Talking Heads : Talking Heads : 77 (CD & DVD)

This Talking Heads album was originally released in .. Can you guess? Do you know? Yup, 1977, with their hit single Psycho Killer and ten other cool songs, the Talking Heads arrived on the music scene. This year, the Talking Heads have released ALL their studio albums on Dual Disc, with the DVD side in Advanced Resolution Surround Sound! CD The original CD has the songs Uh-oh Love Comes to Town, New Feeling, Tentative Decisions, Happy Day, Who is It?, No Compassion, The Book I Read, Don't worry about the Government, First Week/Last Week.. Carefree, Psycho Killer and Pulled Up CD EXTRAS On this re release, bonus tracks are also included: Love Building on Fire, I wish You Wouldn't say that, Psycho Killer (acoustic), I feel it in my Heart, and Sugar on my tongue. For me, just the acoustic version of Psycho Killer was worth the purchase! (well, almost, I bought the brick) I also really enjoyed Sugar on My Tongue which I have never heard before. DVD-Audio Side Four tracks are on the DVD side, advanced resolution 5.1 surround sound, and advanced resolution stereo for those with DVD-Audio players, and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound and PCM stereo for those with ordinary DVD players. All the tracks are very well done, but my favorite is hands down the Advanced Resolution Surround Sound mix. DVD Extras A 5.1 Remix of Psycho Killer (acoustic version is an added bonus as well as an alternate surround sound mix of Uh Oh Love Comes to Town. Two videos are also on the DVD side, Pulled Up and I Feel it in My Heart The videos are both live performances of the Talking Heads in small clubs. Of the surround sound mix, guitarist and mixer Jerry Harrison said 77 presented quite a challenge. It was recorded on a 16 track recorder with only 4 tracks devoted to drums. Some of the songs only consisted of eight tracks; yet the songs still adapted well to 5.1 surround remix. This album did not lend itself to events taking place in the rear, or to much movement; rather, the songs just occupied a larger soundstage With that said, what did I think of '77? This being the first of the Talking Heads albums, it sounds a lot more stripped down than the sound I have grown to love and expect from the Talking Heads. I had forgotten how basic '77 was! Yet, you can hear the beginnings of greatness in this album. Although it lacks the depth and complex rhythms of the later albums by the Talking Heads, it still has that certain something in the rhythmic quality that is a precursor to sounds to come. The sound is clear as a bell here though, and the quality of the mixes are all outstanding. As noted by Jerry Harrison, the surround channels aren't really used so much for effect, but more to expand the sound stage. The sound is more spatial on the 5.1 mix than in the stereo mix, and gives you the sense that you are there. If you are looking for a talking Heads DVD-Audio that really shines in the Surround Sound format, there are other better choices, like Remain in Light or Speaking in Tongues where the complex dense musical rhythms are well served by the 5.1 format. If you are the sort of Talking Heads fan that would buy this for the acoustic version of Psycho Killer, you should just save your money and spring for the Box Brick and get all eight Dual Discs. You'll be glad you did. Summary I like this album, and I love the song Psycho Killer, but compared to the rest of the catalogue, '77 is really a 3 to 3 1/2 star album. Its good, it just isn't excellent. If I was picking up the Talking Heads albums individually, this isn't one of the ones I would choose. If you like the Talking Heads enough to want this one, you should just get the uber cool brick with all eight dual discs. For Talking Heads fans (myself included), I give this 3 1/2 stars. For music albums in general, and for Surround Sound Albums in particular it gets a solid 3 stars, not exceptional, but certainly good. Recommended: Yes