I was looking up a few albums to see how much they sold over the years, and I noticed that Remain In Light by the Talking Heads has not gone platinum since its release in 1980. Isn't this a little strange for such a popular band? I thought "Once in a Lifetime" was their biggest hit, but it seems that even LITTLE CREATURES sold four times as many copies as RIL.

Is this album really not as popular as I originally thought?

I don't know but it is definitely on my list of albums I'd like to see remastered already!!

Geezum, I bought it at least three times over the years.

Of course it isn't. Just listen to it: quirky, intelligent, exotic, and visionary. Do any of those sound like the traits of a massively popular band?

"Burning Down The House" was their biggest hit.

I've been holding off on buying these, because Rhino is supposed to give them the remastered/bunus tracks/etc. treatment...
They were supposed to come out late last year...
I'm still waiting...

I think the mastering on the original CD release is par excellent. It's one of the few early cd's that actually do something with Dolby surround. I'm glad it's not platinum, because the masses don't deserve this album.

I thought you hated TH?

I can't argue that it does already sound pretty damn good. I guess it's just a case of seeing some of the crap that is getting the special treatment and thinking-if any album deserved it, it would be this one!

Nope, not me. I think their first four are extraordinary. "Fear Of Music" is my fave, and ranked pretty high in the original Listmania. I enjoy "Speaking In Tongues". "Little Creatures" was a huge disappointment, considering I played hookie to go to the record store to buy it the day it was released.

My bad. I must be thinking of the other poster - Satan.

One thing that you have to factor in is that albums don't just go Gold & Platinum on their own - the label has to request an audit/accounting of how they've sold.

For instance - KISS "Alive!" is still only "officially" Gold, even though it's obviously sold way more than 500,000 copies in 30 years.

Speaking in tounges was their commercial breakthrough with Burning Down the House getting lots of airplay. Once in a Lifetime got some MTV play, but that was about it. The 80s wasn't nearly as hip to this sort of thing in reality as it seems in flashback TV shows and movies.

Oh yea, another vote for Fear of Music, my favorite as well.

I'm not sure but I think Once In A Lifetime became a bigger hit when the live version was used in the film Down And Out In Beverly Hills about...6 years after Remain In Light

Steve