Stop Making Sense | ||||
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Live album by | ||||
Released | September 1984 | |||
Recorded | December 13–16, 1983 [1] | |||
Venue | The Pantages Theatre, Hollywood | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 39:37 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer |
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Talking Heads chronology | ||||
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Singles from Stop Making Sense | ||||
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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, [3] alongside a theatrical re-release of the film by A24. [4] [5] A tribute album, Everyone's Getting Involved: A Tribute to Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense , 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. [6]
The album was ranked number 345 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. [7] In 2000, it was voted number 394 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums . [8] In 2012, Slant Magazine listed the album at #61 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s". [9]
Frantz stated in the liner notes of Once in a Lifetime: The Best of Talking Heads , "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?)"
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Austin Chronicle | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Chicago Tribune | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Mojo | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Q | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 7/10 [17] |
Uncut | 9/10 [18] |
The Village Voice | B+ [19] |
"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." [20] "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." [21]
All songs written by David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth except as noted. [22]
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.
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.
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Australia | — | 150,000 [41] |
Germany (BVMI) [42] | Gold | 250,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [43] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [44] video | Platinum | 50,000* |
United Kingdom (BPI) [45] | Gold | 100,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [46] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
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Martina Michèle "Tina" Weymouth is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and a founding member and bassist of the new wave group Talking Heads and its side project Tom Tom Club, which she co-founded with her husband, Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz. In 2002, Weymouth was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Talking Heads.
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Stop Making Sense is an independently produced 1984 American concert film featuring a live performance by the American rock band Talking Heads. The film was directed by Jonathan Demme and executive produced by Gary Kurfirst, the band’s longtime manager. The film was shot over four nights in December, 1983 at Hollywood’s Pantages Theatre while Talking Heads were on tour promoting their 1983 album, Speaking in Tongues. Stop Making Sense includes performances of the early Talking Heads single, "Psycho Killer" (1977), through to their most recent hit at the time, "Burning Down the House" (1983). It also includes songs from the solo career of frontman David Byrne and by Tom Tom Club, the side project of drummer Chris Frantz and bassist Tina Weymouth.
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