Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites

Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites is a two-disc compilation album released by Talking Heads in 1992. It contains two previously unreleased demo recordings ("Sugar on My Tongue," "I Want to Live"), a non-album a-side ("Love → Building on Fire") and b-side ("I Wish You Wouldn't Say That") and three newly finished songs ("Gangster of Love," "Lifetime Piling Up" and "Popsicle"). The latter three tracks were all based on unreleased outtakes from previous studio sessions and had been finished for exclusive release on this compilation.[3]

Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites
Compilation album by Talking Heads
Released	October 13, 1992
Recorded	1975–1988
Genre	Rock
Length	139:47
Label	Sire/Warner Bros.
Producer	Tony Bongiovi, David Byrne, Brian Eno, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, Nick Launay, Steve Lillywhite, Lance Quinn, Mark Spector, Tina Weymouth
Talking Heads chronology
Naked (1988) Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites (1992) Once in a Lifetime (2003)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[2]

The album was also available as a three disc LP set at the time of release.[4]

The album's title and cover art incorporated the 1974 painting by Ed Ruscha, Sand in the Vaseline.[5]

Track listing

All tracks are written by David Byrne, except where noted.

Disc one – 1976–1983

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Sugar on My Tongue" (previously unreleased demo, 1975)		2:36
2.	"I Want to Live" (previously unreleased demo, 1976)		3:23
3.	"Love → Building on Fire" (non-album single, 1977)		2:57
4.	"I Wish You Wouldn't Say That" (b-side of "Psycho Killer" single, 1977)		2:36
5.	"Psycho Killer" (from Talking Heads: 77, 1977)	Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth	4:20
6.	"Don't Worry About the Government" (from Talking Heads: 77)		3:00
7.	"No Compassion" (from Talking Heads: 77)		4:50
8.	"Warning Sign" (from More Songs About Buildings and Food, 1978)	Byrne, Frantz	3:54
9.	"The Big Country" (from More Songs About Buildings and Food)		5:30
10.	"Take Me to the River" (from More Songs About Buildings and Food)	Al Green, Teenie Hodges	5:02
11.	"Heaven" (from Fear of Music, 1979)	Byrne, Jerry Harrison	4:02
12.	"Memories Can't Wait" (from Fear of Music)	Byrne, Harrison	3:31
13.	"I Zimbra" (from Fear of Music)	Byrne, Brian Eno, Hugo Ball	3:07
14.	"Once in a Lifetime" (from Remain in Light, 1980)	Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth	4:19
15.	"Crosseyed and Painless" (from Remain in Light)	Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth	4:45
16.	"Burning Down the House" (from Speaking in Tongues, 1983)	Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth	4:01
17.	"Swamp" (from Speaking in Tongues)	Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth	5:13
18.	"This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" (from Speaking in Tongues)	Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth	4:56
Total length:			72:02

Disc two – 1984–1992

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Life During Wartime (Live)" (from Stop Making Sense, 1984; originally from Fear of Music)	Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth	5:04
2.	"Girlfriend Is Better (Live)" (from Stop Making Sense; originally from Speaking in Tongues)	Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth	3:36
3.	"And She Was" (from Little Creatures, 1985)		3:39
4.	"Stay Up Late" (from Little Creatures)		3:53
5.	"Road to Nowhere" (from Little Creatures)		4:20
6.	"Wild Wild Life" (from True Stories, 1986)		3:40
7.	"Love for Sale" (from True Stories)		4:32
8.	"City of Dreams" (from True Stories)		5:08
9.	"Mr. Jones" (from Naked, 1988)	Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth	4:20
10.	"Blind" (from Naked)	Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth	5:00
11.	"(Nothing But) Flowers" (from Naked)	Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth	5:34
12.	"Sax and Violins" (from Until the End of the World soundtrack, 1991)	Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth	5:18
13.	"Gangster of Love" (previously unreleased, 1992; based on outtakes from Remain in Light and Naked sessions, 1980/1987 and finished in August, 1991)	Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth	4:29
14.	"Lifetime Piling Up" (previously unreleased; outtake from Naked sessions, 1987)	Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth	3:53
15.	"Popsicle" (previously unreleased; outtake from Speaking in Tongues sessions, 1983)	Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth	5:19
Total length:			67:45

Charts

Sales chart performance for Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites

Chart (1992)	Peak position
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[6]	37
UK Albums (OCC)[7]	7
US Billboard 200[8]	158

Chart performance for singles from
Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites

Single	Year	Chart	Position
"Sax and Violins"	1991		US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[9]	1
"Lifetime Piling Up"	1992		US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[9]	11

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites at AllMusic
2. Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
3. "1991 - Popular favorites: Sand in the Vaseline". www.talking-heads.nl.
4. "Talking Heads - Sand In The Vaseline - Popular Favorites 1976-1992". Discogs.
5. https://edruscha.com/works/sand-in-the-vaseline/
6. "Charts.nz – Talking Heads – Popular Favorites - Sand in the Vaseline". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
7. "Talking Heads | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
8. "Talking Heads Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
9. "Talking Heads Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved August 5, 2016.