Talking Heads will release a Super Deluxe reissue of their second studio album, More Songs About Buildings and Food. The expanded version of the influential New Wave band’s groundbreaking 1978 album is due out on July 25.
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The arrival of the More Songs About Buildings and Food reissue marks the start of a yearlong celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Talking Heads’ formation. The Super Deluxe Edition of the album will be available in multiple formats and configurations.
One version of the Super Deluxe reissue features three CDs and a Blu-ray disc. The first CD offers a newly remastered version of More Songs About Buildings and Food. The second CD is an 11-track collection featuring alternate versions of most of the tracks from the album, as well as the non-album instrumental “Electricity.” Four of the alternate takes are previously unreleased. The third CD features a previously unreleased recording of an August 1978 show at Entermedia Theatre in New York City.
The Blu-ray boasts Dolby Atmos and 5.1 surround-sound mixes of More Songs by Talking Heads guitarist/keyboardist Jerry Harrison and the late studio engineer E.T. Thorngren. The disc also includes a high-res stereo mix of the album. In addition, the Blu-ray features video footage from the Entermedia Theatre concert and a September 1978 show Talking Heads played at the University of California, Berkeley.
The package also includes a 60-page hardcover book featuring rare photos and new liner notes with recollections from David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Harrison.
An unreleased alternate version of the song “Found a Job” from the reissue has been made available as an advance digital track.
Other Versions of the Reissue
A four-LP vinyl edition of the Super Deluxe reissue of More Songs About Buildings and Food also will be released. It also features the remastered album, the alternate takes, and th August 1978 live recording. A special edition of the vinyl box set available exclusively at TalkingHeadsOfficial.com comes packaged with four bonus 7-inch vinyl singles. The discs are replicas of the U.S., U.K., and Japanese versions of the Talking Heads’ “Take Me to the River” single, plus a reproduction of “The Good Thing” single issued in the Netherlands.
A two-LP Deluxe Edition of the reissue will be available as well, featuring the remastered album and a selection of alternate takes. The standard version will be pressed on black vinyl, while a red-vinyl pressing will be available at TakingHeadsOfficial.com and select independent retailers.
You can pre-order the More Songs About Buildings and Food reissue now.
More About More Songs About Buildings and Food
More Songs About Buildings and Food was the first of three Talking Heads albums produced or co-produced by Brian Eno. The album included the Talking Heads’ aforementioned cover of the 1974 Al Green song. The song became the group’s first major charting hit, peaking at No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The album, meanwhile, reached No. 21 on the Billboard 200. It went on to be certified gold by the RIAA for sales of 500,000 copies in the U.S.
More Songs About Buildings and Food was recorded at Island Records founder Chris Blackwell’s then-new Compass Point Studios near Nassau in the Bahamas.
Frantz recalls that one of the significant contributions Eno made to the sessions was suggesting that the band play “Take Me to the River” more slowly.
“We were used to playing the song at a pretty fast tempo like Al Green’s original, but we gave it a go,” Chris noted. “After several takes, we got what he was looking for, and everyone loved his treatment of the snare drum. This song became our first radio hit.”
More Songs About Buildings and Food (Super Deluxe Edition) CD Track List (* = previously unreleased):
CD One: Original Album (2025 Remaster)
- “Thank You for Sending Me an Angel”
- “With Our Love”
- “The Good Thing”
- “Warning Sign”
- “The Girls Want to Be with the Girls”
- “Found a Job”
- “Artists Only”
- “I’m Not in Love”
- “Stay Hungry”
- “Take Me to the River”
- “The Big Country”
CD Two: Rarities
- “Thank You for Sending Me an Angel” (Alternate Version)
- “With Our Love” (Alternate Version)*
- “Found a Job” (Alternate Version)*
- “The Good Thing” (Alternate Version)*
- “Warning Sign” (Alternate Version)
- “Electricity” (Instrumental)
- “The Girls Want to Be with the Girls” (Alternate Version) *
- “I’m Not in Love” (Alternate Version)
- “Artists Only” (Alternate Version)
- “The Big Country” (Alternate Version)
- “Thank You for Sending Me an Angel” (“Country Angel” Version)
CD Three: Live at Entermedia Theater, New York, NY (August 10, 1978)
- “No Compassion”*
- “Warning Sign”*
- “The Book I Read”*
- “Stay Hungry”*
- “Artists Only”*
- “The Girls Want to Be with the Girls”*
- “Uh-Oh, Loves Comes to Town”*
- “With Our Love”*
- “Love Goes to a Building on Fire”*
- “Don’t Worry About the Government”*
- “The Good Thing”*
- “Electricity”*
- “The Big Country”*
- “New Feeling”*
- “Pulled Up”*
- “Psycho Killer”*
- “Take Me to the River”*
- “Found a Job”*
- “Thank You for Sending Me an Angel”*
(Photo by Tom Hill/WireImage)
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