703 Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense (1984)

Live Album - Art Rock

About the Act:

From 1975-1991, Talking Heads existed. They were from New York and they played music that was very distinctive. I have heard them described as Post-Punk, New Wave, and Alternative Rock. I guess I could describe them as Art Rock and be happy doing so. They were fronted by an eccentric character, David Byrne, and they made a huge impact on music, with a strong sound and idiosyncratic music. They grew and shrank in size, sold lots of records, and wowed the critics. They created 8 studio albums, and the hugely-well-regarded live album Stop Making Sense (and another lesser-known live album).

About the Album:

So there's a bit of a background to this album, there was a film created from filmed Talking Heads live performances, which was hugely well received by critics. This album is a selection of tracks from the film (mostly better-known tracks).

My History with this Album:

So, my first experience of this album was the film itself, at the time when it was contemporary. I think it was televised. I knew of Talking Heads, but not a great deal, and actually it was this film that won me over to them. Strange to say for a concert film but it was riveting.

I have had a copy of the album for quite a few years, but would not say it was a particularly common play for me. I had it on cassette and there came a point where CDs mostly took over.

Review:

I have loved re-acquainting myself with this album. It contains most of my favourite Talking Heads songs (only Road To Nowhere is missing, really). It has Psycho Killer, Once in a Lifetime, Burning Down The House and Take Me To The River, which are all big winners for me. Some of the other tracks I know less, but there are some good ones like Girlfriend is Better, Swamp and Life During Wartime.

Musically, at the time I would have maybe said "light rock" or "Alternative". Now, I can actually detect a large slice of funk in many of these tracks. A lot of it is verging on danceable, with a strong synth presence and lots of driving beat. This is the core of what I like about this album, the music is infectious, good poppy stuff, very recognisable, but also somewhat quirky. 80s synth-pop is a large feature I guess, but not with that kind of flattened robot-ness that a lot of synth-pop seemed to have (not bad if you use it well). David Byrne is quite an eccentric character, and one thing is that he has a distinctive voice. Another is that he is pretty expressive with it, there's a lot of life to his voice.

The lyrics - I know some of these songs quite well, and don't really know what most of them are about, just quirky in a good way. There's not really a single love song in the mix, and there is little that could be accused of being clichéd. It's a bit like having an American David Bowie.

The performances are great, there's lots of energy and solid musicianship. As I'm listening again while I write I keep getting head-boppy. Some of the best bits for me are where they go off-piste from studio versions, with breakdowns particularly. Take me to the River is particularly good in this aspect.

So all in all it's a great marriage of accessible dancy pop with funky elements, great musicians and interesting songs that are decidedly not shallow fluff. There are several dimensions of goodness here, and I love it.

9/10

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/4FR8Z6TvIsC56NLyNomNRE

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW3M-yio9tLumpRrEh7CXxc-UaPftVNU1

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Making_Sense_(album)