The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads [Expanded]

Performer: Talking Heads
Artist: Nona Hendryx; Adrian Belew; Robert Palmer; Brian Eno; Bernie Worrell
Engineer: Ed Stasium; Dave Artale; Katshuiko Sato; David Hewett; Ken Rasek; Kooster McAllister; Ed Stasium
Producer: Talking Heads; Talking Heads; Talking Heads (Compilation); Gary Stewart (Compilation); Talking Heads (Reissue); Andy Zax (Reissue); Gary Stewart (Reissue)
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Talking Heads: Jerry Harrison (vocals); David Byrne (keyboards, bass instrument, percussion); Tina Weymouth (keyboards, bass instrument); Chris Franz (keyboards, drums, percussion). Personnel: David Byrne (vocals, guitar); Jerry Harrison (guitar, piano, keyboards, synthesizer, background vocals); Tina Weymouth (guitar, synthesizer, percussion, background vocals); Adrian Belew (guitar, background vocals); Busta Cherry Jones (guitar); Bernie Worrell (Clavinet, background vocals); Chris Frantz (drums); Steve Scales (congas, percussion); Dollette McDonald (percussion, background vocals); Nona Hendryx (background vocals). Additional personnel: Brian Eno (guitar, keyboards, synthesizer, background vocals); Bernie Worrell (synthesizer); Robert Palmer (percussion); Adrian Belew, Nona Hendryx. Audio Mixers: Ed Stasium; Talking Heads; Dave Artale; Ken Rasek; Butch Jones. Audio Remasterer: Bob Ludwig. Liner Note Authors: Andy Zax; Gary Peterson; Reggie Collins. Recording information: 11/17/1977-02/27/1981. Authors: Ira Mayer; Jon Pareles; Roman Kozak. Photographers: Gary Kurfirst; Lynn Goldsmith; Mark Weiss; Tom Ligamari; Beverly Price; Charlie Clough; Jimmy DeSana; Donna Santisi; Ebet Roberts; Bob Grossman; Paul McAlpine; Melissa Hill; K.P. Schleinitz; Hugh Brown; Marcia Resnick; Mark Price. This live album was originally released as a double LP in 1982, when the Talking Heads were still extremely active. Twenty-two years later, the bonus-laden, two-CD reissue serves as a fascinating in-concert document of the phases the band went through during its first five years. The late-'70s tracks on the first disc show the early version of the band in all its geeky glory, mixing spastic New Wave quirkiness, funk rhythms, and art-school lyrics. It's intriguing to hear the difference between some of the songs' inception and their eventual recorded versions, such as a relatively straightforward "Electricity (Drugs)," which would turn ominous and atmospheric on FEAR OF MUSIC. The second disc captures the expanded, early-'80s version of the band, with extra musicians and backing vocalists in tow, tackling the fugue-like art-funk masterpieces of the aforementioned album and REMAIN IN LIGHT. It's all the more impressive to hear the interlocking of the guitars, keyboards, and percussion achieved without the benefit of studio overdubbing, and David Byrne's near-manic intensity is even more focused and affecting in the live setting. Even vinyl freaks/Heads maniacs who hung on to the original LP for two decades will need to get this, if only for the wealth of indispensable bonus tracks. Up until 2004, Stop Making Sense was the only easily available live Talking Heads album on compact disc, but it caught the band in the second phase of its career, presenting a polished stage show after having arrived squarely in the mainstream with the success of Speaking in Tongues (their fifth album) and "Burning Down the House" in particular. It was a distinct change. Speaking in Tongues was their first new music in three years and was noticeably upbeat and danceable compared to the dark paranoia of Remain in Light and Fear of Music and the undistilled art-school geekiness of their first two albums. Stop Making Sense captured Talking Heads at the height of their popularity, but not at the height of their power. After all, it was those first four albums that established the band among critics and a fervent semiunderground following. And that's where The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads comes in. It was the perfect summary to the first phase of their career, presenting an LP of material performed by the original quartet (1977-1979) and an LP of material from the Remain in Light tours of 1980 and 1981 (featuring a greatly expanded band lineup). But alas, it languished in the strictly analog domain for more than two decades. In 2004, finally, The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads was made available on compact disc, and it may well have been worth the wait. Each version of the band is still given a disc of its own, but the longer running time of compact discs versus LPs means you're treated to almost double the