Stop Making Sense (album) explained

Stop Making Sense
Type:live
Artist:Talking Heads
Cover:Stop Making Sense - Talking Heads.jpg
Recorded:December 13–16, 1983[1]
Venue:The Pantages Theatre, Hollywood
Genre:
Length:39:37
Label:
Producer:
Prev Title:Speaking in Tongues
Prev Year:1983
Next Title:Little Creatures
Next Year:1985

Stop Making Sense is a live album by the American rock band Talking Heads, also serving as the soundtrack to the concert film of the same name. It was released in September 1984 and features nine tracks from the film, albeit with treatment and editing. The album spent over two years on the Billboard 200 chart. It was their first album to be distributed by EMI outside North America.

Limited pressings of the original LP version featured a full-colour picture book wrapped around the album jacket; standard versions had many of the pictures (printed in black and white) and captions on the album's inner sleeve. The CD release of the album includes the full-colour book, but it rearranges the layout to conform to the dimensions of a square CD booklet (compared to the vertically-oriented rectangular shape of the LP book). In 1999, a 16-track re-release—with content and sound closely matching those of the film—coincided with the 15th anniversary of the concert filming. An expanded 40th anniversary edition was released by Rhino Records in August 2023, marking the first official release of the complete concert recording,[2] alongside a theatrical re-release of the film by A24.[3] [4] A tribute album, , was released by A24 Music on May 17 2024, featuring artists such as Paramore, Miley Cyrus, Lorde, The National, Girl In Red, Blondshell and BadBadNotGood.[5]

The album was ranked number 345 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[6] In 2000, it was voted number 394 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[7] In 2012, Slant Magazine listed the album at #61 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s".[8]

Background and recording

Frantz stated in the liner notes of , "When ["Slippery People"] was originally recorded on Speaking in Tongues, it had a funky and compact sound. This Stop Making Sense version is funky and big as a house. (Or should I say church?)"

Reception

"A bona fide classic," opined Neil Jeffries in a five-star review of the reissue for Empire, "a perfectly measured snapshot of a widely loved and respected band playing at the height of their powers ... No other band could do this. No other music movie soundtrack sounds this good."[9] "A timely reminder of the achievements of perhaps the most underrated band of the post-punk age," concurred Q. "From its stripped-down intro ... to the nine-piece finale, Stop Making Sense remains heady, stirring stuff."[10]

Track listing

All songs written by David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth except as noted.[11]

Side one

  1. "Psycho Killer" (Byrne, Frantz, Weymouth) – 4:28
  2. "Swamp" – 3:50 (LP) 4:28 (cassette, CD)
  3. "Slippery People" – 3:35 (LP) 4:13 (different mix; cassette, CD)
  4. "Burning Down the House" – 4:14
  5. "Girlfriend Is Better" (Byrne) – 3:32 (LP) 5:07 (cassette, CD)

Side two

  1. "Once in a Lifetime" (Byrne, Brian Eno, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth) – 4:34 (LP) 5:34 (cassette, CD)
  2. "What a Day That Was" (Byrne) – 5:08 (LP) 6:30 (cassette, CD)
  3. "Life During Wartime" – 4:52 (LP) 5:52 (cassette, CD)
  4. "Take Me to the River" (Al Green, Teenie Hodges) – 6:00

Film/Special New Edition Soundtrack

Bonus live tracks "Heaven" and "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" were available as B-sides on various US 7-inch and UK 12-inch singles during the album's original release. These versions were released on the Special Edition soundtrack.

  1. "Psycho Killer" (Byrne, Frantz, Weymouth) – 4:24
  2. "Heaven" (Byrne, Harrison) – 3:41
  3. "Thank You for Sending Me an Angel" (Byrne) – 2:09
  4. "Found a Job" (Byrne) – 3:15
  5. "Slippery People" – 4:00
  6. "Burning Down the House" – 4:06
  7. "Life During Wartime" – 5:51
  8. "Making Flippy Floppy" – 4:40
  9. "Swamp" – 4:30
  10. "What a Day That Was" (Byrne) – 6:00
  11. "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" – 4:57
  12. "Once in a Lifetime" (Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth) – 5:25
  13. "Genius of Love" (Weymouth, Frantz, Adrian Belew, Steven Stanley) (performed by Tom Tom Club) – 4:30
  14. "Girlfriend Is Better" – 5:06
  15. "Take Me to the River" (Green, Hodges) – 5:32
  16. "Crosseyed and Painless" (Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth) – 6:11

2023 Expanded Edition Remaster

Bonus live tracks include "Cities" and "Big Business/I Zimbra", both of which were cut from the original 1984 film and soundtrack. Produced by Jerry Harrison.

