Talking Heads expand Fear of Music with two complete 1979 shows
Rhino’s November 13 Fear of Music reissue includes studio rarities and two 1979 concerts released in full for the first time.
Talking Heads’ Fear of Music is getting a Super Deluxe Edition on November 13, 2026. Rhino’s newly detailed set pairs a remaster of the 1979 album with studio rarities and two concerts from the original tour.
The live recordings come from Boston’s Berklee Performance Center on August 24, 1979, and the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey, on November 17. Both shows are being issued in full for the first time, although some performances previously appeared on The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads.
The formats have different contents
The 3CD/Blu-ray and 6LP Super Deluxe editions include the album, rarities and both concerts. A separate 2LP edition contains the remastered album and rarities.
The Blu-ray adds Dolby Atmos, 5.1 and high-resolution stereo mixes, plus 1979 BBC Old Grey Whistle Test performances of “Life During Wartime” and “Air.” The band’s official YouTube channel posted the “Life During Wartime” video on October 1.
More ways into the arrangements
Both live sets include “Electric Guitar,” “Air” and “Life During Wartime.” That gives guitar listeners two contemporary points of comparison with the album arrangements, and a chance to follow the interplay of David Byrne, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz across different performances.