Out of all the studio albums that the Talking Heads released, Speaking in Tongues is by far my favorite. I was delighted that David Bryne and company decided to re release their entire studio catalogue on Dual Disc. Each album is now available individually or as part of an uber cool Brick Box Set with extra songs on the CD side, and 5.1 Surround sound on the DVD-Audio side.

CD This was the classic Talking Heads album originally released in 1983. It contains Burning Down the House, Making Flippy Floppy, Girlfriend is Bettter, Slippery People, I get Wild (wild gravity), Swamp, Moon Rocks, Pull Up the Roots and This must be the Place (naive melody)

CD EXTRAS This re release also contains Two Note Swivel an unfinished outtake, and an alternative version of Burning Down the House. The two extra songs are cool, and I liked the extended version of Burning Down the House.

DVD-Audio Side The album is presented in four tracks on the DVD side. You can choose to listen in advanced resolution 5.1 surround sound, and advanced resolution stereo if you have a DVD-Audio player, or you can listen in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound or PCM stereo if you have an ordinary DVD players. All the tracks are very well done, but my favorite is the Advanced Resolution Surround Sound mix.

DVD extras include an alternate 5.1 remix of Burning Down the House and two videos; Burning Down the House and This Must be the Place (Naive Melody. (Remember MTV, when they played music videos?)

On each of the Dual Discs, Talking Heads guitar player Jerry Harrison says a few words on the Surround sound mix which he mixed with Eric Thorngren. On Speaking in Tongues he says Like Remain in Light, Speaking in Tongues is a dense productions. The use of layered, syncopated parts made it ideal for a surround mix. when these mixes are right, I feel the music can engulf you, while still giving the image of a band playing in front of you. I knew that songs such as "Burning Down the House" and Slippery People" would work wonderfully, but I was surprised that a simple song such as "This must be the Place (Naive Melody)" would work so well. Eric [Thorngren, co mixer] and I were so excited by the results that we created an extended mix of "Burning Down the House" to close out the DVD.

Review of the 5.1 Advanced Resolution track I buy DVD-Audio for two reasons, one, the excellent sound quality and two, the surround sound mixes. I love being engulfed in the music. This album succeeds in spades at both!

Burning Down the House That familiar guitar and drum entrance fills the front sound stage, then David shouts Watch Out! you might get what you're after cool babies strange but not a stranger I'm an or din ary guy burning down the house! The multiple rhythms of this song are ideally suited for surround sound. This album also has the deepest bass of any of the Talking Heads albums with those great low bass growls of the synthesizers, drums and bass guitar.

Making Flippy Floppy Everybody get in line Nothing can come between us! so begins Brynes growling voice before the music kicks in full force. I love the way the drums in this one just surround you. Despite the thickness of the music, the surround sound lets you distinguish to a degree the bass from the drums from the synthesizer riffs. Its a fun song to just sit and let the dense rhythms fill your head.

Girlfriend is Better another of my favorite songs who took the money? who took the money away I .Its always showtime here at edge of the stage! I also absolutely love that big fat bass sound that they have in this song, it just rocks. That Baawwwwmm bawwwmmm boooom boom baawwmmmmmm. Then there's that wooo woo woooo ooo sound that keeps punching in from the sides. The sound bounces around to and fro, back and forth, it is so fun! If this song doesn't make you get up and move, check your pulse, you might be dead. To sum up this song Nothing is better than this

Slippery People begins with slamming bass guitar, soon joined by guitars and Brynes unique voice. Its another fun song continuing the bass heavy rhythmic assault on your senses.

I get Wild /Wild Gravity has rhythms that first hit from the front, then travel to the back of the room. It's a weird effect especially as the sounds swim through your head.

Swamp is another of my favorite songs on the album (although I love them all), with its bouncy sound. Bryne mumbles out the lyrics to the backdrop of the crazy sounds til finally you can hear him growl Let me tell you a story, the devil he has a plan a bag a bones in his pocket got anything you want. Of course my favorite part is when everyone starts to chant Haayy Hayy hayy Hayyy Haayy

Moon Rocks finds Bryne making strange gutteral mutterings that travel around the room amidst the backdrop of a dense musical background.

Pull Up the Roots follows with similar fun with the rhythms and six channels of sound.

This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) is a sprightly song which to me is anything but a naive melody, it is quite rich and complex, and as Jerry Harrison stated, it does lend itself quite well to the surround sound mix.

Finally, I enjoyed the alternate version of Burning Down the House, it sounds a bit airier and it's a minute longer to boot. I don't know what you expect starring into the TV set!

This album really benefits from the advanced resolution of DVD-Audio, and the bass just rocks deeper, and the rhythms engulf you in a way that just seems natural for the band's complex musical style. The Talking Heads use all six channels to create a rich multilayered sound from the original stereo tracks, and it has the effect of moving you right into the middle of the recording studio. The sound quality is spot on, with no hiss or background noise, just pure music. Everything is very clear on this album and its a great one to turn up loud and dance around to.

Summary If you do only get ONE Talking Heads Dual Disc, I think that Speaking in Tongues is the one to get, it is My favorite Talking Heads album, and the surround sound and the sound in general rocks on this album.



Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Waking up