Popular Favorites 1976-1992: Sand in the Vaseline

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Released four years after the Talking Heads called it a day with 1988's Naked, Popular Favorites provides a thorough overview of one of the most important American bands of the '80s. From tightly wound early efforts such as "Psycho Killer" and "Don't Worry About the Government" to the seriously funky likes of "I Zimbra" and "Burning Down the House," David Byrne, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth, and Chris Franz grew as musicians as they stretched the original concepts of the unit to the breaking point. Over the course of two discs and 32 selections, the anthology chronicles the Heads' development from Bowery art punks (albeit of the most civil stripe) to unlikely arena stars. A smattering of unreleased tracks and notes from the original quartet nicely flesh out the retrospective. --Steven Stolder --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Popular Favorites 1976-1992/Sand In the Vaseline
Average customer rating:

Not applicable

If They're Not In The Rock 'n' Roll Hall Of Fame, Heads Should Roll!

Sounds great,sounds like they are right next to you.

Worthwhile; possibly obsolete

Strong compilation from a smart pop band

Popular Favorites 1976-1992/Sand In the Vaseline
Talking Heads
Manufacturer: Warner Bros / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
American Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
New Wave | New Wave & Post-Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
Post-Punk | New Wave & Post-Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
General | Rock | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
General | Pop | Styles | Music
Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
General | Rock | Styles | Music
Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
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The Name of This Band is Talking Heads

Fear of Music

Speaking in Tongues

Little Creatures

Remain in Light

ASIN: B000002LRK
Release Date: 1992-10-13

Sugar On My Tongue
I Want To Live
Love/Building On Fire
I Wish You Wouldn't Say That
Psycho Killer
Don't Worry About The Government
No Compassion
Warning Sign
The Big Country
Take Me To The River
Heaven
Memories Can't Wait
I Zimbra
Once In A Lifetime
Crosseyed And Painless
Burning Down The House
Swamp
This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)

Tracks:

Life During Wartime (Live)
Girlfriend Is Better (Live)
And She Was
Stay Up Late
Road To Nowhere
Wild Wild Life
Love For Sale
City Of Dreams
Mr. Jones
Blind
(Nothing But) Flowers
Sax And Violins
Gangster Of Love
Lifetime Piling Up
Popsicle

Amazon.com

Released four years after the Talking Heads called it a day with 1988's Naked, Popular Favorites provides a thorough overview of one of the most important American bands of the '80s. From tightly wound early efforts such as "Psycho Killer" and "Don't Worry About the Government" to the seriously funky likes of "I Zimbra" and "Burning Down the House," David Byrne, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth, and Chris Franz grew as musicians as they stretched the original concepts of the unit to the breaking point. Over the course of two discs and 32 selections, the anthology chronicles the Heads' development from Bowery art punks (albeit of the most civil stripe) to unlikely arena stars. A smattering of unreleased tracks and notes from the original quartet nicely flesh out the retrospective. --Steven Stolder

Customer Reviews:

Not applicable.......2007-07-08

Tried twice to purchase this CD. Both times only 1 of the 2 cds arrived in the package.

If They're Not In The Rock 'n' Roll Hall Of Fame, Heads Should Roll!.......2007-03-20

I found it interesting being referred to in general in one of the spotlight reviews (I'm an evangelical Christian). There are some things I don't like about Talking Heads, and that is a leaning toward Nihlism (no meaning to anything). However, I applaud a band that makes you think, especially one this creative.

I won't make a list of favorite songs like I normally do; there are many good ones. I will say, though, that the band was strongest when more of the band collaborated together on the songs than in the latter years (most of disc 2) when Byrne wrote most of the songs solo.

Another thing that I consider negative, more present in the booklets, is the unnecessary cussing from Byrne. This did give me a negative point of view towards Byrne in general.

I saw "Stop Making Sense" first, and that converted me to being a fan of the group. Actually, the first time I heard this cooled me off, but re-listening helped make me a bit more of a fan again.

Sounds great,sounds like they are right next to you........2007-01-26

This cd has so many songs that you won't believe they squeezed it on the 2 cd set.David Byrne at his finest.

Worthwhile; possibly obsolete.......2006-10-10

This 2-disc set spans, somewhat uncomfortably, the boundary between a greatest-hits collection (targeted at the casual fan) and a retrospective box set (targeted at the completist). Nearly all of the band's well-known hits are here (with the odd exception of "Uh Oh, Love Comes to Town"), padded out to double-CD length with live cuts and non-album tracks. The result is completely listenable, as the boundary between the group's quirky art-rock days and their FM-radio heyday falls nicely between discs, but new fans might consider the later, single-disc hits collection a better value while fans wanting to go deeper will seek out the recent DualDisc re-releases which feature lots of bonus tracks.

It's all great stuff, however, with the first disc showcasing the band's uncanny ability to merge art tendencies with pop instinct even as they were mastering their instruments, and the second bringing key tracks from some of the less-heard later albums to light.

Of special note is the superb re-mastering job by Bob Ludwig, which gives the early songs a punch and presence missing from the prior releases.

Strong compilation from a smart pop band.......2006-09-16

Talking Heads is one of those rare bands with the distinction of making smart pop music accesible for the masses. The double disc "Sand in the Vaseline" is a good reflection of their career. I first became familar with them in the early eighties when songs like "Burning down the House" was all over FM radio and MTV. Disc 2 represents this era thoroughly, and includes some smaller hits that I forgot about until I bought the CD.

The pleasant surprise was Disc 1. Disc 1 focuses more on their earlier music from the late 70's, like "Life During Wartime." While I was familar with these hits as well, some of the more obscure songs on Disc 1 became my favorites on either disc. "Sugar on My Tongue" and "I Wish You Wouldn't Say That" stood out immediately as I was listening to them for the first time. I also liked some of the last songs on Disc 2 that they released before finally disbanding. "Sax and Violins" and especially "Lifetime Piling Up" come to mind. But that's what a good band does. Good bands produce timeless music throughout the decades that stand the test of time. This is a thorough compilation of a good band and a starting point for those becoming familiar with Talking Heads for the first time.

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