Most of the other reviewers have made good points so I'll try to be brief and not repeat. I was always a fair weather Talking Heads fan and finally got fully into them with the live "The Name of This Band..." release. I was overcome and had to go out and get their first four releases. I feel the best wat to explore this band is to start at the beginning and you can slowly trace their progress from an educated pop band all the way into their more produced rhythms and textures. I always remember a review from Rolling Stone about one of their shows at a festival when they suddenly appeared as an eight piece, or so, band. It may not seem like the same band if you just have one disc of the entire career. It seems jolting somewhat all the transitions they have gone through. I would strongly recommend progressing from :77, More Songs..., Fear of Music, Remain in Light, Speaking in Tongues, True Stories, Little Creatures, all the way to Naked. This way it's a natural progression and showcases the pure genius of their evolution. A good live presentation of this is the Jonathan Demme film "Stop Making Sense" which opens with Byrne alone on a baren stage and adds one musician per song up to their full strength. I saw this show three times. Once as part of their tour at the Greek, then as a rehearsal at the Long Beach Arena, and finally for the actual filming at the Pantages. Truly one of the greatest concert films ever and a true showing of their changes over the years.

I have only one Talking Heads CD....And with this one, What else do you need?

not including Stay Up Late. You know that song "please let me hold him, I want to make him stay up all night". If your a casual fan of TH and just wanted a greatest hits, like I said, it's almost perfect. It has the mainstream hits Take Me To The River, Once In A Lifetime, Burning Down The House, And She Was, Wild Wild Life, Psycho Killer. Although I really feel the version Psycho Chicken by The Fools is much better. But there ya go, 6 great songs for $14.99, ya ain't gonna find that on a late night infomercial.

.... thats what you must have if you dont grab this OUTSTANDING cd. only wish I had spotted it years ago, what a great set of tunes!!! A lot of bang for the buck.

The Best of Talking Heads is the latest in a (relatively short compared to other artists) line of "Greatest Hits" for the band. However, if you are someone who is looking for a single-disc package of the best songs from each of the band's albums, this is the CD for you. With an average of two songs from each album and a running time of over 75 minutes, it gives a very good overview of the band. The songs are very well picked given the limitations of the medium, and I don't think you can do much better when trying to turn a casual listener into a full-fledged fan. Sure, you can argue about the selections: "Houses in Motion" over "Born Under Punches"? No "I Zimbra"? But remember, this CD is for "new" listeners, and throwing songs like "Born Under Punches" in is like trying to teach calculus to a five-year-old. As for "I Zimbra", it pales in comparison to the other three selections from Fear of Music. Overall, this album is a great conversion tool to pop in while driving with a friend, which is exactly what it is for.