Happy 40th Anniversary to Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense, originally released September 12, 1984.
Released 40 years ago, Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense is one of the greatest live albums ever. However, it’s also the soundtrack to a film of the same name, making it one of the best soundtracks ever to one of the best concert films ever. Which means that I’m faced with a challenge of paying proper tribute to the album on its own, which is what we here at Albumism do, rather than getting caught up and turning this into a tribute to the film.
Making this even more difficult is that the soundtrack and the film are so inextricably linked. So while I’m going to try to focus on celebrating the awesome and timeless quality of Stop Making Sense the album, you’re going to excuse me if I spend some time writing about the awesome and timeless quality of Stop Making Sense the film.
Talking Heads were indeed awesome and timeless. Labelled a New Wave or Art Rock band, they came together while attending the Rhode Island School of Design. Comprised of David Byrne (lead vocals and guitar), Tina Weymouth (bass), Chris Frantz (drums), and Jerry Harrison (keyboards and guitar), the group began releasing albums in the late 1970s. By the mid-1980s, they’d earned a good amount of success and recognition, and were able to execute an innovative nationwide tour. Years before people started describing performances as “multi-media experiences,” Talking Heads were ahead of the curve when it comes to putting together a complex stage show that featured many moving parts, besides just the group playing great music.
The discussion of the Stop Making Sense soundtrack is also a little tricky in that there are multiple versions of the album. And not all of the versions were created equal. The first commercially available version missed the mark: it’s only eight songs long, features edited/shortened versions of the performances, and is sequenced out of order. The latter of those three mistakes is especially egregious, considering that the stage show is structured in meticulous manner; jumping around defeats the purpose.
Fortunately, the album was reissued in 1999, with the songs correctly sequenced as they appear in the film, making it essentially an audio version of the movie. This tribute essentially reflects that version of the soundtrack. The soundtrack was reissued again in 2023, to celebrate the film’s upcoming 40th anniversary and restoration. All of the songs are remastered, and the album includes two performances that weren’t featured in the theatrical version of the film. I’ll talk a little about that one too.
The film Stop Making Sense focuses solely on Talking Heads’ performance on the stage. Director Jonathan Demme filmed four of the group’s performances in December at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre, and kept all of the action on stage. There is no talking head interview footage (pun intended) of the group or anyone else. There are barely any shots of the audience.
Listen to the Album:
Talking Heads were touring in support of their Speaking in Tongues (1983) album, released just six months before. This is reflected in the show’s setlist, which features two-thirds of the album. The album was the group’s most commercially accessible and successful release, broadening their appeal to the MTV generation. Talking Heads are well-known for their eclectic musical stylings that draw from a wide variety of genres, but throughout Stop Making Sense they stick to mostly their more rock and soul/funk influenced material. It plays very well, as they breathe new life into both established and new (at the time) jams.
Along with the core lineup, the group incorporated a number of contributors within the Speaking In Tongues recording sessions for the tour. The most prominent of these is Bernie Worrell, the keyboard wizard who made his legend with Parliament-Funkadelic. Alex Weir, a guitarist/session musician who frequently recorded with the Brothers Johnson, is also integral to the show, as is talented percussionist Steve Scales. Lynn Mabry and Edna Holt, who accompanied the band starting with this tour, add their potent vocals as back-up singers.
The album/film begins with Byrne on a bare stage alone, playing an extremely minimalist version of “Psycho Killer,” featuring just him on acoustic guitar and a drum track played through a boombox sitting next to him (the sounds actually emanate from a drum machine playing through the venue’s mixing board). From there the rest of the group emerges, with Weymouth joining Byrne to perform a reserved version of “Heaven” as a duet. Franz and Harrison (on guitar) emerge to perform “Thank You For Sending Me An Angel.” As these songs progress, the stage crew gradually assembles the set.
