Just got the CD release of this album last week. Been cranking it every day, can't get over how great it is. Anyone else have it? If not, get it!

Is it live?

Yes. Recorded at various venues between 1977 and 1984. Killer stuff.

especially the stuff from the first two albums ...what a great friggin' weirdo byrne was back then

It's an expanded version of the original 2LP set. It was kind of cheesy when it came out because it followed closely on the heels of "Stop Making Sense," itself a live album which was obstensibly a movie soundtrack.

Yes, I know Stop Making Sense. So good, (and funny). And what a good lead guitarist D Byrne was.

Both are excellent. Wouldn't it be nice if the
stones would rerelease their live with bonus
and extended tracks?

The complete CD of "Stop Making Sense" is quite enough for me. David Byrne is one notch below Missy Miss Bono in the self-important-hug-a-tree-save-the-wairld WHERE'S MY PRIVATE JET? finals.

The thing I really like about The Stones is that they don't take themselves too seriously.

Anybody above in this post is more than welcome to burn me a copy of this CD and I'll tell ya what I think. David Byrne, a lead guitarist, eh? Gracious me! Is there anything he CAHN'T do? ;`?

"The wonder of Jimi Hendrix was that he could stand up at all he was so pumped full of drugs." Patsy, Patsy Stone

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 über-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.

(from allmusic.com)

----------------------------
"Music is the frozen tapioca in the ice chest of history."

"Shit!... No shit, awright!"

That was excellent reading. You MUST be a music critic.

I'll buy that.

Highly critical of a lot of music, but no music critic! Not untalented with the old scissors..


----------------------------
"Music is the frozen tapioca in the ice chest of history."

"Shit!... No shit, awright!"

Nice review, Greg. You're right -- it's the brilliant guitars that really make the album shine. Anyone who loves the Stones because of their guitar work should get this album. It's very Stones-like in that respect, imo.

-- Keep on rollin'. Keep on. Keep on. Keep on. --

Greg,

After reading your review, I wanna acquire the discs!!!!!

"The wonder of Jimi Hendrix was that he could stand up at all he was so pumped full of drugs." Patsy, Patsy Stone

I like what you say Greg but
it sometimes reads a bit too much like
hype, which I must admit has confused me about
your intent in the past. Anyway, thanks for this review.

BTW space is not a premium in cyberspace, so if one
indents, and clips the lines half way or whatever,
is easier to read, eyes going both across and
down the screen. Just a thought.

Geez, now I really AM flattered! Yes, the review is great but it's not mine (scissors! - better had named the source on top of the post instead of below). Check out this link:

[www.allmusic.com]

and bookmark allmusic.com. Excellent site, ideal for navigating. Ever knew Nicky Hopkins appeared on a couple of Julio Iglesias' albums?





----------------------------
"Music is the frozen tapioca in the ice chest of history."

"Shit!... No shit, awright!"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2005-02-06 22:42 by Greg.

You find this more pleasing to the eye?...

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 semi-
underground 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
rilliantly 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 über-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.

(from allmusic.com)


----------------------------
"Music is the frozen tapioca in the ice chest of history."

"Shit!... No shit, awright!"

Ha ha -a lot easier to read!

No, it's harder to read........but more pleasing to the eye.

I myself find it hard going back and
forth with my eyes across the full screen,
and really there's no need for it, not
like were wasting paper, short of
space or anything....

Well, look at it this way......if the lines are longer then you don't need to keep moving your eyes back to the next line so often, do you?

Well, look at
it this way....
....if the
lines are lon-
ger then you
don't need to
keep moving
your eyes back
to the next
line so often,
do you?

Indeed. And btw, davido, what you mean with "hype" in the review and my "intent in the past" completely eludes me.

----------------------------
"Music is the frozen tapioca in the ice chest of history."

"Shit!... No shit, awright!"

It kick ass!! i was a dedicated follower of the talking heads!