Talking Heads Set Fear of Music Super Deluxe Edition

A new super-deluxe edition of Talking Heads‘ seminal third album Fear of Music is on the way. Due out November 13 on Rhino, the 3xCD set compiles a fresh remaster of the 1979 record, a number of alternate track versions and studio outtakes, and previously-unreleased recordings of two full concerts. An accompanying Blu-Ray also boasts footage from the Talking Heads’ appearance on BBC’s music show Old Grey Whistle Test. Check out an unearthed performance of the band’s “Life During Wartime” from a 1979 episode below.

The shows featured on Fear of Music (Super-Deluxe Edition) both took place in 1979 shortly after the album’s release: the first at Boston’s Berklee Performing Arts Center, and the second at the Capitol Theater in Passaic, New Jersey. In addition to the new material, the physical box set comes with a 60-page photo book with liner notes by Will Hermes, author of Love Goes to Buildings on Fire: Five Years in New York That Changed Music Forever. The super-deluxe will launch in tandem with a new dedicated Talking Heads channel on SiriusXM Radio.

The super-deluxe marks the second Talking Heads archival release from Rhino this year. Back in March, the label shared the collection Tentative Decisions: Demos & Live, which compiled early live recordings and demos the New York art punks recorded between 1975 and 1977.

Find out why we rated Fear of Music a Perfect 10 by reading Jayson Greene’s 2020 review.

Fear Of Music (Super-Deluxe Edition):

CD One

01 I Zimbra
02 Mind
03 Paper
04 Cities
05 Life During Wartime
06 Memories Can't Wait
07 Air
08 Heaven
09 Animals
10 Electric Guitar
11 Drugs
12 Mind – Alternate Version
13 Life During Wartime – Alternate Version
14 Dancing For Money – Unfinished Outtake
15 Cities – Alternate Version
16 Drugs – Alternate Version
17 I Zimbra – 12" Version

CD Two: Live at the Berklee Performance Center, Boston, MA (8/24/79)

01 Artists Only 
02 Stay Hungry 
03 Cities
04 Paper 
05 Mind
06 Heaven 
07 The Book I Read 
08 Electric Guitar 
09 Air 
10 Warning Sign 
11 Love Goes To A Building On Fire 
12 Memories Can't Wait 
13 Psycho Killer 
14 Life During Wartime 
15 Take Me To The River

CD Three: Live At Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ (11/17/1979)

01 Artists Only
02 Stay Hungry
03 Cities *
04 Paper *
05 Mind *
06 Heaven
07 Electric Guitar *
08 Air
09 Animals *
10 Love Goes To A Building On Fire
11 Found A Job *
12 Memories Can't Wait
13 Psycho Killer *
14 Life During Wartime *

Hattie Lindert is an associate staff writer at Pitchfork. A former editor at Resident Advisor, she has written for Rolling Stone, The FACE and The A.V. Club, among others. She’s based in New York, and born and raised in Vermont. ... Read More