TALKING HEADS : LIVE ON TOUR '78

 

  1. The Big Country
  2. Warning Sign
  3. The Good Thing
  4. Artists Only
  5. The Girls Want To Be With The Girls
  6. Electricity (Drugs)
  7. New Feeling
  8. Found A Job
  9. Thank You For Sending Me An Angel
  10. Psycho Killer
  11. Take Me To The River

Label : Rhino / Sire

Venue : Agora, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Recording Date : December 18, 1978

Release Date : April 11, 2025

Length : 53:10

Review (AllMusic) : Talking Heads were on the road promoting their rapturously received second album, 1978's More Songs About Buildings and Food, when they made their way to Cleveland, Ohio, for a show at one of the city's leading rock clubs, the Agora. The concert saw the band playing most of the new album, as well as two tracks from their debut LP, Talking Heads '77, and an early version of "Drugs" (then titled "Electricity"), which would later appear on 1979's Fear of Music. The band was in taut and committed form that night, and a mobile recording studio was on hand to document the event. Sire Records, the Heads' record label, had the Cleveland performance pressed up as a promotion item and for radio broadcast. Beyond the short-run promotional edition, the album was never released to the public until 2025, when Live on Tour '78 was reissued in a limited-edition vinyl pressing for Record Store Day. Mastered as a two-LP set at 45 rpm for increased fidelity, Live on Tour '78 catches this great band as they were beginning to break out of the punk/new wave underground into greater recognition, and serves as a potent reminder of their unique and arresting sound, as well as their force and charisma as a live act.

Review (Record Store Day) : Live On Tour was recorded at the Agora in Cleveland on December 18, 1978 and published as a promo LP for radio broadcast in 1979. Recorded on the More Songs About Buildings and Food tour, the promo release was never officially released commercially to the public. This is the first official release of the full show, fully remastered from the original analog tapes and features one previously unreleased track.

Review (Album Of The Year) : Back during Record Store Day this past year, Talking Heads released a brand new live album showcasing some of their early live work from 1978, it was a vinyl exclusive listening until just last night when it finally released onto DSPs. This album, while not nearly as rocking or groovy as the other two Talking Heads live albums, is still a really fun time full of David Byrne's charm and the band's weird quirkiness that really puts a smile on my face. While I do think this live set at The Agora in Cleveland Ohio is very cool and insightful into the band's earlier years, I do find a lot of the performances here to feel a bit weak and too wacky for its' own good. The 53 minute runtime also feels a bit long especially for just how mix-matched the whole tracklist feels. I wish I could say I enjoyed this live project more as I do think Talking Heads playing live is superior to their studio work, but unfortunately Live on Tour '78 really didn't meet my expectations whatsoever.