gdogus

Noj: Just to echo what others have said... Early: More Songs About Buildings and Food Middle: Remain in Light Late: Little Creatures Given the affection you've expressed elsewhere (I think) for world music, I advise going for Remain in Light first. Early Talking Heads is edgy, nervous art school rock. Middle-period Talking Heads is edgy nervousness channeled through a giant AFRO ROCK FUNK MACHINE. Later Talking Heads is edgy, nervous pop craft at its finest. The Name of This Band is Talking Heads captures the first two phases in separate live capsules - a wondrous bag of riches.

A good, honest question. My answer? The Name of This Band is Talking Heads is one of the greatest live albums of all time, in any genre. It was mind-blowing in its original release configuration, and we're all anticipating that the wealth of material added to this first-ever CD release will push it over the top. I was in college when this album was first released, and played it an awful lot, alongside my beloved jazz and Grateful Dead. All Music Guide gets it about right in their review... Review by Sean Westergaard Although most people probably think the only Talking Heads live release is Stop Making Sense, the fact is that there's an earlier, better live album called The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads. Originally released in 1982 on LP and cassette, the album chronicles the growth of the band, both stylistically and personnel-wise. The first LP is the original quartet version of the band, recorded between 1977 and 1979, performing excellent versions of tunes (mostly) off 77 and More Songs About Buildings and Food. Also included were the previously unavailable "A Clean Break" and "Love Goes to a Building on Fire," as well as early versions of "Memories Can't Wait" and "Air." The second LP comes from the Remain in Light tour, recorded in 1980 and 1981. In order to present something close to the music on that album, the original quartet lineup was greatly expanded. Added were two percussionists (Steven Stanley, Jose Rossy), two backup singers (Nona Hendryx, Dollette McDonald), Busta Cherry Jones on bass, Bernie Worrell (!) on keys, and a young Adrian Belew on lead guitar. The excitement of this material is palpable, and the muscular band rips into these tunes with more power than the originals in most cases. "Drugs" gets revamped for live performance, and "Houses in Motion kicks into high gear with a great art-funk coda. Belew is absolutely on fire throughout, especially on "The Great Curve" and "Crosseyed and Painless," where his deranged feedback soloing has never sounded better. At this point in their career, Talking Heads were still basically an underground band; it was "Burning Down the House" that really thrust them into the mainstream, and Stop Making Sense documents their arrival as a more or less mainstream act. The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads captures a hungry band on its way up, performing with a fire that was never matched on later tours. Unfortunately, The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads remained unavailable on compact disc for years, which is a shame since it's arguably one of their finest releases.

Just ordered. Like y'all, I've been waiting a looooong time for this one...

Just ordered from CD Universe via the Jazzmatazz site... and Thanks for the tips, guys!

Can we really be well into the third page of this thread without anyone having mentioned Brad Mehldau's name? Not new, not fresh, known to all, of course. I just thought it was in defiance of some serious odds.

Well, thanks for stopping by, man! Yeah, yeah - we'll see each other again soon, 'k? Really. Buh-bye.

Right - the song was included on the original two LP set, but left off of the US CD issue, for reasons that passeth understanding.

Anybody check this out yet? I posted it up here because it was so different from any other Grateful Dead I had previously heard. Gotta love archive.org. Sure did - and you're right, it's really very different from most Dead sets. Thanks for the link! For more unusual Dead, I recommend the (official) live acoustic album Reckoning. It's one of Brent Mydland's earlier gigs with the band. Absolutely gorgeous work from everybody.

BFrank - Floored Genius is a good collection, for sure! That, and Cope's very great album Peggy Suicide, are pretty much all one needs by him, IMO.

Lon - what gave me away?!?

Um...yeah. Deadhead here. My journey started in 1978. I was 16. Saw bunches of shows 1978-86, my last July 4, 1986, two or three days before Jerry went into a diabetic coma and scared the hell out of everyone. This was also my daughter's first show (in utero). But she, now 17 and quite the little hippie chick, did catch The Dead at Bonaroo last month. She thought they were terrific. Ah, the circle of life. I opted out of shows mainly because I got sidetracked by other areas of my life, but I've always sought out recordings. Those of you into the digital download thing will definitely want to check out the ETree Live Music Archive, a HUGE repository of free live music recordings, offered up with the blessings of the artists. They're currently hosting hundreds of Dead shows.

Me? I love this band, especially the Potter/Eubanks/Nelson front line. Would love to see them live.

A trip to the used CD shop today yielded: ... Thelonious Monk - Live at the It Club: Complete ....... Horace Silver - Song for My Father I'm spinning the Monk right now, and I'm already wondering how I got along without it. I expect to have the same reaction to the Silver disc. Any bets?

See, and the thing is, I had the most amazing insight about Wynton Marsalis yesterday - it really would have changed everyone's thinking about him, rearranging lines of discussion, redefining the terms of debate... But I couldn't post it, and now I forget now what it was. The world shall never know.

I'm with you Stefan. Should I suddenly win a billion dollars, then maybe I'll get the thing. Otherwise, I've got other things to spend my money on. Like rent. Okay, but there's no need to get self righteous about it. There's a market for this release, and you don't belong to that market. It's not a personal insult, after all. I myself never got around to picking up London Calling on CD, so I'll grab this version. You don't have to. So, what's the problem?

Now that's an exciting prospect!

Grateful Dead - Dick's Picks, Volume 7 (from our own Jazzbo - thanks, Lon!) and... Cannonball Adderley Sextet - In New York

Hot (low 90s) and muggy as hell.

White, methinks. Heavy cotton.

. . .

Agreed - put me down. Large or maybe XL. I'm also in favor of the small, unadorned circle on the front, and the large image-with-text on the back.

Rush, you say? Heck yeah!!

Italo Calvino - If on a Winter's Night a Traveler