Talking Heads Set Fear of Music Super Deluxe Edition

A new super deluxe edition of Talking Heads‘ seminal third album Fear of Music is on the way. Due November 13 on Rhino, the set compiles a fresh remaster of the 1979 record, a number of alternate track versions and studio outtakes, and previously unreleased recordings of two concerts. An accompanying Blu-Ray boasts footage from Talking Heads’ appearance on BBC’s music show Old Grey Whistle Test. Check out an unearthed performance of the band’s “Life During Wartime” from an episode below.

The shows featured on Fear of Music (Super Deluxe Edition) both took place in 1979 shortly after the album’s release: the first at Boston’s Berklee Performing Arts Center, and the second at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey. In addition to the new material, the physical box set comes with a 60-page photo book with liner notes by Will Hermes, author of Love Goes to Buildings on Fire: Five Years in New York That Changed Music Forever. The super deluxe will launch in tandem with a new dedicated Talking Heads channel on SiriusXM Radio.

The release marks the second Talking Heads archival edition from Rhino this year. Back in March, the label shared the collection Tentative Decisions: Demos & Live, which compiled early live recordings and demos the New York art punks recorded between 1975 and 1977.

Find out why we rated Fear of Music a Perfect 10 by reading Jayson Greene’s 2020 review.