Talking Heads - More Songs About Buildings And Food

Written By Ben Pester

EXPANSIVE SUPER DELUXE EDITIONS ARRIVING JULY 25

3CD/1BLU-RAY SUPER DELUXE EDITION OF 1978 STUDIO ALBUM WITH REMASTERED AUDIO, UNRELEASED STUDIO AND LIVE RECORDINGS, CONCERT FOOTAGE, DOLBY ATMOS MIX, AND MORE

PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED ALTERNATE VERSION OF “FOUND A JOB” AVAILABLE TODAY DIGITALLY 

LISTEN NOW

D2C EXCLUSIVE 4LP SUPER DELUXE EDITION INCLUDES REMASTERED ALBUM, RARITIES, LIVE RECORDINGS, PLUS REISSUES OF FOUR INTERNATIONAL 

7” SINGLES

2LP DELUXE EDITION WITH REMASTERED ALBUM AND RARITIES AVAILABLE ON BLACK VINYL OR RED VINYL THE SAME DAY

PRE-ORDER HERE.

Talking Heads’ groundbreaking second album, More Songs About Buildings and Food, returns July 25 as a Super Deluxe Edition from Rhino. Released as the band celebrates its 50th anniversary, the collection captures a pivotal moment in their evolution and marks the first of three albums produced with Brian Eno.

The 3CD/1Blu-ray Super Deluxe Edition features the remastered album alongside 11 rarities, including four previously unreleased alternate versions of album tracks. One of those, “Found A Job,” is available digitally today ahead of the full release. Listen Now.

The set also includes a live recording of the band’s August 1978 show at New York’s Entermedia Theatre. Footage from that show and another at Sproul Plaza at the University of California, Berkeley, both appear on the Blu-ray. Additionally, there are Dolby ATMOS and 5.1 surround sound mixes by E.T. Thorngren and group member 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, also available July 25, 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. Pre-order HERE.

Additional Deluxe Editions will be available on 2LP black vinyl with a red vinyl pressing offered at TakingHeadsOfficial.com and select indie retailers. Both feature the remastered album and a selection of rarities.

The seeds for More Songs About Buildings and Food were planted in London in 1977, when the band met producer Brian Eno while touring behind their debut album. “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.

Sessions began in March 1978, when the band traded their drafty Long Island City lofts for the Bahamas’ sunny beaches. They set up shop for several weeks at Chris Blackwell’s newly built Compass Point Studios, becoming the first band to record there. 

Having been road-tested over a long tour, the new songs were ready to go. “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.”

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.”

The Polaroid mosaic that gives the album its striking visual identity came together later, back in New York. Byrne suggested the cover concept, says Weymouth. “David took the pictures of Chris, Jerry, and me, while I took the pictures of David. 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!”

Released on July 14, 1978, More Songs About Buildings and Food earned the band their first appearance on the Billboard 200. Their reimagining of Green’s “Take Me To The River” cracked the Billboard Hot 100 and became a left-field radio success, helping introduce the band to a wider audience. At the time, critics took note of the album’s sharp songwriting and Eno’s layered production—with The New York Times naming it the “No. 1 disk of 1978” and Vogue calling Talking Heads the “most fascinating experimental rock band in the world.”

The release launches a yearlong celebration of Talking Heads’ 50th anniversary. Formed in 1975, the band became one of the most influential to emerge from New York’s CBGB scene—helping shape modern music and redefine the art of the music video.

MORE SONGS ABOUT BUILDINGS AND FOOD (SUPER DELUXE EDITION)

3CD/1BR Track Listing

CD One: Original Album (2025 Remaster)

  1. “Thank You For Sending Me An Angel”

  2. “With Our Love”

  3. “The Good Thing”

  4. “Warning Sign”

  5. “The Girls Want To Be With The Girls”

  6. “Found A Job”

  7. “Artists Only”

  8. “I’m Not In Love”

  9. “Stay Hungry”

  10. “Take Me To The River”

  11. “The Big Country”


CD Two: Rarities

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

  2. “With Our Love” (Alternate Version) *

  3. “Found A Job” (Alternate Version) * 

  4. “The Good Thing” (Alternate Version) *

  5. “Warning Sign” (Alternate Version)

