Talking Heads Stop Making Sense CD

Recorded live at The Pantages Theatre, Hollywood, California in December 1983.

The Talking Heads concert film STOP MAKING SENSE, recorded at a 1983 Hollywood performance, brought audiences everywhere face to face with the very visual aesthetic of conceptual artiste David Byrne and his cohorts. Playing the part of performance artist, Byrne used elaborate visual gimmicks to enhance the themes of his songs for maximum visceral impact. Serendipitously, STOP MAKING SENSE captured the band at an artistic peak, as it consists mostly of material from the glorious funk-inspired albums REMAIN IN LIGHT and SPEAKING IN TONGUES. Live, complemented by a phalanx of great auxiliary musicians, the Heads emphasize the funkier aspects of their jumpy art-dance concepts, and tunes like "Burning Down the House" and "Girlfriend is Better," already impressive in their studio versions, seem to jump off the album.

When the soundtrack for the classic Talking Heads movie Stop Making Sense was originally issued in 1984, it was only nine tracks in length, even though a total of 16 were performed on film. So when the film was re-released in theaters and on home video in 1999, a new version of the soundtrack was issued as well, including all 16 songs and sporting an even better remastered sound. Recorded over three nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theatre in December 1983 (during the tour in support of Speaking in Tongues), the usual four-piece lineup was supplemented by Parliament-Funkadelic keyboardist Bernie Worrell, percussionist Steve Scales, guitarist Alex Weir, and backup singers Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt. Songs from all eras of the band are featured. The first four tracks are early selections ("Psycho Killer," "Heaven"), performed as bare renditions, plus full-band funky versions of such later hits as "Life During Wartime," "Burning Down the House," "Once in a Lifetime," and "Girlfriend Is Better." Also included are lesser-known album tracks ("Swamp," "This Must Be the Place," "Crosseyed and Painless"), plus a track from David Byrne's 1981 Catherine Wheel album ("What a Day That Was"), and "Genius of Love" by the Tom Tom Club (a side project of drummer Chris Frantz and bassist Tina Weymouth). One of the greatest live albums ever, the 1999 version of Stop Making Sense captures the Talking Heads at the height of their powers. A quintessential purchase. ~ Greg Prato

All tracks have been digitally remastered.

Personnel: Jerry Harrison (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Alex Weir, David Byrne (vocals, guitar); Chris Frantz (vocals, drums); Tina Weymouth (vocals); Bernie Worrell (keyboards); Steve Scales (percussion); Ednah Holt, Lynn Mabry (background vocals).

Audio Mixers: Eric "ET" Thorngren; Chris Frantz; Jerry Harrison.

Recording information: Pantages Theatre, Hollywood, CA (12/1983); The Pantages Theatre, Hollywood, CA (12/1983).

Director: Jonathan Demme.

Editor: Lisa Day.

Photographers: David Friedman; Hugh Brown; Adelle Lutz.

Talking Heads: David Byrne (vocals, guitar); Jerry Harrison (guitar, keyboards, background vocals); Tina Weymouth (bass, background vocals); Chris Frantz (drums, background vocals).

Additional personnel: Alex Weir (guitar, background vocals); Bernie Worrell (keyboards); Steve Scales (percussion); Lynn Mabry, Ednah Holt (background vocals).

Rolling Stone (11/25/99, pp.99-100) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...shows the Heads punk-funkin' with their signature mix of giddiness and anxiety until the tension busts wide open on the exuberant aerobics workouts that defined the show....at the height of [their] powers...sound even better the second time around."
Entertainment Weekly (10/12/01, p.42) - Ranked #79 in EW's "100 Best Movie Soundtracks" - "...The Heads at their idiosyncratic, syncopated best..."
Q (1/00, p.87) - Included in Q Magazine's "50 Best Albums of 1999."
Q (10/99, p.144) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...in terms of its concept and execution, STOP MAKING SENSE went further than any other document of a band onstage....proved that a scratchy Rhode Island art rock band could stage as damn funky a revue as James Brown, Sly Stone, George Clinton or Prince."
Mojo (Publisher) (10/99, p.102) - "...The new sequence allows for a smoother development....[allows] Byrne to take advantage of the huge advances in analog/digital conversion over the last decade....adding greater ambient 'warmth' to the album in general..."