An incredible David Byrne/Talking Heads collectible–a previously undocumented 7″ studio master tape of David Byrne playing different instruments and singing cover songs during the recording of Talking Heads’ 1977 debut album.

We acquired these from Ed Stasium, who engineered and mixed Talking Heads ’77; included is his signed letter of authenticity detailing the history of the tape, as well as a high resolution digital transfer on CD made by Ed.

Stasium’s letter (below) explains “While we recording overdubs at ODO Studios (located right under Studio 54) I recorded these snippets of David playing acoustic guitar and singing a few choice ditties.  Some general studio chatter and experimentation on other instruments are also included.”

Byrne sings parts of  These Boots Are Made For Walking, I’m Not Ready, I Walk The Line, Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat and Devil or Angel, in addition to fooling around on electric guitar, conga, and celeste.  At the end David and Jerry Harrison discuss a Hammond B-3 part on Happy Day.  The tape runs 12 minutes overall.

As Stasium explains in an accompanying document, tapes from the 1970’s need to be “baked”–or heated in a controlled enviornment–before playback; the binder used to attach the magnetic particles to the backing can be unstable after many years.  Ed baked this tape before transferring it digitally in his recording studio; we suggest the owner not try to play it.

This auction is for this tape, CD transfer and documentation, sold as a collectible only.  No rights of reproduction or copyright are included or inferred. As illustrated below, we have commissioned a frame for this tape which can be hung on the wall or displayed on a table.  The frame can easily be slid open and the tape removed.  The frame is shown only as an example of how this tape might be displayed and is NOT INCLUDED but can be ordered separately.

A unique opportunity to obtain a truly one-of-a-kind David Byrne collectible.