Since September 2010, this blog has recorded the journey of this music junkie as I attempt to listen to all the music in my CD collection. CDs revisited in their entirety from start to finish - no skipping tracks, no shuffle. Compact Discs only - no vinyl, no tapes, no files.

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense (1984)


Note: this release was originally purchased as an LP, later replaced by a CD, later supplemented by a homemade "Special Edition" CD-R (see below).

Simply put, this album represents the best concert movie ever filmed.


Press of the time:
  • Rolling Stone (★★★★): "a solid artistic statement from a band that's starting to have as much as they've given their listeners."
  • Stereo Review: "a great live performance"
  • Robert Christgau (B+): a soundtrack, albeit for the finest concert film I've ever seen"
  • CashBox: "an electrifying LP"
  • Billboard: "sustains remarkable polish"


Album chart peaks:
  • US Billboard Top 200: #41
  • Billboard Pop CD: #25
  • CashBox: #29
  • CashBox CD: #10
  • Rolling Stone: #16

Tracks:  I don't skip any tracks; my favorites are Found A Job, What A Day That Was, This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody), Once In A Lifetime, and Take Me To The River.


Personal Memory Associated with this CD:  I've loved this album and movie from the get-go. Even though the album was released in September 1984, it didn't reach heavy rotation at my place until the summer of 1985, so it's definitely a summertime album for me. For years, a movie poster (below) from the 1999 re-release was on the wall of my office; it currently sits in my closet waiting for my wife to approve a "music only" room.  The DVD is in heavy rotation around the house (favorite scene pictured above).  And now I'll have to watch it again today, which exhausts me because I dance during the whole thing.


Frustrated with the different mixes on various versions, I decided to create my own "Special Edition" version about 10 years ago.  I simply connected the DVD player to my Philips CDR-765 CD burner and made an 2 CD set that contains the actual audio (2.0 stereo) from the DVD, including bonus songs.  With 18 tracks covering 96 minutes, it's the version I listen to most frequently.



Previously revisited for the blog:
The Best Of (2004)
The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads (1982)

1 comment:

  1. While I didn't print up a custom insert as you did, I did feed the DVD audio stream to my Philips CD Recorder and burned what I can only assume are identical discs to yours. The discs are labeled SMS #1 and SMS not #1.

    Best Concert Movie ever filmed? Probably.

    Note to self: sprinkle tracks from this album liberally throughout next road trip mix.

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