Talking Heads' Tentative Decisions: Demos & Live

As a music creator and fan, I am always interested in the transformation from the seed of a song, the demo stage, and the version that was released as the definitive version. It's a peek behind the curtain, and one we as listeners are not privy to enough. The new release from Talking Heads, Tentative Decisions: Demos & Live, is an expansive three disc offering of the band's demos and live versions of songs from their early years. Songs that ended up being on The Name of This Band is Talking Heads, Talking Heads '77, and More Songs About Building and Food make up the bulk of this collection. If you want to do a quick study of the progression of a song, take a listen to the different versions of "Psycho Killer." There is the "September 1975 Demo", The "CBS/Columbia Demo", and a version of the song by The Artistics, the band formed by David Byrne [Tape Op #79]and Chris Frantz while they were at the Rhode Island School of Design. It's a fun exercise to see the journey the song took to arrive at the version that ended up on Talking Heads '77 (produced by Tony Bongiovi [#127], and engineered by Ed Stasium [#98]). The same is true for the rest of the demos on this album, and the live versions are a peek into the power of the band at small New York City venues like Max's Kansas City and The Lower Manhattan Ocean Club, as well as The Jabberwocky in Syracuse. It's raw and rough around the edges at times, and that's what makes it great! Fans and musical forensic scientists alike will enjoy this release.

Note: We also interviewed Talking Heads member Jerry Harrison and longtime Talking Heads engineer Eric Thorngren in Tape Op #153.