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)