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More Songs About Buildings and Food

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More Songs About Buildings and Food is the second studio album by the American rock band Talking Heads, released on July 14, 1978, by Sire Records. It was the first of three albums produced by collaborator Brian Eno, and saw the band move toward an increasingly danceable style, crossing singer David Byrne's unusual delivery with new emphasis on the rhythm section composed of bassist Tina Weymouth and her husband, drummer Chris Frantz.

More Songs About Buildings and Food
Studio album by
Talking Heads
ReleasedJuly 14, 1978 (1978-07-14)[1]
RecordedMarch–April 1978
StudioCompass Point, Nassau
Genre
Length41:32
LabelSire
Producer
Talking Heads chronology
Talking Heads: 77
(1977) 		More Songs About Buildings and Food
(1978) 		Fear of Music
(1979)
Song sample
30 seconds of "The Big Country"
Singles from More Songs About Buildings and Food
  1. "Take Me to the River"
    Released: June 30, 1978

More Songs established Talking Heads as a critical success, reaching number 29 on the US Billboard Pop Albums chart and number 21 on the UK Albums Chart. The album featured the band's first top-thirty single, a cover of Al Green's "Take Me to the River".

Artwork and title

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The front cover of the album, conceived by Byrne and executed by artist Jimmy De Sana, is a photomosaic of the band comprising 529 close-up Polaroid photographs.[6] The album's rear cover shows "Portrait U.S.A.", the first[7] satellite color analog photomosaic of the United States from space, created by NASA and GE for National Geographic,[8] published in July 1976.[9][10] In his 2020 memoir, Remain in Love, Frantz recalled that Byrne and Weymouth took the Polaroid photographs for the front cover on the roof of the loft building in Long Island City that Frantz and Weymouth lived in. Frantz wrote that he "later realized [the cover art] was 'heavily influenced' by Andrea Kovacs' work. We should have given her credit for that."[11]

Of the album title, Weymouth told Creem in a 1979 interview:

When we were making this album I remembered this stupid discussion we had about titles for the last album. At that time I said, 'What are we gonna call an album that's just about buildings and food?' And Chris said, 'You call it more songs about buildings and food.'[12]

XTC frontman Andy Partridge later claimed, however, that he gave the title to Byrne.[13]

Release

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More Songs About Buildings and Food was released on July 14, 1978. It peaked at number 29 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart. The album's sole single, a cover of the Al Green hit "Take Me to the River", peaked at number 26 on the pop singles chart in 1979. The single pushed the album to gold record status.[14]

Warner Music Group re-released and remastered the album in 2005, on its Warner Bros., Sire and Rhino Records labels in DualDisc format, with four bonus tracks on the CD side—"Stay Hungry" (1977 version), alternate versions of "I'm Not in Love" and "The Big Country", and the 'Country Angel' version of "Thank You for Sending Me an Angel". The DVD-Audio side includes both stereo and 5.1 surround high resolution (96 kHz/24bit) mixes, as well as a Dolby Digital version and videos of the band performing "Found a Job" and "Warning Sign". In Europe, it was released as a CD+DVDA two-disc set rather than a single DualDisc. The reissue was produced by Andy Zax with Talking Heads.

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [15]
Chicago Tribune    [16]
Christgau's Record GuideA[17]
The Guardian     [18]
The Irish Times     [19]
Mojo     [20]
Pitchfork8.8/10[21]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide     [22]
Spin Alternative Record Guide9/10[23]
Uncut     [24]

Writing for Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), critic Robert Christgau said "Here the Heads become a quintet in an ideal producer-artist collaboration—Eno contributes/interferes just enough... 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".[17]

More Songs About Buildings and Food was ranked at number four among the top "Albums of the Year" for 1978 by NME, with "Take Me to the River" ranked at number 16 among the year's top tracks.[25] In 2003, the album was ranked number 382 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,[26] 383 in 2012,[27] and 364 in 2020.[28] It was ranked number 57 on Rolling Stone's list of the greatest albums of 1967–1987.

