[Review] Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense (1984)

The soundtrack of the film of the tour of North America.

Kronomyth 7.0: Robert Burnsing down the house.

Thar’s a gaise tha hounts tha haise
ahn tweests itself in perty shapes
ta sli’ by in mahcuryal haste.
Et spaiks is name in balden’d toong
a moankey gode on astic roon
abof a wile blaidloostriss throong.
A glaimpse of is quick sool wuz coat un disk
tha raist un film (a galp to this smail sip)
bah moost wuh raither chooz ta dahns than sit.
Them haids thay’d sants grain lohng im toof
ere wans thay oonlee spake tha troof
hare nansens proose tha betta roose.
Wha i’day tha moostaben fair them tha shaird it
if yea mist it betta then alest t’vaird it
annif noon a this may sens then say iv skared it.

Original elpee version

A1. Psycho Killer (David Byrne/Tina Weymouth/Chris Frantz) (4:20)
A2. Swamp (David Byrne/Chris Frantz/Jerry Harrison/Tina Weymouth) (4:20)
A3. Slippery People (David Byrne/Chris Frantz/Jerry Harrison/Tina Weymouth) (4:01)
A4. Burning Down the House (David Byrne/Chris Frantz/Jerry Harrison/Tina Weymouth) 4:10
A5. Girlfriend Is Better (David Byrne/Chris Frantz/Jerry Harrison/Tina Weymouth) 5:01
B1. Once in a Lifetime (David Byrne/Chris Frantz/Jerry Harrison/Tina Weymouth/Brian Eno) (5:20)
B2. What a Day That Was (David Byrne) (6:24)
B3. Life During Wartime (David Byrne) (5:39)
B4. Take Me to the River (Al Green/Mabon Hodges) (5:36)

Special New Edition version
1. Psycho Killer
2. Heaven
3. Thank You for Sernding Me an Angel
4. Found a Job
5. Slippery People
6. Burning Down the House
7. Life During Wartime
8. Making Flippy Floppy
9. Swamp
10. What a Day That Was
11. This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)
12. Once in a Lifetime
13. Genius of Love
14. Girlfriend Is Better
15. Take Me to the River
16. Crosseyed and Painless

The Players

David Byrne (vocals and guitar), Chris Frantz (drums and vocals), Jerry Harrison (guitar, keyboards and vocals), Tina Weymouth (bass and vocals) with Edna Holt (backing vocals), Lynn Mabry (backing vocals), Steve Scales (percussion), Alex Weir (guitar and vocals), Bernie Worrell (keyboards). Produced by Gary Goetzman; live recording engineered by Allen Chinowsky; film recording engineered by Mark Wolfson and Joel Moss; mixing by E.T. Thorngren, David Byrne, Chris Frantz and Jerry Harrison.

The Pictures

Package design and writing by David Byrne, Michael Hodgson and Jeff Ayeroff. Cover photo by Adelle Lutz. Other photos by Hugh Brown and Dave Friedman.

The Plastic

Released on elpee, cassette and compact disc in October 1984 in the US (Sire, 25186), the UK (EMI, TAH/TAHTC1/CDP 7 46064), Canada (Sire 92 51861) and Germany (EMI, 064 2402 431) with picture innersleeve. Reached #41 on the US charts (RIAA-certified 2x platinum record) and #37 on the UK charts.

  1. Re-released as Special New Edition on expanded, remastered compact disc in September 1999 in the US (Warner Bros., 47489) and in 1999 in Europe (EMI, 522 453) with 7 bonus tracks.

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