“Slippery People” is an early highlight. Harrison on keyboards and Scales on percussion give their best exhibition of the show, proving to be sturdy anchoring for the group. The band moves with precision, feeding off of the crowd’s response.
Things build until the entire ensemble is on stage, leading to a thunderous performance of “Burning Down the House.” The song is and was the group’s most successful single, and I prefer the live version here to what appears on Speaking in Tongues. A lot of that has to do with Worrell, who’s work on the keyboards only increases the track’s ominous atmosphere and severely funky vibe. The group’s energy pulses out of the speakers (and off the screen), enrapturing the audience.
Sometimes the visual aspect very much adds to some of the performance. Listening to the live performance of “Swamp” is good, but it’s bolstered by seeing Byrne lift himself up from one of the risers like a reanimated zombie, staggering around the stage while bathed in red light. The group plays a straightforward rendition of “This Must Be the Place,” one of the best and most beautiful songs they ever recorded. On film, it translates even better, as Byrne gives essentially his most reserved performance of the show, until the big finish, where he dances with a lamp that serves as one of the stage’s sole sources of illumination.
The visuals from the film are certainly part of why the band’s performances of “Life During Wartime” and “Girlfriend Is Better” are beloved. On the former, Byrne works himself into a sweaty mess, first through his elastic dance maneuvers, and later by sprinting in circles around the stage as the band reaches its crescendo.
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“Girlfriend Is Better” provides the film with its most iconic images, as Byrne cavorts in a comically oversized suit; in an interview with Time, he revealed that the suit was partially inspired by Noh theater performances that he attended in Japan. The version of “Girlfriend Is Better” on the soundtrack is also superior to the album version, mostly due to Worrell. He dials down the cacophony that was present in his contributions to the song on Speaking in Tongues, sounding more focused and methodical.
The band’s rendition of “Once in a Lifetime” is also memorable, and served as the single to support the film and soundtrack’s release. In the film, the camera trains itself mostly on Byrne, centering on him for an over four-and-a-half minute shot as he wildly gesticulates, shimmies, and slaps himself on the forehead. Worrell, Harrison, and Weir all shine, but Byrne, Mabry, and Holt are the driving force. They all give their best vocal performance of the album, imbuing the song with a soaring, otherworldly feel.
The group also perform songs that aren’t strictly by Talking Heads. They give a rousing rendition of “What a Day That Was,” which Byrne recorded for the soundtrack for The Catherine Wheel, a dance project by choreographer Twyla Tharp. In the film, Demme shoots the performance in a series of tight close-ups, everyone lit from underneath, appearing as phantoms on an otherwise darkened stage. Byrne takes a break near the end of the concert (to change into the aforementioned giant suit), allowing Talking Heads to temporarily transform into the Tom-Tom Club, a band that started as a side project by Weymouth and Franz, performing their biggest hit, “Genius of Love.” The detour gives Weymouth some much deserved attention as she excels on bass and on vocals.
The 2023 reissue of the album features a few songs that hadn’t appeared on any version of the soundtrack and only the LaserDisc version of the film. The first of these is a straightforward performance of “Cities.” It’s technically the first song that features all of the members of the extended band on stage together for the first time. I personally understand its previous omission; the album and film play better building to “Burning Down the House.” Towards the end of the set/album, there’s a mini-medley of “Big Business” (also from the aforementioned The Catherine Wheel) and “I Zimbra.” The band creates powerful momentum as it races through both tracks, supercharged from the efforts by Byrne, Harrison, Weir, Worrell, and Scales.
Stop Making Sense was the high water mark for Talking Heads. The group released a few more albums, had some pretty big hit songs, and toured some more. But everything came together perfectly for this tour, live album, and film. Many have said that Talking Heads eventually became a testing ground of sorts for Byrne’s ideas, until he eventually left the band to go solo. Stop Making Sense demonstrated how potent they could be while working as one high-powered unit, leaving the audience screaming for more.
Listen: