Stop Making Sense

Tracks:

Psycho Killer
Heaven
Thank You for Sending Me an Angel
Found a Job
Slippery People
Burning Down the House
Life During Wartime
Making Flippy Floppy
Swamp
What a Day That Was
This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)
Once in a Lifetime
Genius of Love
Girlfriend Is Better
Take Me to the River
Crosseyed and Painless

Amazon.com

The soundtrack to the Jonathan Demme documentary, Stop Making Sense captures the Talking Heads live in 1984 on what would turn out to be their last major tour. This collection, and the film, is a true gift to the band's fans, a testament to the Heads' extraordinary talent, both in the studio and especially onstage. Frontman David Byrne infuses each song with a jolt of energy and drama that could only have come from a late-'70s art-school student. Now-classic tracks such as "Psycho Killer," "Girlfriend is Better," "Once in a Lifetime," "Take Me to the River," and "Burning Down the House" have never sounded better. This expanded 1999 reissue includes all nine of the original tracks, plus seven previously unheard cuts, including "Heaven," "Found a Job," and "Crosseyed and Painless." --Lorry Fleming

Customer Reviews:

Probably the best concert ever preserved.......2007-02-19

Simply the single best set by any band in the history of rock and roll. I know there will be people out there who will point to some Dead concert that's only available on a third generation cassette, but this set is as hot as the Heads ever were. The expanded edition is a great gift to the world.

good Talking Heads record.......2006-02-20

i own this on vinyl and it's just good talking head songs live,although i have to say the original version of some songs are better but if you have the money i guess go for it but i recommend buying non live recordings.

Bigger is not always better.......2004-10-26

The original LP version of this was a mere 9 songs, and was absolutely brilliant. I remember playing it constantly, wearing it out much like my two album "The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads" double live album. I also got to see the concert film at some midnight show and was enthralled...a concert movie for people who liked music! I loved it so much that I eventually got David Byrne to sign the book that came with the album.

So I was really hyped to hear that the entire concert soundtrack was about to be reissued on CD. Seven extra songs! Warm with nostalgia, I finally bought the disc. Boy, was I let down. First, it isn't the whole concert. "I Zimbra" is particularly missed. Then, of all the crappy songs to include over that one, we have the Tom Tom Club and their SERIOUSLY dated "Genius Of Love."

One of the brilliant things about Talking Heads is that they may have been trend setters, but they were never trend mongers. The music sounds just as fresh today as it did when I slit the shrink wrap on the 1984 Album. But the Tom Tom Club was a lightweight side project that scored one novelty hit, and it sticks out like crayon smears on a DaVinci. I reach for the skip button just about everytime its lame, cliched, and oh so 80's stage patter starts to invade what used to be a flawless CD.

It takes what used to be a 5 star CD and knocks it down by one. It also provides continual proof that that not all unreleased tracks are really a "bonus." Since it has finally come out on a double disc, I strongly recommend the remastered and reissued "The Name Of This Band is Talking Heads" over this. At least the expanded tracks aren't an emarrassment.

One of the greatest live albums ever........2004-10-23

Jonathon Demme's 1984 concert film of the Talking Heads was an incredible experience. Sadly, when the original soundtrack was released, it contained only nine of the songs performed. Not only that, but they were entirely out of sequence, completely destroying the original purpose behind David Byrne's conception of the concert. Thank God they released this anniversary edition of the soundtrack, as this really does the film justice. Every song is here, and in its proper place, the way it was meant to be heard.

So, what is the big deal, you ask? Well, picture this. The soundtrack begins with "Psycho Killer," one of the first really big hits for the group. Instead of the entire band being onstage, David Byrne walks out with an acoustic guitar and a boom box. He presses PLAY on the box, which cues a drum program to begin playing. So the first song is just David Byrne singing and strumming his guitar, accompanied by pre-recorded percussion. For the next song, "Heaven," Byrne is joined onstage by bassist Tina Weymouth. Then Chris Frantz's drumset is wheeled out, and the three of them go into "Thank You For Sending Me an Angel." We finally hear some real drumming, not the predictable, computerized beats in "Psycho Killer." The album really begins to come alive. Then they go into "Found a Job," and things get more interesting. Byrne swaps his acoustic guitar for an electric, and lead guitarist Jerry Harrison comes out, meaning we now have two guitars. By the time the fifth track, "Slippery People," is underway, the entire band (including the extra musicians and backup singers) are on the stage, and now things are cooking. What happens over the remaining twelve tracks can only be described as an overload of the senses.

The purpose behind the concert was to provide a unique experience for the concert-goer, to create visual as well as aural art. Some of that sense is lost on the CD listener, but some of it remains. The songs were translated to disk beautifully, so that they still retain just about everything that made them a pleasure to listen to while watching the film. One can almost picture David Byrne running laps around the stage, dancing with the lamp, or wearing the big suit.

The concert resulting in the film and this album was performed shortly after the band released their 1983 album "Speaking in Tongues." So, needless to say, many of the songs you will hear are from that album. And I have to say that for each of them, I prefer the live version to the studio version. Each one of them sounds more vibrant, more full of life when performed on the stage. The improvisation on "Burning Down the House" is as good as it gets. Ditto "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)," which is one of the most beautiful things I've heard, and I don't even like love songs. The studio versions lack that extra energy. Their pulse is just too slow. This is never more true for "Life During Wartime," which is actually a song from 1979's "Fear of Music." But anyway, this song displays Byrne's tendency to perfectly mismatch music and lyrics. The pulsating beat of club rock flows beneath what I interpret to be a humourously disturbing tale of a country under martial law. The song should not work as well as it does, and yet somehow, they pull it off. Anyway, after hearing the live version of it, I can no longer listen to the studio version. Also noteworthy is the improvisation on "Crosseyed and Painless." The intro and the extended guitar solos are just the icing on the cake for that one!

