New Picnic Time

The working title was Goodbye, and the recording sessions were stressful and contentious. Thomas said the band had been intent on stretching the boundaries of the song, that he pushed maybe too hard, and that All the Dogs Are Barking was the breaking point. On The Fabulous Sequel the studio had only one of a pair of maracas, so microphones were set out on the gravel drive and the band walked around in circles to make the sound. The single, Have Shoes Will Walk (The Fabulous Sequel), came out in October 1979 in the UK with a live Humor Me, recorded in London on 5 December 1978, and The Book Is On The Table on the B-side.

Chrysalis was unhappy with the finished album and refused to release it in America. After one US tour Herman left, and the band went quiet before it came back in 1980 with Mayo Thompson. The lyrics of The Voice of the Sand are based on poetry by Vachel Lindsay. The album has been called the black sheep of the catalog. Dave McCullough of Sounds called it "exhilarating, funny, somehow very vital music" and John Orme of Melody Maker ended his review with "Don't forget to laugh." Thomas said years later, after the Fire reissue, that he realized it had been a brilliant record that advanced the band in exactly the way it should have.