Once in a Lifetime

by

Talking Heads

Edit

It must be Christmas time again. All the majors are looking to release (or re-release in this case) boxsets of classic rock acts, etc. Well I have to give credit to Rhino (and Talking Heads) for originality. Once In A Life Time is the boxed set The Heads should have gotten when Sire released Sand In The Vaseline. This three CD, 1 DVD set is packaged in a long coffee table style book (hardcover)with a number of essays, rare photos and contributions from the band members.

Don't trade in Sand In The Vaseline just yet. The track listing for both sets aren't identical. I Want To Live (included on Sand In The Vaseline) isn't included here. Disc One has 21 tracks focusing on the band's first two albums (plus A Clean Break from the MIA The Name of This Band is Talking Heads). Disc Two focuses on albums 3, 4 and 5 over the course of 17 remastered tracks. However, Cities and Drugs are alternate versions. In the case of Life During Wartime it sounds quite a bit different from the version on Fear of Music because of the sound effects and the mix. Drugs also has a slightly different mix making it memorable when compared to the version on Fear of Music. 5 Tracks appear from the seminal Remain In Light. A couple of the selections from Speaking In Tongues are from the cassette (and early CD)versions and, as a result, are slightly longer than the verisons currently available (and than those on Sand).

Finally Disc Three pulls together the twilight of the Heads' career. There are no songs from Stop Making Sense (which is just as well since this has already been remastered with bonus tracks). The last 17 songs are drawn from the band's last three albums with the exception of one outtake/previously unreleased track (In Asking Land which is a stunning song. I'm surprised that it wasn't released before now)and two songs drawn from the Sand compilation (which means that Gangster of Love and Popsicle the "lighter" tracks from the compilation don't appear here at all).

Altogether an odd assortment that crosses over somewhat but not completely with Sand In The Vaseline. A pity that they don't cross over completely and add a fourth disc featuring the MIA The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads (guess I'll continue listening to my CDR transferred from vinyl).

Still, the DVD is a nice bonus as it features all the important videos and a couple of ones that have previously been unreleased. It's a bit annoying that some of the dialog that connects the videos overlaps with the music. Additionally, the book itself is beautifully designed and small enough to avoid the self important look of an art book. A bit of warning on the DVD. Rhino hasn't labeled it as such but a parental advisory sticker would warn you that the DVD has a significant bad word mentioned a number of times in one of the linking segments. I had forgotten about it being on the video (none of the band members say it nor is it in any of the videos except for a brief moment in the lyric to the song Sax and Violins). Luckily, my kids had left the room prior to the words coming on.

The remastered sound is exceptional. Rhino has put out a number of exceptional albums this year and I have to say that Once is one of the best looking career compilations I've ever seen. It makes others of this type appear cheap and gaudy by comparison (well, except the exceptional XTC Coat of Many Cupboards set). This is a great gift for Heads fans and is shaped distinctively enough to fool the heck out of everyone as to what it is. A note also to fans of Adrian Belew who played guitar on Remain in Light for some reason Belew isn't credited (more than likely an oversight)as playing on the sessions at all. I've already alerted Rhino to this oversight as they promised to fix any misinformation on the credits.

My advice--record the songs missing from Sand In The Vaseline and make some customized artwork for it. Add it to this set and make it a "personalized" CD boxed set.

At around $60, Once in a Lifetime is a pricey gift for that discerning music freak you know who's never heard of Talking Heads. Of course, any discerning music freak is likely to be familiar with Talking Heads best works already. So who is this elaborate re-packaging for? Art snobs, yes, and 80's babies looking for a nostalgic hike down memory lane - where they'll be held up and ripped off by Sire Records for this box set. Look - six Talking Heads discs have withstood the test of time ('77, More Songs About Buildings and Food, Fear of Music, Remain in Light, Speaking in Tongues, and Little Creatures). True Stories and Naked are draws. There are two live sets - The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads, still unavailable on CD, and Stop Making Sense, which is a perfect DVD. If you need the essays by Rick Moody and Mary Gaitskill (to name just two), the expanded Storytelling Giants DVD, and a handful of rarities: it's your money. But you'll miss the originals - their sequencing and gestalt, right down to the last abrasive screech - and reach for Remain in Light (retail price: $10), where they found that their quest for the meaning of life was loads more fun when it was invested with soul.