It was ranked the 45th best album of the 1970s by Pitchfork in 2006. Reviewing the album for Pitchfork, Nick Sylvester said: "More Songs About Buildings and Food transformed the Talking Heads from a quirky CBGB spectacle to a quirky near-unanimously regarded 'it' band."[29]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by David Byrne, except where noted

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Thank You for Sending Me an Angel"2:11
2."With Our Love"3:30
3."The Good Thing"3:03
4."Warning Sign"3:55
5."The Girls Want to Be with the Girls"2:37
6."Found a Job" (*)5:00
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Artists Only"Byrne, Wayne Zieve3:34
2."I'm Not in Love" 4:33
3."Stay Hungry"Byrne, Frantz2:39
4."Take Me to the River"Al Green, Mabon "Teenie" Hodges5:00
5."The Big Country" 5:30
2005 reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Stay Hungry" (1977 version)Byrne, Frantz3:45
13."I'm Not in Love" (alternate version) 5:15
14."The Big Country" (alternate version) 5:01
15."Thank You for Sending Me an Angel" ("Country Angel" version) 2:12
Note

(*) Mixed at Mediasound Studios by Brian Eno and Ed Stasium

Personnel

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Harrison and Byrne (right) with Talking Heads in August 1978 at Jay's Longhorn Bar, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Talking Heads

Additional musicians

  • Brian Eno – synthesizers, piano, guitar, percussion, backing vocals
  • "Tina and the Typing Pool" (Tina Weymouth plus women who worked in the studio offices)[11] – backing vocals on "The Good Thing"

Production

Charts

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Weekly charts

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Chart (1978–79) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[33] 46
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[34] 42
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[35] 4
UK Albums (OCC)[36] 21
US Billboard 200[37] 29

Year-end charts

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Chart (1979) Position
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[38] 17
US Billboard 200 (RMNZ)[39] 49

