Talking Heads announce ‘More Songs About Buildings and Food’ Super Deluxe Edition

The 3 CD/1 Blu-ray Super Deluxe Edition of the band’s 1978 studio album features remastered audio, unreleased studio, live recordings & more

The Talking Heads’ groundbreaking second album, More Songs About Buildings and Food, returns July 25th 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 3 CD/1 Blu-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 ahead of the full release.

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 4 LP vinyl version of the Super Deluxe Edition, also available July 25th, features the remastered album, rarities, and the New York concert recordings. A second version—available exclusively at the band’s website—includes reissues of four international seven-inch 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 4 LP set in a custom die-cut folio.

Additional Deluxe Editions will be available on 2 LP black vinyl with a red vinyl pressing offered at the band’s site 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.

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.

CD 1: 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 2: Rarities

1. Thank You For Sending Me An Angel (Alternate Version)
2. With Our Love (Alternate Version) [Previously Unreleased]
3. Found A Job (Alternate Version) [Previously Unreleased]
4. The Good Thing (Alternate Version) [Previously Unreleased]
5. Warning Sign (Alternate Version)
6. Electricity (Instrumental)
7. The Girls Want To Be With The Girls (Alternate Version) [Previously Unreleased]
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 3: Live At Entermedia Theater, New York, NY (August 10, 1978) [Previously Unreleased]

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: Previously Unreleased

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

1. Uh-Oh, Loves Comes To Town [Live at Entermedia Theater, 1978]
2. The Girls Want To Be With The Girls [Live at Entermedia Theater, 1978]
3. The Good Thing [Live at Entermedia Theater, 1978]
4. Take Me To The River [Live at Entermedia Theater, 1978]
5. Found A Job [Live at Entermedia Theater, 1978]
6. Thank You For Sending Me An Angel [Live at Entermedia Theater, 1978]
7. The Big Country [Live At Sproul Plaza (Berkeley), 1978]
8. Warning Sign [Live At Sproul Plaza (Berkeley), 1978]
9. The Book I Read [Live At Sproul Plaza (Berkeley), 1978]
10. Stay Hungry[Live At Sproul Plaza (Berkeley), 1978]
11. Artists Only [Live At Sproul Plaza (Berkeley), 1978]
12. The Girls Want To Be With The Girls [Live At Sproul Plaza (Berkeley), 1978]
13. The Good Thing [Live At Sproul Plaza (Berkeley), 1978]
14. Uh-Oh, Loves Comes To Town [Live At Sproul Plaza (Berkeley), 1978]
15. Psycho Killer [Live At Sproul Plaza (Berkeley), 1978]
16. I’m Not In Love [Live At Sproul Plaza (Berkeley), 1978]
17. Pulled Up [Live At Sproul Plaza (Berkeley), 1978]