Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I guess those people have fun with their neighbors and friends., January 26, 2006
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.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
4 1/2 stars-- the "second debut" with Brian Eno., February 21, 2006
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.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thankyou for sending me a surround sound remaster., April 10, 2006
Stop whingeing the lot of you! These remasters are brilliant. The Digipacks are fine. Maybe like me you'll want to put them in plastic sleeves to keep them pristine, but unless you treat all your possesions like dirt then they will last your lifetime. If the Dualdiscs aren't working in your gear then it's time to upgrade. The stereo remasters are as they should be, sounding full and rich and clear. I always held the 'More Songs...' album down a peg or two on my list of Heads favourites because sonically it seemed thin and weak, but not anymore! By returning to the multi-track tapes the 5.1 Surround Sound remixes have put the meat back on the skeleton. What a gem. Sometimes in surround mixes you can pick out individual sounds to the detriment of the overall blend and the ear feels let down by discovering the secret ingredients, but in the Talking Heads remixes some of those sounds are even more interesting in isolation but still entwine with everything else to preserve the intention of the stereo mix. How lucky we are to live in these times when technology allows us to listen to great music that's nearly 30 years old and have it sound better than it ever has! And aren't we lucky to be fans of a band called Talking Heads.
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