Once in a Lifetime (Talking Heads album)

Once in a Lifetime is a three-CD box set by American post-punk/new wave band Talking Heads, released in the United States by Sire, Warner Bros, and Rhino in 2003. The set also includes a DVD containing an expanded version of the music video compilation Storytelling Giant. The discs are packaged in a wide horizontal book that recalls a CD longbox, featuring paintings by Russian artists Vladimir Dubossarsky and Alexander Vinogradov and with art direction by Stefan Sagmeister (for which he received a 2005 Grammy Award for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package). Sagmeister would later work with David Byrne and Brian Eno on their 2008 collaborative album Everything That Happens Will Happen Today.

Once in a Lifetime
Box set by
ReleasedNovember 18, 2003 (2003-11-18)
Recorded1976–92
Genre
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerTony Bongiovi, Brian Eno, Nick Launay, Steve Lillywhite, Lance Quinn, Mark Spector
Talking Heads chronology
Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites
(1992)
Once in a Lifetime
(2003)
The Best of Talking Heads
(2004)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic83/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Blender[3]
The Guardian[4]
Entertainment WeeklyA–[5]
Q[6]
The Village VoiceC[7]

Only one previously unreleased song appears in this release: the Naked outtake "In Asking Land", previously reworked into the song "Carnival Eyes" on Byrne's 1989 solo album Rei Momo. Other non-album tracks are: "Sugar on My Tongue"—a 1975 studio demo, dating from when the band was still a trio (minus Jerry Harrison); the 1977 non-album single "Love → Building on Fire", the "Psycho Killer" B-side "I Wish You Wouldn't Say That"; and two Naked-era songs – "Sax and Violins" (finished in 1991 for the soundtrack to the film Until the End of the World) and "Lifetime Piling Up" (finished in 1992 for the Sand in the Vaseline compilation). These non-album tracks had all been included on the 1992 compilation Sand in the Vaseline, though three non-album tracks (1975 studio demo "I Want to Live" and 1992's "Gangster of Love" and "Popsicle") remain exclusive to that compilation, in terms of CD releases. Remastered versions of these three tracks were later issued on the download-only release Bonus Rarities and Outtakes in 2006.

This box set marked the first CD release of "A Clean Break", a 1977 live recording from 1982's The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads. However, that album was remastered and reissued in 2004 as a two-disc set.

Once in a Lifetime contains four previously unreleased "alternate versions", three of which would later be reissued in various forms: "Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town" and "New Feeling" are the original Tony Bongiovi "pop experiment" mixes, including brass parts and other more "commercial" production techniques that the band ultimately rejected; "Cities" is an alternate take that includes a verse previously heard only in live performances (most notably in a deleted scene from Stop Making Sense); and "Drugs" is an early mix of the song, featuring Robert Fripp on guitar and very different production and instrumentation than the final version. The alternate version of "Cities" was reissued on the 2006 remaster of Fear of Music, while the alternate versions of "New Feeling" and "Drugs" were reissued digitally on Bonus Rarities and Outtakes.

Track listing

All tracks are written by David Byrne except where noted.