Certifications and sales

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Sales certifications for More Songs About Buildings and Food
Region Certification Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[40] Gold 7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)[41]
2006 release 		Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[42] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ Ruhlmann, William. "More Songs About Buildings and Food – Talking Heads". AllMusic. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
  2. ^ Smith, Chris (2006). The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Rock History: From arenas to the underground, 1974-1980. Greenwood Press. p. 226. ISBN 978-0-313-33611-9.
  3. ^ Gittins, Ian (September 1, 2004). Talking Heads: Once in a Lifetime, The Stories Behind Every Song. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 39. ISBN 0-634-08033-4. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
  4. ^ Grimstad, Paul. "What is Avant-Pop?". Brooklyn Rail. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  5. ^ Reynolds, Simon (2005). Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984. Penguin. p. 163.
  6. ^ Gimarc, George, Punk Diary, p. 148.
  7. ^ "Now & Then: The History of Portrait U.S.A." landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov. Landsat Science. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  8. ^ "World Pieces: America's 'Portrait' and the Environmental View of Landsat". whipplelib.hps.cam.ac.uk. Whipple Library, University of Cambridge. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  9. ^ "Portrait U.S.A. (cartographic material) : the first color photomosaic of the 48 contiguous United States / produced by the National Geographic Society". catalogue.nla.gov.au. Catalogue, National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ More Songs About Buildings and Food (liner notes). Sire Records. 1978.
  11. ^ a b Frantz, Chris (2020). Remain in Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina (1st ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 234, 236. ISBN 978-1-250-20922-1.
  12. ^ Barbara Charone (October, 1979). "More Songs About Typing and Vacuuming". Creem, n.p.c. link. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
  13. ^ "Happy 40th: Talking Heads, MORE SONGS ABOUT BUILDINGS AND FOOD". Rhino Records. July 25, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  14. ^ William Ruhlmann. "More Songs About Buildings and Food – Talking Heads – Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards – AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  15. ^ Ruhlmann, William. "More Songs About Buildings and Food – Talking Heads". AllMusic. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
  16. ^ Kot, Greg (May 6, 1990). "Talking Heads On The Record". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  17. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (1981). "Talking Heads: More Songs About Buildings and Food". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor and Fields. ISBN 0-89919-026-X. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  18. ^ Peschek, David (January 20, 2006). "Talking Heads, More Songs About Buildings and Food". The Guardian. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  19. ^ Courtney, Kevin (January 13, 2006). "Talking Heads: 77/More Songs About Buildings and Food/Fear of Music/Remain in Light (WEA)". The Irish Times. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  20. ^ Cameron, Keith (July 2020). "New Feelings". Mojo. No. 320. pp. 68–69.
  21. ^ Mapes, Jillian (April 23, 2020). "Talking Heads: More Songs About Buildings and Food". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  22. ^ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Talking Heads". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 802–03. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  23. ^ Salamon, Jeff (1995). "Talking Heads". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 394–95. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  24. ^ Shapiro, Peter (February 2006). "The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth". Uncut. No. 105. p. 82.
  25. ^ "1978 Best Albums And Tracks Of The Year". NME. October 10, 2016. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  26. ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time: More Songs About Buildings and Food – Talking Heads". Rolling Stone. November 18, 2003. Archived from the original on December 20, 2010. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  27. ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. May 31, 2012. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  28. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  29. ^ "The 100 Best Albums of the 1970s". Pitchfork. June 23, 2004. p. 6. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  30. ^
    • Hopper, Alex (16 December 2022). "Behind The Band Name: Talking Heads". American Songwriter. Retrieved 26 October 2023. According to Frantz's 2020 memoir 'Remain in Love', the trio cycled through several possible names before landing on Talking Heads. Vogue Dots, Billionaires, Tunnel Tones and Videos were all considered, but thanks to the band's friend, Michael 'Wayne' Zieve, who would later write the lyrics to the 'More Songs About Buildings and Food' track 'Artists Only', Talking Heads held the winning ticket. According to Frantz, Zieve visited the group with a TV Guide featuring a list of jargon used by camera operators. Among the words and phrases was 'Talking Head,' which Zieve called the 'most boring but also the most informative format in TV.' He added, 'I think you should call your band Talking Heads.'
    • Potter, Jordan (11 April 2023). "How Talking Heads got their name". faroutmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 26 October 2023. According to Frantz's 2020 memoir 'Remain in Love', the trio cycled through several possible names before landing on Talking Heads. Vogue Dots, Billionaires, Tunnel Tones and Videos were all considered, but thanks to the band's friend, Michael 'Wayne' Zieve, who would later write the lyrics to the 'More Songs About Buildings and Food' track 'Artists Only', Talking Heads held the winning ticket. According to Frantz, Zieve visited the group with a TV Guide featuring a list of jargon used by camera operators. Among the words and phrases was 'Talking Head,' which Zieve called the 'most boring but also the most informative format in TV.' He added, 'I think you should call your band Talking Heads.'
    • Frantz, Chris (21 July 2020). Remain in Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina. St. Martin's Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-250-20923-8. Retrieved 26 October 2023 – via google books.
    • "Tom Tom Club". Red Bull Music Academy. Tokyo. 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2023. Chris Frantz: His name was Wayne Zieve and he was from Chicago. He had also been at RISD and he read it in a TV Guide magazine. There was a glossary of television terminology and talking heads meant the least exciting but most informative format of programming, so we thought, 'Talking Heads.'
  31. ^
  32. ^
    • Talking Heads (1978). "Artists Only (live)". YouTube. The Boarding House (nightclub). Retrieved 26 October 2023. Provided to YouTube by IIP-DDS; Artists Only (live) · Talking Heads; The Boarding House 1978; ℗ 1978 The Media Champ; Released on: 1978-09-16; Music Publisher: Copyright Control; Composer, Lyricist: David Byrne; Composer, Lyricist: Wayne Zieve; Auto-generated by YouTube.;
    • Bell, Max (July 28, 1979). "I Get Taken Over". New Musical Express. More Dark Than Shark. Retrieved 26 October 2023. The best example of this on 'More Songs About Buildings And Food' was 'Artists Only', which Byrne didn't even write. Predictably, some of our brethren took exception to the line "I don't have to prove that I'm creative". "A guy called Wayne Zieve wrote the lyric on that. I don't know anything about it. He was crashing at our place [the Byrne and Harrison residence] and he used to scribble messages on bits of paper and leave 'em round the room. I just liked that one, so I wrote some music for it. Now he gets royalties, which spoils the effect somewhat.
  33. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 304. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  34. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0038a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  35. ^ "Charts.nz – Talking Heads – More Songs About Buildings and Food". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  36. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  37. ^ "Talking Heads Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  38. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1979 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  39. ^ "Billboard". 22 December 1979.
  40. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Talking Heads – More Songs About Buildings and Food". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  41. ^ "British album certifications – Talking Heads – More Songs About Buildings and Food". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
  42. ^ "American album certifications – Talking Heads – More Songs About Buildings and Food". Recording Industry Association of America.
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