Popular Favorites 1976–1992: Sand in the Vaseline is a two-disc compilation album released by Talking Heads in 1992. It contains two previously unreleased demo recordings ("Sugar on My Tongue," "I Want to Live"), a non-album A-side ("Love → Building on Fire") and B-side ("I Wish You Wouldn't Say That") and three newly finished songs ("Gangster of Love," "Lifetime Piling Up" and "Popsicle"). The latter three tracks were all based on unreleased outtakes from previous studio sessions and had been finished for exclusive release on this compilation.[3]
| Popular Favorites 1976–1992: Sand in the Vaseline | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | October 13, 1992 | |||
| Recorded | 1975–1991 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 139:47 | |||
| Label | Sire/Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | Tony Bongiovi, David Byrne, Brian Eno, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, Nick Launay, Steve Lillywhite, Lance Quinn, Mark Spector, Tina Weymouth | |||
| Talking Heads chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Popular Favorites 1976–1992: Sand in the Vaseline | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [2] |
The album was also available as a three-disc LP set at the time of release.[4]
The album's title and cover art incorporated the 1974 painting by Ed Ruscha, Sand in the Vaseline.[5]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by David Byrne, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original release | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sugar on My Tongue" | previously unreleased demo, 1975 | 2:36 | |
| 2. | "I Want to Live" | previously unreleased demo, 1976 | 3:23 | |
| 3. | "Love → Building on Fire" | non-album single, 1977 | 2:57 | |
| 4. | "I Wish You Wouldn't Say That" | B-side of "Psycho Killer" single, 1977 | 2:36 | |
| 5. | "Psycho Killer" | Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth | Talking Heads: 77, 1977 | 4:20 |
| 6. | "Don't Worry About the Government" | Talking Heads: 77 | 3:00 | |
| 7. | "No Compassion" | Talking Heads: 77 | 4:50 | |
| 8. | "Warning Sign" | Byrne, Frantz | More Songs About Buildings and Food, 1978 | 3:54 |
| 9. | "The Big Country" | More Songs About Buildings and Food | 5:30 | |
| 10. | "Take Me to the River" | Al Green, Teenie Hodges | More Songs About Buildings and Food | 5:02 |
| 11. | "Heaven" | Byrne, Jerry Harrison | Fear of Music, 1979 | 4:02 |
| 12. | "Memories Can't Wait" | Byrne, Harrison | Fear of Music | 3:31 |
| 13. | "I Zimbra" | Byrne, Brian Eno, Hugo Ball | Fear of Music | 3:07 |
| 14. | "Once in a Lifetime" | Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth | Remain in Light, 1980 | 4:19 |
| 15. | "Crosseyed and Painless" | Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth | Remain in Light | 4:45 |
| 16. | "Burning Down the House" | Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth | Speaking in Tongues, 1983 | 4:01 |
| 17. | "Swamp" | Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth | Speaking in Tongues | 5:13 |
| 18. | "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" | Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth | Speaking in Tongues | 4:56 |
| Total length: | 72:02 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original release | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Life During Wartime" (Live) | Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth | Stop Making Sense, 1984 | 5:04 |
| 2. | "Girlfriend Is Better" (Live) | Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth | Stop Making Sense | 3:36 |
| 3. | "And She Was" | Little Creatures, 1985 | 3:39 | |
| 4. | "Stay Up Late" | Little Creatures | 3:53 | |
| 5. | "Road to Nowhere" | Little Creatures | 4:20 | |
| 6. | "Wild Wild Life" | True Stories, 1986 | 3:40 | |
| 7. | "Love for Sale" | True Stories | 4:32 | |
| 8. | "City of Dreams" | True Stories | 5:08 | |
| 9. | "Mr. Jones" | Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth | Naked, 1988 | 4:20 |
| 10. | "Blind" | Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth | Naked | 5:00 |
| 11. | "(Nothing But) Flowers" | Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth | Naked | 5:34 |
| 12. | "Sax and Violins" | Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth | Until the End of the World soundtrack, 1991 | 5:18 |
| 13. | "Gangster of Love" | Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth | Based on outtakes from Remain in Light and Naked sessions, 1980/1987 and finished in August, 1991 | 4:29 |
| 14. | "Lifetime Piling Up" | Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth | Outtake from Naked sessions | 3:53 |
| 15. | "Popsicle" | Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth | Outtake from Speaking in Tongues sessions | 5:19 |
| Total length: | 67:45 | |||
Charts
edit| Chart (1992) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[6] | 37 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[7] | 7 |
| US Billboard 200[8] | 158 |
| Single | Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Sax and Violins" | 1991 | US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[9] | 1 |
| "Lifetime Piling Up" | 1992 | US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[9] | 11 |
References
edit- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Popular Favorites 1976–1992: Sand in the Vaseline at AllMusic
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
- ^ "1991 - Popular favorites: Sand in the Vaseline". www.talking-heads.nl.
- ^ "Talking Heads - Sand In The Vaseline - Popular Favorites 1976-1992". Discogs.
- ^ "Sand in the Vaseline | ed Ruscha".
- ^ "Charts.nz – Talking Heads – Popular Favorites - Sand in the Vaseline". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
- ^ "Talking Heads | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
- ^ "Talking Heads Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
- ^ a b "Talking Heads Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved August 5, 2016.