Although Talking Heads’ debut album was only reissued on vinyl in 2020, it wasn’t given the deluxe treatment. Like The Police with Synchronicity, Talking Heads are only now giving fans some luxury options of their LPs.
If 77 isn’t quite as extravagant as The Police for demos, then the main prize is undeniably a catch: a previously-unreleased live album from CBGBs.
It’s as good an opportunity as any to let people aged under the age of 65 hear what the venue was actually like, from David Byrne’s hesitant version of his famed “The name of this band is Talking Heads” introduction to attacking Take Me To The River way too fast, possibly because some club regulars wanted them to be as frantic as those Ramones and Television guys.