Search - Talking Heads :: Talking Heads: More Songs About Buildings and Food

I guess those people have fun with their neighbors and frien

Jason Stein | San Diego, CA United States | 01/27/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Talking Heads didn't make a classic album with "More Songs About Buildings And Food", but they were working on it. This digitally remastered dual disc greatly improves the sound quality from the old cd version.



The cd side sounds great in stereo, but it's the dvd side that will knock your socks off. When you hear "Thank You For Sending Me An Angel" in 5.1 surround sound it's like hearing it for the first time again. The other great tracks on this album are "The Good Thing", "Warning Sign", "Artists Only", "Take Me To The River" and "The Big Country". The dvd side also includes two live videos which is good if you missed seeing the Talking Heads in concert like myself.



The four bonus tracks are all marked previously unreleased, and I know I've never heard these versions of four songs from this album. I actually liked the '77 version of "Stay Hungry". The alternate version of "I'm Not In Love" does nothing to improve the song, and the alternate version of "The Big Country" is more stripped down than the original, which didn't do much for me. The alternate version of "Thank You For Sending Me An Angel" is likewise uninteresting.



The booklet comes with praises by different popular musicians and a note about the 5.1 remixing process by Jerry Harrison. The lyrics are not included like in the old cd version which I think was an oversight. The price of this remastered dual disc is steep and really ought to be more like $9.99.



All in all, worth rebuying if you're a true Heads fan like myself."

Dual Discs are horrible

CP | 12/31/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Talking Heads are great, but the Dual Disc format is really really lame. The Dual Disc is to thick to work on every CD player/CD drive. I tried it on my PC and it works some of the time and never on my laptop. It does work all the time in my dvd player and normal cd player. It works in my car but has trouble being ejected all the way (because of the thickness). If you are going to buy a dual disc I would suggest trying to make a copy to a normal disc ASAP, if you can. I don't understand the use for this format. If they want to include DVD audio/ video extras just put it on an extra disc. Also one side of the disc is always exposed so scratches can pile up real quick. The Dual Disc format is just not worth the hassle. 0 for dual disc format, 5 for Talking Heads."

4 1/2 stars-- the "second debut" with Brian Eno.

Michael Stack | North Chelmsford, MA USA | 02/21/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After hitting the ground running with their stunning debut, the Talking Heads decided to enlist the assistance of Brian Eno for their second album, "MOre Songs About Buildings and Food". In all likelihood, this was a wise move-- following up a debut as fresh and superb as "Talking Heads '77" was a difficult task, and in Eno they had someone who could grow their music. The partnership would last through the next two Talking Heads albums, a collaborative effort between Eno and Byrne ("My Life in the Bush of Ghosts") and Byrne's "Catherine Wheel". The one thing that's pretty much consistent throughout is that the union of Byrne and Eno produces high results.



In many ways, all Eno did was encourage natural outgrowth from the last album-- certainly the debut record was a quirky and timeless effort and more than a superb springboard to work from and pieces such as "Stay Hungry" (in fact originally attempted for the debut left unused) and "Artists Only" recall the best of '77'. But Eno also seemed to encourage more diversity, pushing the band in a number of different directiosn-- opener "Thank You for Sending An Angel" uses march rhythms and high energy, "With Our Love" hints at Eastern European sounds and the Ramones, "Warning Sign" bubbles with a frantic power that sounds like the successor to Eno's "Third Uncle" and the cover of Al Green's "Take Me to the River" slinks into a deep organ groove with Byrne bringing a quite unexpected vocal to the table for the gospel-infused monster (and proved to be the first major exposure the band got). But perhaps closer "The Big Country" is the best of all of them-- Byrne sinks into a more calm and melancholy delivery over a laid back and yet somehow still energetic groove. Like the debut, there's some less than fantastic material, but even that is very listenable ("Found a Job").



This reissue is in the dualdisc format with both the CD side and the 5.1 DVD audio side remastered to provide a crisp, clean sound that is a huge step forward from the early '90s issues of these albums. Additionally, both sides are augmented with bonus tracks-- four unused alternates (including the 1977 recording of "Stay Hungry") on the CD side and two live video clips on the DVD side. All in all, a quite worthwhile upgrade.



The collaboration between Brian Eno and the Talking Heads would continue to yield superb results-- in many ways, this is as much a debut as the previous album was, and like the debut, is equally essential. Recommended."