Just in time for the band’s 50th anniversary this year, Talking Heads will reissue their Brian Eno-produced 1978 sophomore album, More Songs About Buildings and Food, in deluxe editions July 25 from Rhino Records. A previously unreleased alternate version of “Found a Job” from the set is out now.
Fans will be treated to three other unheard versions of album tracks, while an Aug. 1978 concert at New York’s Entermedia Theatre is included as a Blu-ray with Dolby Atmos, 5.1 surround sound and high resolution stereo mixes. Click here to explore the LP and CD variants, which include a four-LP version with four bonus international seven-inch singles from the era.
More from Spin:
- Bruce Springsteen Boosts Mexican ‘Soldaderas’ On ‘Adelita’
- Pavement Returning To Headline Levitation Fest
- Clipse ‘Sort Out’ First Album In 16 Years
More Songs About Building and Food was one of the first albums to be recorded at Island Records chief Chris Blackwell’s Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas. “To our great relief, [Eno] realized we were a tight live band at this point, so it made sense to record us all playing together in the studio,” frontman David Byrne recalls. “We weren’t all that comfortable in a recording studio, so this arrangement made us comfortable and put us at ease.”
The album’s atypical biggest hit, a cover of Al Green’s “Take Me to the River,” almost didn’t make it to tape in the version fans came to love. “We were used to playing the song at a pretty fast tempo like Al Green’s original, but we gave it a go [in a slower speed],” recalls drummer Chris Frantz. “After several takes, we got what [Eno] was looking for, and everyone loved his treatment of the snare drum. This song became our first radio hit.”
More Songs About Building and Food also spawned favorites such as “Artists Only” and “Stay Hungry” and is well-known for its Polaroid mosaic cover photo. “David took the pictures of Chris, Jerry [Harrison] and me, while I took the pictures of David,” says bassist Tina Weymouth. “We used a close-up attachment and a red cloth for the backdrop. It was shot on the roof above Chris’s and my Long Island City loft. I still have that camera!”
Further surprises are planned this year to celebrate the 50th anniversary milestone. Byrne also appears to have his first post-American Utopia album percolating, although details have yet to be announced.
To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.