Disc one
No.TitleWriter(s)OriginLength
1."Sugar on My Tongue" Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites, 19922:35
2."Love → Building on Fire" Non-album single, 19772:59
3."I Wish You Wouldn't Say That" B-side of "Psycho Killer" single, 19772:37
4."Don't Worry About the Government" Talking Heads: 77, 19773:00
5."Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town" (alternate version) Talking Heads: 772:55
6."New Feeling" (alternate version) Talking Heads: 77 
7."Pulled Up" Talking Heads: 774:30
8."Psycho Killer"Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina WeymouthTalking Heads: 774:20
9."Warning Sign"Byrne, FrantzMore Songs About Buildings and Food, 19783:55
10."Artists Only"Byrne, Wayne ZieveMore Songs About Buildings and Food3:35
11."Tentative Decisions" Talking Heads: 773:07
12."No Compassion" Talking Heads: 774:49
13."Stay Hungry"Byrne, FrantzMore Songs About Buildings and Food2:41
14."I'm Not in Love" More Songs About Buildings and Food4:34
15."The Book I Read" Talking Heads: 774:09
16."Thank You for Sending Me an Angel" More Songs About Buildings and Food2:13
17."Found a Job" More Songs About Buildings and Food5:01
18."A Clean Break" (live) The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads, 19824:57
19."Take Me to the River"Al Green, Mabon HodgesMore Songs About Buildings and Food5:04
20."The Big Country" More Songs About Buildings and Food5:31
21."Heaven" Fear of Music, 19794:01
Disc two
No.TitleWriter(s)OriginLength
1."I Zimbra"Byrne, Brian Eno, Hugo BallFear of Music3:01
2."Cities" (alternate version) Fear of Music5:27
3."Life During Wartime"Byrne, Frantz, Jerry Harrison, WeymouthFear of Music3:41
4."Air" Fear of Music3:32
5."Memories Can't Wait"Byrne, HarrisonFear of Music3:30
6."Drugs" (alternate version)Byrne, EnoFear of Music3:33
7."Once in a Lifetime"Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison, WeymouthRemain in Light, 19804:20
8."Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)"Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison, WeymouthRemain in Light5:47
9."Listening Wind"Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison, WeymouthRemain in Light4:41
10."Houses in Motion"Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison, WeymouthRemain in Light4:31
11."Crosseyed and Painless"Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison, WeymouthRemain in Light4:45
12."Burning Down the House"Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, WeymouthSpeaking in Tongues, 19834:01
13."Making Flippy Floppy"Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, WeymouthSpeaking in Tongues5:54
14."Girlfriend Is Better"Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, WeymouthSpeaking in Tongues5:43
15."Slippery People"Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, WeymouthSpeaking in Tongues5:05
16."Swamp"Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, WeymouthSpeaking in Tongues5:10
17."This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)"Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, WeymouthSpeaking in Tongues4:56
Disc three
No.TitleWriter(s)OriginLength
1."And She Was" Little Creatures, 19853:39
2."Stay Up Late" Little Creatures3:44
3."Creatures of Love" Little Creatures4:15
4."The Lady Don't Mind"Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, WeymouthLittle Creatures4:04
5."Road to Nowhere" Little Creatures4:20
6."Wild Wild Life" True Stories, 19863:41
7."Love for Sale" True Stories3:41
8."People Like Us" True Stories4:29
9."Puzzlin' Evidence" True Stories5:23
10."City of Dreams" True Stories5:09
11."Blind"Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, WeymouthNaked, 19885:00
12."Mr. Jones"Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, WeymouthNaked4:21
13."The Democratic Circus"Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, WeymouthNaked5:04
14."(Nothing But) Flowers"Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, WeymouthNaked5:33
15."In Asking Land"Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, WeymouthPreviously unreleased outtake from Naked sessions3:58
16."Sax and Violins"Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, WeymouthUntil the End of the World: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack, 19915:18
17."Lifetime Piling Up"Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, WeymouthSand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites3:53
Disc four: Storytelling Giant DVD
No.TitleMusic video director(s)Length
1."Once in a Lifetime"Toni Basil, Byrne 
2."Wild Wild Life"Byrne 
3."Stay Up Late"Ted Bafaloukos 
4."Blind" (previously unreleased)Rocky Morton, Annabel Jankel 
5."Crosseyed and Painless"Basil 
6."Burning Down the House"Byrne 
7."And She Was"Jim Blashfield 
8."Sax and Violins" (previously unreleased)Wim Wenders 
9."This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)"Byrne 
10."The Lady Don't Mind"Jim Jarmusch 
11."Love for Sale"Byrne, Melvin Sokolsky 
12."(Nothing But) Flowers" (previously unreleased)Tibor Kalman, Sandy MacLeod 
13."Road to Nowhere"Byrne, Stephen R. Johnson 

References

  1. "Critic Reviews for Once In A Lifetime". Metacritic. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Once in a Lifetime at AllMusic
  3. "Review". Blender. No. 23. January 2004. p. 122.
  4. Sweeting, Adam (November 27, 2003). "Talking Heads: Once in a Lifetime". The Guardian. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  5. "Review". Entertainment Weekly. November 28, 2003. p. 127.
  6. "Review". Q. December 2003. p. 156.
  7. Christgau, Robert (December 30, 2003). "Consumer Guide: Who Needs Boxes?". The Village Voice. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
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