Disco de Talking Heads: “Talking Heads '77 [Remaster]”

Amazon's track listing is incomplete. Here is the full list:

CD SIDE

1. Uh-Oh, Love Comes To Town

2. New Feeling

3. Tentative Decisions

4. Happy Day

5. Who Is It?

6. No Compassion

7. The Book I Read

8. Don't Worry About The Government

9. First Week/Last Week...Carefree

10. Psycho Killer

11. Pulled Up

BONUS CD TRACKS

12. Love - Building On Fire

13. I Wish You Wouldn't Say That

14. Psycho Killer (Acoustic)

15. I Feel It In My Heart

16. Sugar On My Tongue

DVD SIDE

1. Uh-Oh, Love Comes To Town

2. New Feeling

3. Tentative Decisions

4. Happy Day

5. Who Is It?

6. No Compassion

7. The Book I Read

8. Don't Worry About The Government

9. First Week/Last Week...Carefree

10. Psycho Killer

11. Pulled Up

BONUS DVD TRACKS

12. Psycho Killer (Acoustic)

13. Uh-Oh, Love Comes To Town (Alternate Mix)

Additionally the DVD side contains two videos, "Pulled Up" recorded live in 1978 and "I Feel It In My Heart" recorded live in 1976. There is also a photo gallery.

I have not had any of the problems some people are having with DualDisc titles. Both sides play flawlessly in my Panasonic DVD player model number DVD-RV32. This is a cheap player I've had for 2 or 3 years. Since it is a standard DVD player, I can't play the DVD-A tracks. I can, however, play the Dolby 5.1 Surround tracks and they sound very good. You can also select Dolby Stereo from the DVD menu if you want. The CD side plays with no problems in my Denon CD-changer which I've had for about 10 years.

A warning about DualDisc: don't play in slot loading drives such as car players and some computers. The disc is thicker and may get stuck, get scratched or not play properly. My MacMini falls in that category. Fortunately, I have an external Lacie DVD burner which plays back both sides with no problems. I was also able to rip the CD side to iTunes.

I am new to this album, but after one listen it sounds like I am really going to like it. The acoustic version of Psycho Killer is a real treat with string instruments used extensively on this amazing bonus track.

I'm not interested in whether this disc can play properly or not! Let's talk about the music here! As a debut, Talking Heads did a pretty good job. It's definitely one of their more sparse recordings and does not have many layers like their later work.

The cd side is digitally remastered. So how does it compare to the old "'77" cd? A major improvement. However, there are no lyrics to the songs like on the old copy. There are liner notes from various musicians who appreciate Talking Heads as well as a note from Jerry Harrison about how he and Andy Zax remixed the album into 5.1 surround sound.

Which brings me to the dvd side. It's quite amazing to listen to "'77" through five speakers digitally remastered. You feel like you're in the studio with the band. The two bonus tracks are okay but nothing special. The two videos are okay. It's nice for someone like me to watch them since I missed the opportunity to see the band live. The 5.1 surround sound is excellent, but because this album is two dimensional sonically it doesn't quite compare with "Fear Of Music" or "Remain In Light".

Okay, onto the music. As I said, this a good debut, but not great, and not their best work. It does contain the classic "Psycho Killer". It also has "No Compassion", "Uh-Oh, Love Comest To Town", "Tentative Decisions", "The Book I Read", "First Week/Last Week...Carefree" and "Pulled Up". In the bonus track department three tracks "Love --> Building On Fire", "I Wish You Wouldn't Say That" and "Sugar On My Tongue" all appeared on 1992's "Sand In The Vaseline". I particularly like "Sugar On My Tongue".

For an album that came out nearly 30 years ago, "'77" holds up very well. Talking Heads were always ahead of their time and a true original. The digital remastering on the cd side is great, but you really need to listen to the dvd side and hear the album in 5.1 surround sound to be blown away. I'm a little annoyed by the expensive price tag to replace my old copy. I really think it should be $9.99, but then Rhino wouldn't make any money. If you really like the Talking Heads like I do, you will shell out the extra cash to get all eight albums digitally remastered. I wish they had included "Stop Making Sense" in 5.1 surround sound dual disc format!

Heavily fractured through a prism of art school irony and minimalism, all David Byrne ever really wanted to be was a pop star, a status he would only (semi-)attain a decade later when he slapped on the Big Suit. But, way back in '77, with a nod to pop instrumentalist Sergio Mendes, this album was the frankest manifesto of that aspiration. Its incredibly catchy songs defy you not to sing along in your own full-throated, geeky-gawky glory after about the second listen. If you think I'm a bit far-fetched, watch Byrne's only outing as a film director, True Stories, in which the common folk of Virgil, Texas, the General Public that Byrne is gently ribbing, nevertheless manage to gather for a night of karaoke and belt out.... a Talking Heads rocker. Even now, 30 years later, I still know all the words. Even then, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth were beginning their three-LP run as the greatest rhythm section of rock's post-punk era.

But five stars for the album and the noticeably better sound. I had a very difficult time playing this album, much less converting it to mp3 files. Out of three computer cd players, the disc only played in one, a Toshiba that came with my office Dell. It didn't work on my Plextor or Sony players at home. Of three stereo cd players, it only played on one. When I was able to use the cd burner, I burned a new disc, which played just fine in all players. I don't know if this is because the disc is Dual Disc or what.

My point is that if you have problems, keep on trying. It is worth it for these remastered Talking Heads discs.