  6. “Electricity” (Instrumental) 

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

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

  9. “Artists Only” (Alternate Version) 

  10. “The Big Country” (Alternate Version)

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


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

  1. “No Compassion” *

  2. “Warning Sign” *

  3. “The Book I Read” *

  4. “Stay Hungry” *

  5. “Artists Only” *

  6. “The Girls Want To Be With The Girls” *

  7. “Uh-Oh, Loves Comes To Town” *

  8. “With Our Love” *

  9. “Love Goes To A Building On Fire” *

  10. “Don’t Worry About The Government” *

  11. “The Good Thing” *

  12. “Electricity”*

  13. “The Big Country” *

  14. “New Feeling” *

  15. “Pulled Up” *

  16. “Psycho Killer” *

  17. “Take Me To The River” *

  18. “Found A Job” *

  19. “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

  1. “Uh-Oh, Loves Comes To Town” *

  2. “The Girls Want To Be With The Girls” *

  3. “The Good Thing” *

  4. “Take Me To The River” *

  5. “Found A Job” *

  6. “Thank You For Sending Me An Angel” *

Live At Sproul Plaza (Berkeley), 1978

  1. “The Big Country” *

  2. “Warning Sign” *

  3. “The Book I Read” *

  4. “Stay Hungry” *

  5. “Artists Only” *

  6. “The Girls Want To Be With The Girls” *

  7. “The Good Thing” *

  8. “Uh-Oh, Loves Comes To Town” *

  9. “Psycho Killer” *

  10. “I’m Not In Love” *

  11. “Pulled Up” *


MORE SONGS ABOUT BUILDINGS AND FOOD (SUPER DELUXE EDITION)

4LP Track Listing


LP One: Original Album (2025 Remaster)

  1. Side One 

  2. “Thank You For Sending Me An Angel”

  3. “With Our Love”

  4. “The Good Thing”

  5. “Warning Sign”

  6. “The Girls Want To Be With The Girls”

  7. “Found A Job”


Side Two

  1. “Artists Only”

  2. “I’m Not In Love”

  3. “Stay Hungry”

  4. “Take Me To The River”

  5. “The Big Country”


LP Two: Rarities

Side One

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

  2. “With Our Love” (Alternate Version) *

  3. “Found A Job” (Alternate Version) * 

  4. “The Good Thing” (Alternate Version) *

  5. “Warning Sign” (Alternate Version)

  6. “Electricity” (Instrumental) 


Side Two

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

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

  3. “Artists Only” (Alternate Version) 

  4. “The Big Country” (Alternate Version)

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


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

Side One

  1. “No Compassion” *

  2. “Warning Sign” *

  3. “The Book I Read” *

  4. “Stay Hungry” *

  5. “Artists Only” *


Side Two

  1. “The Girls Want To Be With The Girls” *

  2. “Uh-Oh, Loves Comes To Town” *

  3. “With Our Love” *

  4. “Love Goes To A Building On Fire” *

  5. “Don’t Worry About The Government” *

  6. “The Good Thing” *


LP Four

Side One

  1. “Electricity”*

  2. “The Big Country” *

  3. “New Feeling” *

  4. “Pulled Up” *

  5. “Psycho Killer” *


Side Two

  1. “Take Me To The River” *

  2. “Found A Job” *

  3. “Thank You For Sending Me An Angel” *



Exclusive 7” Collection

“Take Me To The River” (U.S. Picture Sleeve)

  1. “Take Me To The River” (Edit) [2025 Remaster] 

  2. “Thank You For Sending Me An Angel” (“Country Angel” Version) [2025 Remaster]


“Take Me To The River” (U.K. Picture Sleeve)

  1. “Take Me To The River” (Edit) [2025 Remaster] 

  2. “Found A Job” (2025 Remaster)


“Take Me To The River” (Japan Picture Sleeve)

  1. “Take Me To The River” (Edit) [2025 Remaster]

  2. “Thank You For Sending Me An Angel” (“Country Angel” Version) [2025 Remaster]


“The Good Thing” (Netherlands Picture Sleeve)

  1. “The Good Thing” (2025 Remaster)

  2. “Found A Job” (2025 Remaster)

Ben Pester
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