Carnegie Hall will host “The Music of David Byrne & Talking Heads” on March 23rd. The performing artists will be announced at a later date. The show will serve as a benefit for music education programs serving underprivileged youth put on by Michael Dorf. Past tribute shows have included the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, R.E.M., Paul Simon and Prince.
Each year, impresario Michael Dorf puts together an eclectic and well-rounded lineup of performers to pay tribute to a legend at New York City’s historic Carnegie Hall. We’re very excited to see that Carnegie Hall has announcedthe 2015 installment will pay tribute to The Music Of David Byrne & Talking Heads. If past announcements are any guide look for the initial list of performers to drop early in January. Proceeds will benefit music education programs serving underprivileged youth.
There are so many possibilities for this concert. We’d love to see The Roots tackle “Life During Wartime,” Phish welcomed to switch it up by covering “Burning Down The House” (last played at Vernon Downs in 1998), The Wood Brothers perform “Heaven,” Aaron Neville on “Take Me To The River,” Felice Brothers shake up “Girlfriend Is Better” or Patti Smith sing “Heaven.” We can’t wait to see what Dorf has in store.
From the dvd “Chronology” a rare live presentation in New York on 1976. Taken from the album “More Songs About Buildings and Food” is the second studio album by the American indie rock band Talking Heads, released in July 1978 and the first of a string of three co-produced byBrian Eno.The album was significantly more popular than their first, Talking Heads: 77. The band’s blend of funky basslines,and mixtures of influences, along with David Byrne‘sunique voice, established the group as a critical success known for their live shows, but still to start with disappointing album sales.
Talking Heads have made this excellent live set availabe through their webpage or through You Tube ,Recorded at the State Theatre, Sydney, Australia – June 8, 1979.
This great live set captures Talking Heads at The Park West, in Chicago, in 1978. After playing a selection of showcases in Europe at the start of the year – and taking time-out to record their second album in the Bahamas – the group were amidst a tour criss-crossing the USA from New York to Los Angeles. Talking Heads have their origins in a Providence, Rhode Island band called The Artistics, formed in 1974. True to their name, founder members DavidByrne (vocals, guitar) and Chris Frantz (drums) were students of the School of Design there, as was Frantz’s girlfriend, Tina Weymouth. The band quickly folded and all three moved to New York together. Tina was persuaded to learn bass; achieved – apparently – by listening to Suzi Quattro albums! Now known as Talking Heads, the trio soon secured their debut gig as support to the Ramones, at the CBGB’s in mid-1975. The band was signed by Seymour Stein’s Sire Records and released their debut single, the intriguingly entitled “Love Goes toBuilding on Fire” in February 1977. Talking Heads took a more oblique, avant-garde approach to their music. They were definitely New Wave rather than Punk. After their first single, the group immediately expanded the line-up, adding Jerry Harrison (previously with Jonathan Richman’s Modern Lovers) on keyboards, guitar and backing vocals. Their debut album, Talking Heads: 77 was released in September. All the songs, bar one, were written exclusively by David Byrne. The sole collaboration was the Byrne-Frantz-Weymouth number Psycho Killer, the album’s stand-out cut (first written for the The Artistics). With its insistent Psycho Killer… qu est-ce que c est hook and Weymouth’s driving bass-line, it was released as a single gained the band a huge amount of recognition and airplay over the years. Other standout cuts include the exuberant The Book I Read, the Caribbean styling of Uh-Oh Love Comes To Town and the punchy but nimble New Feeling.
The Second album “More Songs about Buildings and Food” was a more diverse – and even more successful – collection of songs. Away from the confines of New York, the album was recorded in Nassau, in the Bahamas with Brian Eno producing. A cover of Al Green s Take Me to the River was also released as a single, and exposed Talking Heads to a significantly larger audience Other standout cuts featured include, The Big Country, The Girls Want to be with the Girls and The Good Thing. This broadcast recording, which includes all three singles by then released, together with the cream of the two albums other cuts, is a superb distillation of all that made Talking Heads such a unique and remarkable band.
Available now from Amazon, these two cd set are the same show Featuring an excellent radio broadcast from Talking Heads in August 1979 when, back on home turf in Boston, Massachusetts, the band played a rip roaring set to those smart enough to have bought a ticket and those lucky enough to have been living in the greater Boston vicinity to whom local FM radio transmitted the entire proceedings. Included as bonus tracks on this disc are the two cuts the group had played on Saturday Night live a few months before, which in completion, make for a superb package of Talking Heads music from a time when this ground breaking collective were the hottest thing around and the name on every hipsters lips.
Recorded at The Berklee School of Music, Boston 24th August 1979. FM Broadcast. The 1979 TalkingHeads tour, promoting the release of their “Fear Of Music” album, would be the last to feature the stripped down quartet lineup and the first to gain them significantly more exposure in America. They had established themselves in Europe, America was just catching on to what an intriguing and captivating live band they were. one of the wildest and most memorable performances on this breakthrough tour. With the original B52’s opening this show, there was plenty of momentum before The Heads even hit the stage. This, combined with playing before an intelligent and relatively home turf audience, ignited an inspired performance. These excerpts, originally broadcast via the King Biscuit Flower Hour, capture several highlights from this memorable night. The band’s sound was clearly evolving, containing more complex rhythmic structures and song arrangements. The new songs had increasingly funny, yet even more thought-provoking lyrics. The overt awkwardness that frontman David Byrne often displayed onstage was just beginning to be perceived as the uninhibited expression that it really was, with many now dancing to it. His unusual vocal affectations were engaging and the music was clearly beginning to resonate more deeply, particularly in a live context. “Stay Hungry” begins the recording in a somewhat ominous style, with Jerry Harrison‘s keyboards adding even creepier textures than the album version. “Cities,” a track from Fear Of Music follows. It’s a galloping romp through Byrne’s stream of consciousness thoughts about city life. The last three tracks are all classics and equally fantastic performances. First up is a thoroughly engaging rendition of the non-album single side “(My Love Goes To A) Building On Fire.” The “Psycho Killer” that closes this set is outstanding, featuring Byrne firmly in the land of no self-consciousness and the entire group ripping into a wild jam with Byrne and Harrison both blazing on guitars. (Think of the heavy psychedelic fuzz guitar jam in the middle of The Chambers Brothers “Time Has Come Today” and you wouldn’t be far off). Following an ecstatic audience demanding more, they return for an encore of their unique take on Al Green’s “Take Me To The River”. Originally a gospel number, Talking Heads completely redefine the song and in the process make it their own. Shortly after this tour, Talking Heads would begin overtly expanding their musical parameters. Their studio recordings would soon reach an unparalleled intensity (and density) on their next album. They would make truly inspired choices at augmenting the stage band, without diluting any of their originality. With the help of MTV and its heavy rotation of the music video for “Once In A Lifetime” the following year, the band’s music would reach a much broader audience.
Live at CBGB, New York, NY, 1975.
Introduction by Seymour Stein, Sire Records.
From the film “Talking Heads: Chronology”
I saw Talking Heads maybe this same year they played a venue in Birmingham called “Barberellas” a night club at the top end off Broad Street a great venue which went on to have some great gigs,
The Fat Angel Sings 