Talking Heads Release Super Deluxe Edition of More Songs About Buildings and Food

Few sophomore albums in rock history hit as hard as Talking Heads’ More Songs About Buildings and Food.

It was the first of three albums the band produced with Brian Eno, who met them while they were touring England behind Talking Heads ‘77. 

“Here the Heads become a quintet in an ideal producer-artist collaboration — Eno contributes/interferes just enough,” wrote Robert Christgau in his 1981 book Christgau’s Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. “Every one of these eleven songs is a positive pleasure, and on every one the tension between Byrne’s compulsive flights and the sinuous rock bottom of the music is the focus.”

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the inception of Talking Heads, who began as a trio comprised of singer/guitarist David Byrne, bassist Tina Weymouth and drummer Chris Frantz before multi-instrumentalist Jerry Harrison left the Modern Lovers to join the fold. And in celebration of this landmark, Rhino continues its revamp of the band’s catalog with this Super Deluxe Edition of More Songs About Buildings and Food, out today on all streaming platforms and better record stores across the country. 

The 3CD/1Blu-ray set features the remastered album alongside 11 rarities, including four previously unreleased alternate versions of every track, essentially presenting itself as an alternate edition of the record. The set also includes a live recording of the band’s August 1978 show at New York’s Entermedia Theatre, which includes fiery renditions of such key tracks as “Warning Sign,” “Found A Job” and “Stay Hungry” alongside first LP highlights like “New Feeling,” “Don’t Worry About The Government” and, of course, “Psycho Killer.” Footage from that show and another at Sproul Plaza at the University of California, Berkeley, both appear on the Blu-ray. 

For the band, connecting with Brian Eno in ‘77 opened up a new door of creativity. 

“When we went over to his flat, there was the immediacy of recognizing in his library books [and records] from our own collections,” recalls Harrison. “There was both mutual respect and a sense of shared sensibilities—all harbingers of a comfortable and successful collaboration.” Soon after, plans were made to record together.

Frantz recalls Eno’s most significant contribution was to slow the tempo of “Take Me To The River.” 

“We were used to playing the song at a pretty fast tempo like Al Green’s original, but we gave it a go,” he writes. “After several takes, we got what he was looking for, and everyone loved his treatment of the snare drum. This song became our first radio hit.”

 

VIDEO: Talking Heads perform “Take Me To The River” at the Entermedia Theatre in New York, 1978

Sessions for More Songs began in March 1978, when Eno and the Heads booked time at Island Records owner Chris Blackwell’s newly established Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas, which made them the first band to record at the now-famous recording destination. 

“To our great relief, [Eno] realized we were a tight live band at this point, so it made sense to record us all playing together in the studio,” Byrne says. “We weren’t all that comfortable in a recording studio, so this arrangement made us comfortable and put us at ease.”

As for the album’s iconic cover art, the concept took root back in New York City, where Byrne suggested the idea of creating a mosaic of Polaroid photos. 

“David took the pictures of Chris, Jerry, and me, while I took the pictures of David,” Weymouth explains in the liner notes of this new set. “We used a close-up attachment and a red cloth for the backdrop. It was shot on the roof above Chris’s and my Long Island City loft. I still have that camera!”

Additionally, there are Dolby ATMOS and 5.1 surround sound mixes by E.T. Thorngren and Jerry Harrison, plus a high-resolution stereo version of the album. A 60-page hardcover book rounds out the package, with previously unseen photos and new liner notes with recollections from Tina Weymouth, David Byrne, Chris Frantz, and Harrison.

A 4LP vinyl version of the Super Deluxe Edition, meanwhile, features the remastered album, rarities and the New York concert recordings. A second version—available exclusively at TalkingHeadsOfficial.com—includes reissues of four international 7” singles: U.S., U.K., and Japanese versions of “Take Me To The River,” plus “The Good Thing,” from the Netherlands. Each comes in a reproduction picture sleeve, all packaged alongside the 4LP set in a custom die-cut folio.

See below for the complete tracklisting and to listen to the complete set.

 

MORE SONGS ABOUT BUILDINGS AND FOOD (SUPER DELUXE EDITION)

3CD/1BR Track Listing

 

CD One: Original Album (2025 Remaster)

“Thank You For Sending Me An Angel”

“With Our Love”

“The Good Thing”

“Warning Sign”

“The Girls Want To Be With The Girls”

“Found A Job”

“Artists Only”

“I’m Not In Love”

“Stay Hungry”

“Take Me To The River”

“The Big Country”

 

CD Two: Rarities

“Thank You For Sending Me An Angel” (Alternate Version) 

“With Our Love” (Alternate Version) *

“Found A Job” (Alternate Version) * 

“The Good Thing” (Alternate Version) *

“Warning Sign” (Alternate Version)

“Electricity” (Instrumental) 

“The Girls Want To Be With The Girls” (Alternate Version) *

“I’m Not In Love” (Alternate Version) 

“Artists Only” (Alternate Version) 

“The Big Country” (Alternate Version)

“Thank You For Sending Me An Angel” (“Country Angel” Version)

 

CD Three: Live At Entermedia Theater, New York, NY (August 10, 1978)

 

“No Compassion” *

“Warning Sign” *

“The Book I Read” *

“Stay Hungry” *

“Artists Only” *

“The Girls Want To Be With The Girls” *

“Uh-Oh, Loves Comes To Town” *

“With Our Love” *

“Love Goes To A Building On Fire” *

“Don’t Worry About The Government” *

“The Good Thing” *

“Electricity”*

“The Big Country” *

“New Feeling” *

“Pulled Up” *

“Psycho Killer” *

“Take Me To The River” *

“Found A Job” *

“Thank You For Sending Me An Angel” *

 

Blu-Ray

 

Audio: Hi-Res Stereo, 5.1 & Atmos Mix of original album (2025 Remaster)

 

Video: Concert Footage 

 

Live at Entermedia Theater, 1978

 

“Uh-Oh, Loves Comes To Town” *

“The Girls Want To Be With The Girls” *

“The Good Thing” *

“Take Me To The River” *

“Found A Job” *

“Thank You For Sending Me An Angel” *

 

Live At Sproul Plaza (Berkeley), 1978

 

“The Big Country” *

“Warning Sign” *

“The Book I Read” *

“Stay Hungry” *

“Artists Only” *

“The Girls Want To Be With The Girls” *

“The Good Thing” *

“Uh-Oh, Loves Comes To Town” *

“Psycho Killer” *

“I’m Not In Love” *

“Pulled Up” *