Talking Heads – Tentative Decisions: Demos & Live [3CD Digibook]

Album Overview

Tentative Decisions: Demos & Live opens a window onto the earliest years of Talking Heads, tracing the development of David Byrne, Chris Frantz, and Tina Weymouth before the band’s debut album. Released in 2026, this expansive archival collection gathers previously unreleased demos, early live performances, and recordings connected to the trio’s formative period from 1974 through 1977.

The collection begins with early Talking Heads demos from 1975 and 1976, including formative versions of “Psycho Killer,” “Tentative Decisions,” “Warning Sign,” “The Book I Read,” and “Love Goes to a Building on Fire.” It also includes two recordings by The Artistics, the Rhode Island School of Design-era group formed by Byrne and Frantz, preserving some of the earliest known versions of material that would later become central to the Talking Heads catalog.

Disc Two presents the band’s previously unreleased September 1975 CBS/Columbia demo session, while Disc Three captures rare live performances from Max’s Kansas City, the Jabberwocky Club in Syracuse, and the Lower Manhattan Ocean Club. Together, the three discs document the rapid evolution of Talking Heads from experimental college musicians into one of the defining bands of New York’s emerging art-rock and new wave scene.

Why You’ll Love It

If you enjoy hearing how songs evolve before reaching their familiar studio versions, Tentative Decisions: Demos & Live offers an unusually detailed look at Talking Heads in their earliest stages. The combination of demos, unreleased sessions, and raw club performances makes this 3CD set especially compelling for longtime fans, collectors, and listeners interested in the creative development behind songs like “Psycho Killer,” “Warning Sign,” and “Thank You for Sending Me an Angel.”

Album Highlights

• 2026 3CD archival collection from Talking Heads
• Features demos and live recordings spanning 1974 through 1977
• Includes previously unreleased September 1975 CBS/Columbia demos
• Features early versions of “Psycho Killer,” “Warning Sign,” “The Book I Read,” and more
• Includes two early recordings by The Artistics
• Features live recordings from Max’s Kansas City in 1976
• Includes performances from the Jabberwocky Club in Syracuse in 1977
• Includes recordings from the Lower Manhattan Ocean Club
• Documents the original Talking Heads trio of David Byrne, Chris Frantz, and Tina Weymouth
• Presented as a 3CD digibook edition
• Released through Rhino and Sire Records

Track Listing

Disc One

1-1. Psycho Killer (September 1975 Demo)
1-2. Tentative Decisions (September 1975 Demo)
1-3. No Compassion (September 1975 Demo)
1-4. Warning Sign (September 1975 Demo)
1-5. I’m Not in Love (1976 Demo)
1-6. Thank You for Sending Me an Angel (1976 Demo)
1-7. The Book I Read (1976 Demo)
1-8. I Wish You Wouldn’t Say That (1976 Demo)
1-9. Love Goes to a Building on Fire (1976 Demo)
1-10. Happy Day (1976 Demo)
1-11. Artists Only (Live at the Lower Manhattan Ocean Club, New York, NY, August 17, 1976)
1-12. Psycho Killer – The Artistics
1-13. Warning Sign – The Artistics

Disc Two — CBS/Columbia Demos, September 1975

2-1. Psycho Killer
2-2. Sugar on My Tongue
2-3. Thank You for Sending Me an Angel
2-4. I Want to Live
2-5. I Wish You Wouldn’t Say That
2-6. The Girls Want to Be with the Girls
2-7. Who Is It?
2-8. With Our Love
2-9. Stay Hungry
2-10. Tentative Decisions
2-11. Warning Sign
2-12. I’m Not in Love
2-13. The Book I Read
2-14. Love Goes to a Building on Fire
2-15. No Compassion

Disc Three — Live at Max’s Kansas City, New York, NY, October 9, 1976

3-1. Artists Only
3-2. 1, 2, 3 Red Light
3-3. Happy Day
3-4. Don’t Worry About the Government
3-5. Psycho Killer
3-6. Love Goes to a Building on Fire
3-7. Thank You for Sending Me an Angel
3-8. With Our Love
3-9. Pablo Picasso
3-10. I’m Not in Love

Live at the Jabberwocky Club, Syracuse, NY, January 26, 1977

3-11. No Compassion
3-12. New Feeling
3-13. Psycho Killer
3-14. A Clean Break (Let’s Work)
3-15. Sugar on My Tongue

Live at the Lower Manhattan Ocean Club, New York, NY, August 17, 1976

3-16. I Wish You Wouldn’t Say That
3-17. Take Me to the River

Format Details

Artist: Talking Heads
Title: Tentative Decisions: Demos & Live
Format: 3CD
Packaging: Digibook
Release Type: Archival Compilation
Recording Years: 1974–1977
Physical Release Year: 2026
Label: Rhino / Sire Records
Catalog Number: R2 728486
Country: Worldwide
Release Date: March 6, 2026
UPC: 603497809523

Preview the release below before adding this 3CD digibook edition of Tentative Decisions: Demos & Live to your collection.