  1. "Psycho Killer" (Byrne, Frantz, Weymouth) – 4:24
  2. "Heaven" (Byrne, Harrison) – 3:41
  3. "Thank You for Sending Me an Angel" (Byrne) – 2:09
  4. "Found a Job" (Byrne) – 3:15
  5. "Slippery People" – 4:00
  6. “Cities” (Byrne) - 3:34
  7. "Burning Down the House" – 4:06
  8. "Life During Wartime" – 5:51
  9. "Making Flippy Floppy" – 4:40
  10. "Swamp" – 4:30
  11. "What a Day That Was" (Byrne) – 6:00
  12. "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" – 4:57
  13. "Once in a Lifetime" (Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth) – 5:25
  14. “Big Business/I Zimbra” (Byrne, Eno, Hugo Ball) - (7:24)
  15. "Genius of Love" (Weymouth, Frantz, Adrian Belew, Steven Stanley) (performed by Tom Tom Club) – 4:30
  16. "Girlfriend Is Better" – 5:06
  17. "Take Me to the River" (Green, Hodges) – 5:32
  18. "Crosseyed and Painless" (Byrne, Eno, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth) – 6:11

Personnel

Additional personnel

Production

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1984–1985)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)9
European Albums (Eurotipsheet)[12] 24
Chart (2023–2024)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Croatian International Albums (HDU)[13] 1
Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ)[14] 14

Year-end charts

Chart (1985)! scope="col"
Position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)10
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[15] 9
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16] 45
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[17] 4
Chart (1986)! scope="col"
Position
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[18] 34

References

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. News: Talking Heads: Demme's View of Their World . London . Michael . . . December 21, 1983 . 103.
  2. Web site: Talking Heads Celebrate STOP MAKING SENSE with Deluxe Edition and Theatrical Run. 16 March 2023. 21 March 2023.
  3. Web site: A24 Releasing Remastered Version of Talking Heads Classic Concert Film 'Stop Making Sense'. Variety. Rebecca. Rubin. 16 March 2023. 16 March 2023.
  4. Web site: A24 Acquires Talking Heads 1984 Concert Film 'Stop Making Sense', Will Restore In 4K For Theatrical Release. Deadline Hollywood. Anthony. D'Alessandro. 16 March 2023. 16 March 2023.
  5. Web site: Dunworth . Liberty . 2024-01-31 . Lorde, The National, Girl In Red and more to feature on star-studded 'Stop Making Sense' tribute album 'Everyone's Getting Involved' . 2024-02-01 . NME . en-GB.
  6. Web site: 500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. 2012. Rolling Stone. September 9, 2019.
  7. Book: All Time Top 1000 Albums. Colin Larkin. Colin Larkin. Virgin Books. 2000. 3rd. 0-7535-0493-6. 149.
  8. Web site: The 100 Best Albums of the 1980s. . 5 March 2012 .
  9. Empire October 1999
  10. Q January 2000
  11. Talking Heads. Stop Making Sense (Sire Records, 1984).
  12. European Top 100 Albums. Eurotipsheet. March 4, 1985. 2. 9. 18. 29800226. World Radio History.
  13. Web site: Lista prodaje 31. tjedan 2024.. July 22, 2024. . hr. August 9, 2024. August 7, 2024. https://archive.today/20240807154356/https://www.top-lista.hr/www/lista-prodaje-strano-31-tjedan-2024/. live.
  14. Web site: Album Top 40 slágerlista (fizikai hanghordozók) – 2024. 31. hét . . August 7, 2024.
  15. Web site: Jaaroverzichten – Album 1985. Dutch Charts. nl. February 3, 2022.
  16. Web site: Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 1985. de. Offizielle Deutsche Charts. February 3, 2022.
  17. Web site: Top Selling Albums of 1985. Recorded Music NZ. February 3, 2022.
  18. Web site: Top Selling Albums of 1986. Recorded Music NZ. February 5, 2022.

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