Talking Heads to reissue Fear of Music with two full 1979 concerts

Talking Heads are reissuing their 1979 album Fear of Music as a super deluxe edition. It arrives on Nov. 13 in three versions: a three-CD/Blu-ray set, a six-LP vinyl set and a slimmer 2LP version. The details were reported by Rolling Stone.

A super deluxe edition sits at the expanded end of reissues. It keeps the original record at the centre and adds extra audio, video and print material in one box. Here the centre is a remastered version of the original album, which means the sound has been cleaned up and prepared again from the master tapes.

Around that remaster sit two full concerts from the band's Fear of Music tour. One was recorded at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston on Aug. 24, 1979. The other was recorded at the Capitol Theatre in New Jersey on Nov. 17, 1979.

For fans, this means two complete nights from the same touring run, not selected highlights. Nearly all of the song performances from those two concerts are being released for the first time. LP stands for long-playing record, the full-size vinyl format, so the six-LP version spreads that live material across six discs.

The Blu-ray disc in the set holds new mixes in Dolby Atmos, 5.1 surround sound and high-resolution stereo. Dolby Atmos is a spatial audio format that places instruments and voices around the listener, while 5.1 uses five main speakers plus bass for a room-filling effect. Buyers can choose between those immersive mixes and a clearer standard stereo version.

The set also includes two songs filmed for the BBC programme Old Grey Whistle Test, including “Life During Wartime”. The CD and vinyl super deluxe versions add a 60-page hardcover book. It holds photographs and new liner notes by writer Will Hermes, adding colour and context to the recordings.

The original Fear of Music was released on Aug. 3, 1979. It reached Number 21 on the Billboard 200, the main US albums chart, as counted by Billboard. The album is gold-certified, a sales award rather than a prize for reviews, according to catalogue notes from Rhino.

Singer David Byrne has said the album title came from the idea that some people are genuinely afraid of music. That plain phrase gave a direct name to a tense, rhythmic record. The new box keeps that original album intact while putting the tour that followed it alongside it for the first time in full.