The Best of Talking Heads

by Talking Heads, Wally Badarou, Jon Hassell

Overview

Essentially a careful distillation of the somewhat unwieldy Once in a Lifetime box set, this disc provides an ideal primer for those interested in exploring new wave's smartest band -- and a fine one-stop for the already converted. The 18 songs here stretch back to the Heads' nascence as a trio -- represented by the chirping, insistent "Love -- Building on Fire" -- with stops at every turn in the band's long and winding career. Naturally, that means you'll find staples such as "Psycho Killer" and the dense, rough-hewn "Life During Wartime," but also present are less ubiquitous tracks, including the dreamy "Heaven" and the sun-dappled "Girlfriend Is Better." If you're looking for off-the-wall finds or archival nuggets, this isn't the place to find 'em, but if a dose of brain food -- with a long, cool, butt-moving chaser -- is your pleasure, The Best of Talking Heads delivers the goods in spades.

Product Details

Release Date:	08/17/2004
Label:	Rhino
UPC:	0081227648824
catalogNumber:	76488
Rank:	5797

Tracks

1. Love --> Building on Fire
2. Psycho Killer
3. Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town
4. Take Me to the River
5. Found a Job
6. Life During Wartime
7. Heaven
8. Memories Can't Wait
9. Once in a Lifetime
10. Houses in Motion
11. This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)
12. Girlfriend Is Better
13. Burning Down the House
14. Road to Nowhere
15. and She Was
16. Wild Wild Life
17. Blind
18. (Nothing But) Flowers

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Talking Heads   Primary Artist
Wally Badarou   Synthesizer,Conga,Keyboards
Jon Hassell   Trumpet
Mory Kanté   Kora
Naná Vasconcelos   Percussion
Adrian Belew   Guitar
David Byrne   Bass,Guitar,Percussion,Keyboards,Vocals,Bells,Synthesizer Drums
Jerry Harrison   Organ,Synthesizer,Bass,Guitar,Percussion,Piano,Keyboards,Hammond Organ,Vocals,Background Vocals
Kirsty MacColl   Background Vocals
Robert Palmer   Percussion
Bernie Worrell   Synthesizer
Robin Eubanks   Trombone
Nona Hendryx   Background Vocals
Gordon Grody   Background Vocals
Erin Dickens   Background Vocals
Brian Eno   Organ,Synthesizer,Bass,Guitar,Percussion,Piano,Keyboards,Background Vocals
Chris Frantz   Synthesizer,Percussion,Drums,Keyboards,Tambourine,Background Vocals
Laurie Frink   Trumpet
Earl Gardner   Trumpet
Diva Gray   Background Vocals
Lani Groves   Background Vocals
Stan Harrison   Alto Saxophone
Abdou M'Boup   Conga,cowbell,talking drum
Johnny Marr   12-string Guitar
Yves N'Djock   Guitar
Lenny Pickett   Saxophone,Tenor Saxophone
Jose Rossy   Percussion
Steve Scales   Percussion
David Van Tieghem   Percussion
Brice Wassy   Shaker
Tina Weymouth   Synthesizer,Bass,Guitar,Percussion,Keyboards,Background Vocals,String Bass
Gene Wilder   Conga
Andrew Cader   Washboard
Steve Elfon   Baritone Saxophone
Jimmy Macdonell   Accordion
Ellen Bernfeld   Background Vocals
Ari Wilder   Conga
Kurt Yahijian   Background Vocals

Technical Credits

Jon Hassell   Horn Arrangements
David Byrne   Composer
Green   Composer
Jerry Harrison   Composer
Talking Heads   Producer,Audio Production
Moby   Author
Joe Barbaria   Engineer
Tony Bongiovi   Producer,Audio Production
Hugh Brown   Art Direction
Rhett Davies   Engineer
Brian Eno   Composer,Producer,Audio Production
James Farber   Engineer
Chris Frantz   Composer
Mabon "Teenie" Hodges   Composer
Dave Jerden   Engineer
Butch Jones   Engineer
Ira Kaplan   Author
Steve Lillywhite   Producer
Richard Manwaring   Engineer
Yves N'Djock   Composer
Jack Nuber   Engineer
Rod O'Brien   Engineer
Lenny Pickett   Horn Arrangements
Kate Pierson   Author
Johnny Potoker   Engineer
Lance Quinn   Producer,Horn Arrangements
Tommy Ramone   Audio Production
Alex Sadkin   Engineer
Dave Schools   Author
Ed Stasium   Engineer
Eric "ET" Thorngren   Engineer
Mark Wallis   Engineer
Tina Weymouth   Composer
Neal Teeman   Engineer
Douglas McCombs   Author
Brad Baker   Horn Arrangements
Fernando Kral   Engineer
Nick Delre   Engineer
El-P   Author
Stephen Stanley   Engineer
Matt Safer   Author
Dustin Hawthorne   Author
Neil Selkirk   Inlay Photography

Editorial Reviews

Rhino's -- or, more accurately, Sire/Warner/Rhino's -- Best of Talking Heads follows 2003's box set Once in a Lifetime by a year, and it features the same remastering from that set. It also shares part of a title with the 1992 U.K. compilation The Best of Talking Heads: Once in a Lifetime, which was released the same year as the American double-disc overview Popular Favorites: Sand in the Vaseline. Given the similar titles, similar release dates, and similar track listings, it's easy to get confused at first, but all you need to know is that if you're looking for a comprehensive collection, get the Rhino box, and if you want a disc of hits, get this single-disc Rhino collection. Not that the 2004 Best of Talking Heads has every hit or well-known song -- "I Zimbra," "Born Under Punches," "Crosseyed and Painless," "Swamp," and "Stay Up Late" could all have been here and all are missed -- but at 18 tracks, this is a generous compilation and draws a better portrait of the band than not just the 1992 single-disc compilation, but arguably the patchwork Popular Favorites as well. For the casual fan, this is likely all they'll need to have, and for others, it's a good place to get acquainted with the band.

All Music Guide - Stephen Thomas Erlewine