Today is the last stop on our tour of 1979, and it's a doozy. Let's go to Nov. 17 at the 3,200-seat Capitol Theatre in Passaic, N.J. The venue was torn down two decades ago, but I have read many good things about it. Talking Heads are wrapping up a lengthy U.S. tour here, and the show will be recorded to become part of the live double album
'The Name of the Band is Talking Heads.' This is, perhaps, my all-time favorite live album. The band will forever be remembered for another live album, the commercial juggernaut
'Stop Making Sense,' and that recording certainly has its charms, but 'The Name of the Band is Talking Heads' chronicles tours from 1977-1981. So, the defense rests.
If I could only have one Talking Heads album, I would choose
'More Songs About Buildings and Food.' I prefer that sound to when the band expanded to a 10 piece on the road in 1980 and 1981. Here are a couple from of my favorites from that era. If you have never owned 'The Name of the Band is Talking Heads' and can't find it used on vinyl somewhere, I highly recommend the reissue Rhino helped put out in 2004. The two-disc set significantly expands the running time from 73 minutes to a whopping 141, and the evolution from tour to tour is something to behold.
Talking Heads - Artists Only (Live) (mp3)
Talking Heads - Stay Hungry (Live) (mp3)
6 comments:
I was a bit young for the '79 tour, but the Stop Making Sense show in Buffalo is one of the finest performances I've seen. Sometimes I feel like Talking Heads are one of the most under rated American bands. So powerful and diverse in their sounds.
Hi Someone Said. Very cool. Don't get me wrong, I would like to be able to say I saw them when you did. I never saw them (guessing I'm just a hair younger than you), and they are one of my biggies. I stuck with Talking Heads to the very end, but I really love the early albums. Do you have a favorite?
I think you are right, The Name Of This Band is a very very fine album
Love it too, George. Greatest start ever... Byrne says in a great deadpan voice: "The name of this song is New Feeling. That's what it's about."
Never saw Talking Heads, but one of my first concerts was at the Capitol Theater, about four months later: Cheap Trick. Fabulous show, and while I can't remember the venue that clearly, I recall thinking it was very cool.
Hi Brett. I bet that was a great show. What a time to see them. Cheap Trick at Budokan was technically released in '79 here in America, but the shows were in April of '78. Otherwise, that would have made a nice trip in the time machine while I was in 1979.
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