while digging Talking Heads have revealed their music archives containing hours of material that will appear on the upcoming reissue. Talking Heads: 77 (Ultra Deluxe Edition). The album is set to be released on November 8 and includes four tracks, including a newly released acoustic version of “Psycho Killer,” which was recorded with the late musician Arthur Russell nearly five decades ago.
“We knew cellist, singer and songwriter Arthur Russell from downtown. He died too early from AIDS, and during his lifetime he released very different recordings,” Talking Heads’ David Byrne said in a statement, recalling Russell’s spacey disco recordings from the 1970s and ’80s. “He left a huge legacy of recordings that are still leaking out 40 years after his death.”
“I remember seeing him play Philip Glass’s music in a Mapu Mains production of Beckett’s play,” Byrne continued. “I think the Becketts hated it, because they didn’t want music in his plays. So it wasn’t a stretch to invite Arthur to arrange and play an alternative version of ‘Psycho Killer.’ In a somewhat perverse way, I’d always seen the song as a more intimate folk rock thing rather than the rock song that people seemed to like. So I had a special connection to that version.”
The acoustic version of “Psycho Killer” appeared on an earlier re-release of Talking Heads: 77 From 2006. In the upcoming release, the recording is included in a box set that includes a remastered version of the original LP, plus a full album of rare and unreleased demo recordings and deleted outtakes. Among the songs discovered are alternate versions of “Psycho Killer” and “Pulled Up,” which has a pop twist. There are also 13 live recordings of the Talking Heads performing at CBGB in New York on October 10, 1977.
A collection of photographs, artwork and publications will appear in an 80-page hardcover book alongside notes from Talking Heads members Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz and Jerry Harrison.
Original version Talking Heads: 77 It arrived on September 16, 1977 as the band's first full-length release.
Talking Heads: 77 (Super Deluxe Edition) Playlist
Original remastered album
1. “Oh, Love Comes to Town”
2. “New Feeling”
3. “Interim decisions”
4. “Happy Day”
5. “Who is he?”
6. “No Mercy”
7. “The book I read”
8. “Don’t worry about the government.”
9. “First/last week…carefree”
10. “The Psychological Killer”
11. “cut off”
Rarities
1. “Sugar on my tongue”
2. “I want to live”
3. “(Love Goes To) The Burning Building”
4. “I wish you hadn’t said that.”
5. “Psycho Killer (Audio Version)”
6. “Uh-Oh Love Comes to Town (Alternate Pop Version)”
7. “New Feeling (Alternate Pop Version)”
8. “Pulled Up (Alternate “Pop” Version)” ^
9. “Stay Hungry (1977 Version)”
10. “First Week/Last Week… Carefree (Audio Version)”
11. “I feel it in my heart”
12. “The Psycho Killer (Alternate Version)” ^
He lives
1. “(Love Goes to) Building on Fire (Live at CBGB's, New York, NY, 10/10/77)”
2. “Don't Worry About the Government (Live at CBGB's, New York, NY, 10/10/77)” ^
3. “Take Me to the River (Live at CBGB's, New York, NY, 10/10/77)” ^
4. “The Book I Read (Live at CBGB's, New York, NY, 10/10/77)” ^
5. “New Feeling (Live at CBGB's, New York, NY, 10/10/77)” ^
6. “Clean Break (Live at CBGB's, New York, NY, 10/10/77)” ^
7. “No Mercy (Live at CBGB's, New York, NY, 10/10/77)” ^
8. “Thank You For Sending Me an Angel (Live at CBGB's, New York, NY, 10/10/77)” ^
9. “Who's Who? (Live at CBGB's, New York, NY, 10/10/77)” ^
10. “Pulled Up (Live at CBGB's, New York, NY, 10/10/77)” ^
11. “Uh-Oh Love Comes to Town (Live at CBGB's, New York, NY, 10/10/77)” ^
12. “Psycho Killer (Live at CBGB's, New York, NY, 10/10/77)” ^
13. “Stay Hungry (Live at CBGB's, New York, NY, 10/10/77)” ^
^ Previously unreleased
