Talking Heads Detail STOP MAKING SENSE Deluxe Edition Reissue
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the celebrated Talking Heads and Jonathan Demme’s concert film Stop Making Sense, the set will be re-released as a 2LP and 2CD/Blu-ray set this summer.
Released last year, the sold-out Deluxe Edition of the soundtrack will return as a 2-LP black vinyl on Rhino.com and retail and 2-LP crystal clear vinyl at Barnes and Noble. Both variants feature a 12-page booklet with liner notes from all four band members –Tina Weymouth, David Byrne, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison—and band photos. The 2CD/Blu-ray version includes the entire 28-page booklet from last year’s Deluxe Edition and a Dolby Atmos mix of the complete concert, mixed by Jerry Harrison and E.T. Thorngren, who also mixed the original release. Both will be available on July 26. Pre-order HERE.
The band appeared together for a sold-out screening and Q&A hosted by Andy Richter last night at the Pantages Theater, the same theater at which Stop Making Sense was recorded. They were joined by Blondshell, who performed “Thank You For Sending Me an Angel.” Another special screening with the band will occur in Brooklyn at the King’s Theater on June 13, with the Q&A hosted by Questlove and The Linda Linda’s performing “Found a Job.” The two events cap off a banner year of celebrations for what many consider to be the best concert film of all time.
The inspiration for Stop Making Sense came when director Jonathan Demme saw Talking Heads perform during the band’s 1983 tour for Speaking in Tongues. Afterward, he approached them with the idea of making the show into a concert film. They agreed and worked together over the next few months to finalize the details. Ultimately, Demme filmed three shows at Hollywood’s Pantages Theater in December 1983 to create Stop Making Sense.
The concert film presents a retrospective of the band up to that point, with a performance that weaves together songs from all six of its studio albums. The show progresses methodically, opening with Byrne onstage performing “Psycho Killer” alone with a drum machine. After each song, he’s joined by a new band member until Weymouth, Frantz, and Harrison are all on stage with him. The group continues to grow throughout the concert as members of the stellar touring band are added: keyboardist Bernie Worrell, percussionist Steve Scales, guitarist Alex Weir, and backup singers Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt.
The band performs 18 songs in Stop Making Sense, including its recent single at the time, “Burning Down The House.” That summer, the song was in heavy rotation on radio and MTV, helping the song become the band’s first top 10 hit in America. It was, however, a different song from Speaking in Tongues that was destined to deliver one of the film’s signature moments. Talking Heads would perform “Girlfriend Is Better” wearing the now iconic, oversized suit inspired by costumes worn in traditional Japanese theater. For good measure, a picture of David Byrne in the suit also graces the album cover.
Stop Making Sense focuses mainly on music by Talking Heads but does include a few songs recorded outside the band: “Genius Of Love” by Tom Tom Club, “What A Day That Was” and “Big Business” from Byrne’s 1981 album, The Catherine Wheel. Limited edition vinyl versions of both of these albums, along with Harrison’s The Red And The Black, were released for this year’s Record Store Day.
When it arrived in September 1984, Stop Making Sense was an artistic and commercial triumph. The film had people dancing in theatre aisles, and the soundtrack sold over two million copies. Just last year, the Library of Congress added Stop Making Sense to the National Film Registry in recognition of its cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance.
Weymouth praises Demme as a collaborator: “…Jonathan was a very enthusiastic, highly adaptive, and imaginative guy who was just as good a listener as he was a talker and collaborator. From the get-go you just got the impression he was as flexible as he was disciplined. Being team players, that boded well for a great relationship and a great film!”
Harrison says the film still holds up today: “To me, Stop Making Sense has remained relevant because the staging and lighting techniques could have been created in a much earlier time period. For example, Vari-Lights, lights with motors to re-aim them, had just come into vogue. Had we used them, there would have been a timestamp on the film, and it eventually would have felt dated...The absence of interviews, combined with the elegant and timeless lighting, created a film that can be watched over and over.”