original number of tracks. The first disc, which features the original quartet, is brilliantly expanded with the original LP sequencing completely intact and all the bonus tracks coming between the LP sides (except for "Heaven," the perfect album closer). The sound is crisp and clear, with tight drumming, a great punchy bass sound, and clearly separated guitars that allow you to really hear what complementary (and fine) players David Byrne and Jerry Harrison were. Byrne is the �ber-geek with a totally unique delivery (especially on tracks like "Who Is It?," "Artists Only," and "Stay Hungry," not to mention his nervous stage announcements), but they all play with the raw energy of a young band on the way up. The bonus tracks are all excellent. There is no sense whatsoever that they were simply padding things for a longer running time, and it's just great hearing live versions of songs like "Mind" (with extended guitar solo), "The Big Country," and "The Book I Read" that have never been readily available in live form. As fantastic as the first disc is, the second one is perhaps even more exciting. The expanded band (ten musicians and two backup singers) is amazing, not only adding power and punch to the Remain in Light material, but in most cases surpassing the studio versions (no mean feat). These live versions of "The Great Curve," "Houses in Motion," and "Crosseyed and Painless (all prominently featuring Adrian Belew) are nearly worth the price of admission alone, but the bonus tracks here are just as exciting. The original release had no overlapping songs on the two LPs, with the large version of the band sticking solely to tunes from Remain in Light and Fear of Music. Now you're treated to arrangements of "Psycho Killer," "Stay Hungry," and "Warning Sign" as performed by the expanded lineup, not to mention live versions of "Animals," "Cities," and "Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)." The band is on fire throughout the performances, and fans of Belew's guitar playing will practically be giddy with ecstasy. These are some of his finest performances strictly as a guitarist, and although Remain in Light was the only studio album he played on, he beautifully adds his own touches to "Stay Hungry" and especially "Psycho Killer." Byrne also contributes some cool guitar, sometimes using a great delay sound, and again, the clear separation of instruments lets you really hear the details. The producers chose to depart from the album sequencing on this disc, opting to reproduce the entire set list in order instead. It works up until the end, where they move "The Great Curve" from its position at the beginning of side four and make it the album closer. It might be a more exciting song to finish the set, but folks who already know this album expect "Take Me to the River" to be the end, and it's a bit jarring to have the music continue after that (understanding this, the liner notes actually explain how to program the original album sequencing). However, that's a very minor quibble about a re-release that actually manages to vastly improve on an already excellent album. The liner notes also include a number of reviews of T-Heads live shows, and they wisely chose to reproduce all the band photos that originally decorated the inner sleeves as well. The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads is not only a vital document of an important, groundbreaking band on its way up, it's one of Talking Heads' best albums, easily surpassing Stop Making Sense. They were a young and hungry band making a name for themselves, pushing the boundaries of pop music and performing with palpable energy. Highly recommended. ~ Sean Westergaard

Rolling Stone (p.147) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[S]howing off not only the Heads' acerbic intelligence but their flesh-and-blood force and humor." Entertainment Weekly (p.127) - "[A] gem....This two-disc set captures the punk attitude, brittle R&B vamps, and quirky lyrical trips of their early years." - Grade: A Uncut (p.130) - 5 stars out of 5 - "[T]errifically thorough....[With] a previously unreleased and mesmeric nine-minute 'Born Under Punches'." Magnet (p.97) - "[M]uch richer than 1984's STOP MAKING SENSE, capturing the concert highlights of a and that's wilder, fiercer and more soulful onstage than on any of its studio albums." Mojo (Publisher) (p.127) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[A]n admirable document of the Talking Heads' in-concert evolution from jittery, lean new wave to powerhouse post-punk-funk."

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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