DavidEnryb

(text partly taken from WBR international's David Byrne Bio, May-05-94)

In 1993, while writing new material, David Byrne did a number of acoustic dates, including duets with Lucinda Williams, Roseanne Cash and Natalie Merchant. These led to a renewed focus on songs and songwriting, which in turn led Byrne to put together a new, much smaller band consisting of drummer Todd Turkisher, Paul Socolow on bass and Mauro Reforsco on mallet instruments (vibes, marimba) and percussion.

After doing a number of club dates on the East Coast of the US to break in the new material, including two unannounced nights at CBGB's, the band was ready to record 'David Enryb'. Byrne feels that 'the sound and the arrangements of this CD were definitely inspired by my work with them. I really enjoy their versatility and intensity'

The new recording was produced by Arto Lindsay and Susan Rogers. Of the two producers, Byre says: 'I thought they would complement one-another. They come from different coasts, and somewhat diferent worlds.' Arto, a fixture of various downtown New York groups (Ambitious Lovers, DNA) has produced Brazilian stars Marisa Monte, Caetano Veloso and Gal Costa. Susan, who also engineered, has worked with Prince, Michael Penn and Michael Jackson and produced Luaka Bop's new Geggy Tah record. Byrne adds that Susan Rogers has the ability to listen to what the song is about and be technical at the same time.

After the album was released on May 20 1994 in Europe, and May 24 in the US, the four-piece band toured around the world to promote it. Along with the tracks from the new album, they also played a lot of Byrne- and Talking Heads classics. Byrne: 'I think the record as a whole something to say. It speaks to me about my life and how I live and how I relate to other people'

The inlay of the CD contains black & white photos, shot by Jean-Baptiste Mondino. Besides the regular release, there's also a limited edition (5,000 copies) of the album, packed as a photobook on A5-format with lots of photo's and a 'hairy' CD.

Tracks:

1. A Long Time Ago
2. Angels
3. Crash
4. A Self-Made Man
5. Back In The Box
6. Sad Song
7. Nothing At All
8. My Love Is You
9. Lilies Of The Valley
10. You & Eye
11. Strange Ritual
12. Buck Naked

The first single of the album was 'Angles', a mostly spoken song for which Byrne says he drew inspiration from the 'Beat'-poets and 'My Bloody valentine', thought he admits 'the result sounds like neither'.

It came on CDSingle with two previously unreleased tracks, 'Princess' and 'Ready For The World'.

The second single release was 'Back In The Box' and is available in 2 different packages; the European release came in an ordinary CDSingle case, with two live tracks, recorded at the Keswick Theatre by WXPN, Phila. Pa, July 20, 1994 : 'Gypsy Woman' (A cover version from a hit by Crystal Waters) and 'Girls On My Mind' The US release came in a special carton gatefold box, with completely different artwork and contains the following tracks:

1. Back In The Box (Vox In The Box Mix)
2. Back In The Box (Contemporary Hermit Mix)
3. Gypsy Woman (Recorded live at Acoustica TV show in Milan, Italy)
4. Back In The Box (Gut Reaction Mix)
5. A Woman's Secret (Ambient Version)
6. Back In The Box (Album Version)
7. Cool Water (Live at the Keswick Theatre, Philadelphia)