Byrne says it’s interesting that this album was – for many people – an introduction to Talking Heads. “We had done a live album before this, but coupled with the film, and with the improved mixes and sound quality, this record reached a whole new audience. As often happens, the songs got an added energy when we performed them live and were inspired by having an audience. In many ways, these versions are more exciting than the studio recordings, so maybe that’s why a lot of folks discovered us via this record.”
Frantz recalls the sheer joy surrounding the entire Stop Making Sense experience. “I’m talking about real, conscious, transcendent joy… I’m talking about what the Southern gospel people call ‘getting happy,’ which means ‘to be filled with the Spirit.’ That is what happened to us onstage every night, and from my seat behind the drums, I recognized that this was happening to the audience too. Joy was visible in front of me and all around me every night.”
STOP MAKING SENSE (DELUXE EDITION)
Limited Edition 2-LP Track Listing
Side One
1. Psycho Killer
2. Heaven
3. Thank You For Sending Me An Angel
4. Found A Job
5. Slippery People
6. Cities
Side Two
7. Burning Down The House
8. Life During Wartime
9. Making Flippy Floppy
10. Swamp
Side Three
11. What a Day That Was
12. This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)
13. Once In A Lifetime
14. Big Business / I Zimbra
Side Four
15. Genius Of Love
16. Girlfriend Is Better
17. Take Me To The River
18. Crosseyed And Painless
2CD/Blu-ray Tracklist
CD1
1. Psycho Killer (Live) [2023 Remaster]
2. Heaven (Live) [2023 Remaster]
3. Thank You for Sending Me an Angel (Live) [2023 Remaster]
4. Found a Job (Live) [2023 Remaster]
5. Slippery People (Live) [2023 Remaster]
6. Cities (Live) [2023 Remaster]
7. Burning Down the House (Live) [2023 Remaster]
8. Life During Wartime (Live) [2023 Remaster]
9. Making Flippy Floppy (Live) [2023 Remaster]
10. Swamp (Live) [2023 Remaster]
CD2
1. What a Day That Was (Live) [2023 Remaster]
2. This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody) [Live] [2023 Remaster]
3. Once In a Lifetime (Live) [2023 Remaster]
4. Big Business / I Zimbra (Live) [2023 Remaster]
5. Genius of Love (Live) [2023 Remaster]
6. Girlfriend is Better (Live) [2023 Remaster]
7. Take Me to the River (Live) [2023 Remaster]
8. Crosseyed and Painless (Live) [2023 Remaster]
Blu-ray Disc
1. Psycho Killer (Live)
2. Heaven (Live) [2023 Remaster]
3. Thank You for Sending Me an Angel (Live)
4. Found a Job (Live)
5. Slippery People (Live)
6. Cities (Live)
7. Burning Down the House (Live)
8. Life During Wartime (Live)
9. Making Flippy Floppy (Live)
10. Swamp (Live)
11. What a Day That Was (Live)
12. This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody) [Live]
13. Once In a Lifetime (Live)
14. Big Business / I Zimbra (Live)
15. Genius of Love (Live)
16. Girlfriend is Better (Live)
17. Take Me to the River (Live)
18. Crosseyed and Painless (Live)
19. Psycho Killer (Live) [2023 Remaster]
20. Heaven (Live) [2023 Remaster]
21. Thank You for Sending Me an Angel (Live) [2023 Remaster]
22. Found a Job (Live) [2023 Remaster]
23. Slippery People (Live) [2023 Remaster]
24. Cities (Live) [2023 Remaster]
25. Burning Down the House (Live) [2023 Remaster]
26. Life During Wartime (Live) [2023 Remaster]
27. Making Flippy Floppy (Live) [2023 Remaster]
28. Swamp (Live) [2023 Remaster]
29. What a Day That Was (Live) [2023 Remaster]
30. This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody) [Live] [2023 Remaster]
31. Once In a Lifetime (Live) [2023 Remaster]
32. Big Business / I Zimbra (Live) [2023 Remaster]
33. Genius of Love (Live) [2023 Remaster]
34. Girlfriend is Better (Live) [2023 Remaster]
35. Take Me to the River (Live) [2023 Remaster]
36. Crosseyed and Painless (Live) [2023 Remaster]
