The Catherine Wheel (album)

The Catherine Wheel is David Byrne's musical score commissioned by Twyla Tharp for her dance project.[3][4] The Catherine Wheel premiered September 22, 1981, at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City.

The Catherine Wheel
Soundtrack album by David Byrne
Released	December 1981
Genre	Art rock, worldbeat, funk
Length	68:53
Label	Sire
Producer	David Byrne
David Byrne chronology
My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (1981) The Catherine Wheel (1981) Music for "The Knee Plays" (1985)
Alternative cover

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	A-[2]

The tracks "Big Blue Plymouth", "My Big Hands", "Big Business", and "What a Day That Was", were performed live by Talking Heads in 1982 and 1983; the latter two appear in their Stop Making Sense film, and "What a Day That Was" appears on the album.

Track listing

LP track listing

All songs written by David Byrne, except as indicated.

Side one

1. "His Wife Refused" – 4:26
2. "Two Soldiers" (music: Byrne, Brian Eno) – 4:45
3. "The Red House" – 3:17
4. "My Big Hands (Fall Through the Cracks)" – 2:45
5. "Big Business" (lyrics: Byrne, music: Byrne, John Chernoff) – 5:16

Side two

6. "Eggs in a Briar Patch" – 3:31
7. "Poison" – 2:38
8. "Cloud Chamber" – 2:42
9. "What a Day That Was" – 5:32
10. "Big Blue Plymouth (Eyes Wide Open)" – 4:45
11. "Light Bath" – 1:08

Cassette and CD track listing

All songs written by David Byrne, except as indicated.

1. "Light Bath" – 1:09
2. "His Wife Refused" – 4:31
3. "Ade" (music: Byrne, Eno)  – 3:22
4. "Walking" (music: Byrne, John Chernoff)  – 0:52
5. "Two Soldiers" (music: Byrne, Brian Eno)  – 3:31
6. "Under the Mountain" – 0:53
7. "Dinosaur" – 2:36
8. "The Red House" – 3:17
9. "Wheezing" – 3:12
10. "Eggs in a Briar Patch" – 3:31
11. "Poison" – 2:31
12. "Cloud Chamber" – 2:50
13. "Black Flag" – 2:29
14. "My Big Hands (Fall Through the Cracks)" – 2:46
15. "Combat" (music: Byrne, Chernoff)  – 2:45
16. "Leg Bells" (lyrics: Byrne, music: Byrne, Chernoff)  – 2:40
17. "The Blue Flame" – 3:25
18. "Big Business" (lyrics: Byrne, music: Byrne, Chernoff)  – 5:06
19. "Dense Beasts" – 3:11
20. "Five Golden Sections" – 2:53
21. "What a Day That Was" – 5:30
22. "Big Blue Plymouth (Eyes Wide Open)" – 4:43
23. "Light Bath" – 1:10

Personnel

"His Wife Refused"

• Adrian Belew – steel drum guitar
• David Byrne – vocals, bass, guitars
• John Chernoff – gung gong
• Yogi Horton – drums
• Bernie Worrell – mini Moog, piano

"Two Soldiers"

• Adrian Belew – guitars
• David Byrne – basses, guitar, OBX, primetime
• John Chernoff – congas
• Brian Eno – bass, piano
• Yogi Horton – drums

"The Red House"

• David Byrne – basses, guitars, Prophet synthesizer
• Brian Eno – Prophet synthesizer, scream
• Yogi Horton – drums

"My Big Hands"

• David Byrne – vocals, bass, guitars, percussion, Prophet synthesizer
• Yogi Horton – drums

"Big Business"

• David Byrne – vocals, bass, fierce and high guitars
• John Chernoff – galloping guitar
• Bernie Worrell – clavinet

"Eggs in a Briar Patch"

• Adrian Belew – floating guitars
• David Byrne – guitars, horses
• John Chernoff – gung gong
• Brian Eno – bass, vibes
• Jerry Harrison – clavinet
• Yogi Horton – drums

"Poison"

• David Byrne – vocals, bass, guitars, mini synthesizer, Prophet synthesizer strings
• Dolette McDonald – vocals

"Cloud Chamber"

• David Byrne – kitchen metals
• Jerry Harrison – large drum
• Twyla Tharp – water pot

"What a Day That Was"

• David Byrne – vocals, bass, guitars, synthesizers
• John Cooksey – drums
• Steve Scales – congas

"Big Blue Plymouth"

• David Byrne – vocals, guitars
• Sue Halloran – vocals
• Yogi Horton – concert toms, drums

"Light Bath"

• David Byrne – triggered flutes
• John Chernoff – percussion

CD credits

• Adrian Belew – electric guitar, steel guitar, sound effects, steel drums, beats
• David Byrne – synthesizer, bass guitar, flute, guitar, piano, sound effects, vocals, clavinet, Prophet synthesizer, Oberheim synthesizer
• John Chernoff – guitar, percussion, piano, conga, gung gong, drums
• John Cooksey – drums
• Brian Eno – bass guitar, guitar, piano, keyboards, background vocals, vibraphone, Prophet synthesizer, screams
• Doug Gray – double bell euphonium
• Sue Halloran – vocals
• Jerry Harrison – organ, drums, clavinet
• Richard Horowitz – ney
• Yogi Horton – drums, concert toms
• Dolette McDonald – vocals
• Steve Scales – percussion, conga
• Bernie Worrell – synthesizer, piano, keyboards, clavinet, Moog synthesizer

Charts

Year	Chart	Position
1982	Billboard 200	104[5]

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
Worldwide	1981	Warner Bros.	LP	3645
		Sire	Cassette tape	M5S-3645
	1987	Luaka Bop	CD	3645
	1990	Warner Bros.	Cassette tape	3645
			CD

References

1. Anderson, Rick. The Catherine Wheel at AllMusic
2. "Robert Christgau: CG: David Byrne". www.robertchristgau.com.
3. Kisselgoff, Anna (September 23, 1981). "Dance: Twyla Tharp's New 'Wheel'" – via NYTimes.com.
4. "David Byrne".
5. "David Byrne". Billboard.