If there is a bad song on this album, it would have to be the interlude by the Tom Tom Club (a solo project of Heads drummer Chris Frantz and bassist Tina Weymouth). "Genius of Love" could have been a great song. The instrumentation is very good. Sadly, it's ruined by Frantz's raucous babbling. He's attempting to be random like David Byrne, but tragically, he's not good at it. Other than that, this album is solid gold. It demonstrates the full potential of live music, and sounds amazing while doing it. Whether you're a fan of the Talking Heads or not, this album belongs in your collection.

Great Improvement Over The Original Version.......2004-10-17

It's true, to really appreciate this album, you have to see the film. And that's no chore. Stop Making Sense is probably the best concert film ever made. It's hard to imagine just listening to the album without thinking of Byrne's amazing stage presence (in or out of the big suit).

The Special Edition is the entire film soundtrack (minus some stage banter and the cut performances of "Cities" and "I Zimbra"). Their imagination made Talking Heads one of the greatest live bands of all time. The songs are mostly from SPEAKING IN TONGUES, but they also include interesting and in some cases superior versions of songs from all of their albums prior to 1983 with the help of the Tom Tom Club.

In addition to STOP MAKING SENSE, I recommend the newly released CD version of THE NAME OF THIS BAND IS TALKING HEADS. Listening to both would map eight years of live performances and barely short of 4 hours of live material.

Average customer rating:

One of the Top Five Live Albums of All Time
I like the liner notes better than the music.
Big
necessary to check out
New version really makes sense

Stop Making Sense
Talking Heads
Manufacturer: Warner Bros / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

True Stories
Little Creatures
Speaking in Tongues
Naked
Remain in Light

ASIN: B000002L71
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Psycho Killer
Swamp
Slippery People
Burning Down the House
Girlfriend Is Better
Once in a Lifetime
What A Day That Was
Life During Wartime
Take Me To The River

Amazon.com

The soundtrack to the Jonathan Demme documentary, Stop Making Sense captures the Talking Heads live in 1984 on what would turn out to be their last major tour. This collection, and the film, is a true gift to the band's fans, a testament to their extraordinary talent, both in the studio and especially onstage. Frontman David Byrne infuses each song with a jolt of energy and drama that could only have come from a late-'70s New York art-school student. Now-classic tracks such as "Psycho Killer," "Girlfriend Is Better," "Once in a Lifetime," "Take Me to the River," and "Burning Down the House" have never sounded better. --Lorry Fleming

Customer Reviews:

One of the Top Five Live Albums of All Time.......2006-03-14

If you can only have one Talking Heads album, then get this one. Frenetic energy, fabulous changes, perfect pacing, it captures the entire Talking Heads legacy. "Life During Wartime" and "Take Me to the River" are unbelievable to end the set. I wish The Clash had something like this for posterity. This compares to The Band's "Last Waltz" for best rock performance in a live setting. Daniel

I like the liner notes better than the music........2005-11-01

I love Talking Heads. I do. But I love them in the way that someone who knows them mainly through hearing his older siblings constantly playing them as he grew up loves them. I don't own many of their albums, and I've never even see the film "Stop Making Sense," though I've watched David Byrne's "True Stories" dozens of times. I picked this CD up out of a bargain bin a couple of years ago, and though I like it, I just don't feel it's Talking Heads at their best.
It's got a great version of "Psycho Killer," played the way David Byrne would play it back in art school--with recorded music played on a boombox kicking off the song--some okay tracks by the Tom Tom Club, and some genuinely clever liner notes ("In the future women will have breasts all over").
But, almost all the songs here aren't as good as their album counterparts, and overall the CD feels erratic and irregular. If you love Talking Heads, you should own this. You probably already do. But if you're just looking to get into them, this probably isn't the album to start with. Check out their "Popular Favorites" compilation instead, or either of their first two albums. Those are much better.

Big.......2005-08-29

When he came out in that big suit and started with the funky chicken type stuff. Man, I'm still laughing. Great music too.

necessary to check out.......2005-02-24

This is essential because it draws from their very best material, and the songs have never sounded this good. "once in a lifetime" is particularly improved, giving it a harder edge compared to the studio version, but you will find all of the songs are very well arranged live. It doesn't really sound like a live album, its so good. If you are new to the band get this and the newly released The Name of the Band is Talking Heads, another great live album. Or you could opt for the Best Of disc instead. I am having a hard time deciding between the two, actually. But I have no doubt that this is a necessary musical document of the greatest band of the 80's.

New version really makes sense.......2003-12-25

the new extended version of this album is really worth extra money as one of previous reviewers said.i grew listening ti this version but new one has many songs more that are important too.
Talking heads mixed funky pop with quirky social commentary and some psychedelic atmosphere to create their own distinctive sound."Burning down the house" or "Once in a lifetime" are the best examples.
of course "Stop making sense" (album was recorded live.the self-titled movie was about the same live concert as on cd) is essential for any respectable music fan but the new longer mix is more good for the added tracks and improvement in sound.get new "Stop making sense" along with "True stories" or "Fear of music".they deserve to be listened

Average customer rating:

Stop Making Sense

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000IJ7LGO
Release Date: 2006-11-21

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