum, cowbells); Gene Wilder, Ari Wilder (congas); Andrew Cader (washboard); Brice Wassy (shaker); David Van Tieghem, Jose Rossy, Nan� Vasconcelos, Steve Scales (percussion); Ellen Bernfeld, Erin Dickens, Gordon Grody, Diva Gray, Kurt Yahijian, Kirsty MacColl, Lani Groves, Nona Hendryx (background vocals). Additional personnel: Brian Eno (organ, bass instrument); Robert Palmer (percussion); Bernie Worrell. Audio Mixers: David Byrne; Brian Eno; Dave Jerden; Ed Stasium; Eric "ET" Thorngren; Johnny Potoker; Alex Sadkin; Mick Guzauski. Audio Remasterer: Bob Ludwig. Recording information: Atlantic Studios, New York, NY; Blank Tapes, New York, NY; Chris & Tina's Loft, Long Island City, NY; Compass Point Studios, Nassau, The Bahamas; Hit Factory, New York, NY; O'Henry Sound Studios, Toluca Lake, CA; Record Plant, New York, NY; RPM Sound Studios, New York, NY; Sigma Sound, New York, NY; Studio Davout, Paris, France; Studio Southwest, Sunnyvale, TX; Sundragon Studios, New York, NY; The Arcadia Theater, Dallas, TX. Authors: Dave Schools; Douglas McCombs; El-P; Matt Safer; Ira Kaplan; Kate Pierson; Moby; Dustin Hawthorne. Photographer: Jimmy DeSana. Rhino's -- or, more accurately, Sire/Warner/Rhino's -- Best of Talking Heads follows 2003's box set Once in a Lifetime by a year, and it features the same remastering from that set. It also shares part of a title with the 1992 U.K. compilation The Best of Talking Heads: Once in a Lifetime, which was released the same year as the American double-disc overview Popular Favorites: Sand in the Vaseline. Given the similar titles, similar release dates, and similar track listings, it's easy to get confused at first, but all you need to know is that if you're looking for a comprehensive collection, get the Rhino box, and if you want a disc of hits, get this single-disc Rhino collection. Not that the 2004 Best of Talking Heads has every hit or well-known song -- "I Zimbra," "Born Under Punches," "Crosseyed and Painless," "Swamp," and "Stay Up Late" could all have been here and all are missed -- but at 18 tracks, this is a generous compilation and draws a better portrait of the band than not just the 1992 single-disc compilation, but arguably the patchwork Popular Favorites as well. For the casual fan, this is likely all they'll need to have, and for others, it's a good place to get acquainted with the band. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine In the mid-1970s, a band of well-scrubbed art-school graduates appeared on the CBGB's scene in New York City. The name of this band was Talking Heads, and from '77 to '88, they released eight studio albums of inventive and utterly catchy avant-garde pop that turned the rock world on its ear. Fueled by vocalist/guitarist David Byrne's quirky, "I'm tense and nervous, and I can't relax" personality, the group seemed fully formed from the get-go, as evidenced by the martial rhythms and chiming guitars of "Love -> Building on Fire" and the deranged funk of "Psycho Killer." Following this early era, THE BEST OF TALKING HEADS moves into the quartet's lengthy collaboration with sonic scientist Brian Eno, including the herky-jerky funk of their take on Al Green's "Take Me to the River," the desperate story-song "Life During Wartime," and the transcendent avant-pop masterpiece "Once in a Lifetime." Rounding out this BEST OF are the Heads' poppier, post-Eno songs ("Road to Nowhere," "And She Was," and others). Although there are more extensive Talking Heads collections out there (the two-disc POPULAR FAVORITES 1976-1992/SAND IN THE VASELINE and the three-CD/one-DVD box set ONCE IN A LIFETIME), this concise, single-disc compilation is an ideal introduction to the utterly unique sounds of this pioneering band.

Proving you could rock despite having attended the Rhode Island School of Design, Talking Heads' innovative brand of downtown art-pop featured David Byrne's manic yelp, pointed lyrics about mundane subjects, and R&B-meets-Velvet Underground grooves, all without ever tipping over into pretension. The group began making twitchy pop in the punk era, but by the early-1980s the Heads had graduated to a dense, funky style incorporating a phalanx of additional musicians including Adrian Belew and P-Funk keyboardist Bernie Worrell. They made a slight return to their pop/rock roots before imploding at the end of the '80s, moving on to solo projects and production work.

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