Talking Heads: Deluxe Edition of “Stop Making Sense” coming soon

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the famous concert film “Stop Making Sense” of the Talking Heads and Jonathan Demme, the set will be re-released this summer as a 2LP and 2CD/Blu-ray. The Deluxe Edition of the soundtrack, released last year and already sold out, will return to stores as a 2-LP black vinyl and 2-LP crystal clear vinyl, both with a 12-page booklet featuring liner notes from the band members and photo. The 2CD/Blu-ray version includes the 28-page booklet and a Dolby Atmos mix of the entire concert, available July 26.

The band reunited for a sold-out screening and Q&A at the Pantages Theater, accompanied by Blondshell who performed “Thank You For Sending Me an Angel.”

The inspiration for “Stop Making Sense” came when director Jonathan Demme saw Talking Heads perform during the 1983 “Speaking in Tongues” tour. Demme filmed three shows at the Pantages Theater in December 1983 to create the concert film.

The film presents a retrospective of the band up to that point, with a performance that intertwines songs from all six of their studio albums. The show begins with Byrne performing “Psycho Killer” alone with a drum machine, and is gradually joined by the other members of the lineup and musicians from the touring band. Together they perform 18 songs, including their single “Burning Down The House” and “Girlfriend Is Better” with Byrne wearing the iconic oversized dress.

“Stop Making Sense” focuses primarily on the music of Talking Heads but also includes songs by Tom Tom Club and Byrne's solo album, “The Catherine Wheel.”

Released in September 1984, the film had great artistic and commercial success, with the soundtrack selling over two million copies. Last year, the Library of Congress added “Stop Making Sense” to the National Film Registry.

Talking about the movie Weymouth praises Demme as a collaborator: “…Jonathan was a very enthusiastic, highly adaptable and imaginative guy, as good at listening as he was at talking and collaborating. From the start you got the impression that he was as flexible as he was disciplined. Being players as a team, it made for a great relationship and a great film!”
Harrison says the film is still relevant today: “For me, Stop Making Sense remained relevant because the staging and lighting techniques could have been created in a much earlier period of time. For example, the Vari-Lights, lights with motors to reorient them, they had just become fashionable. If we had used them, there would have been a time stamp on the film and it would have ultimately looked dated… The absence of interviews, combined with the elegant and timeless lighting, He has created a film that can be watched over and over again.”
Byrne says it's interesting that this album was, for many people, an introduction to Talking Heads. “We had already made a live album before this, but together with the film, and with the improved mixes and sound quality, this record reached a new audience. As often happens, the songs took on an additional energy when we performed them live and we were inspired by the presence of the audience in many ways, these releases are more emotional than studio recordings, so maybe that's why many people discovered us through this record.”
Frantz remembers the pure joy that surrounded the entire Stop Making Sense experience. “I'm talking about real, conscious, transcendent joy… I'm talking about what Southern gospel people call 'getting happy,' which means 'being filled by the Spirit.' This is what was happening to us on stage every night, and from my seat behind the drums, I recognized that it was happening to the audience too. The 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
Psycho Killer
Heaven
Thank You For Sending Me An Angel
Found A Job
Slippery People
Cities

Side Two
Burning Down The House
Life During Wartime
Making Flippy Floppy
Swamp

Side Three
What a Day That Was
This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)
Once In A Lifetime
Big Business / The Zimbra

Side Four
Genius Of Love
Girlfriend Is Better
Take Me To The River
Crosseyed And Painless

2CD/Blu-ray Tracklist
CD1
Psycho Killer (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Heaven (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Thank You for Sending Me an Angel (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Found a Job (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Slippery People (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Cities (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Burning Down the House (Live) (2023 Remaster)

Life During Wartime (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Making Flippy Floppy (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Swamp (Live) (2023 Remaster)

CD2
What a Day That Was (Live) (2023 Remaster)
This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody) (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Once In a Lifetime (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Big Business / I Zimbra (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Genius of Love (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Girlfriend is Better (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Take Me to the River (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Crosseyed and Painless (Live) (2023 Remaster)

Blu-ray Discs
Psycho Killer (Live)
Heaven (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Thank You for Sending Me an Angel (Live)
Found a Job (Live)
Slippery People (Live)
Cities (Live)
Burning Down the House (Live)
Life During Wartime (Live)
Making Flippy Floppy (Live)
Swamp (Live)
What a Day That Was (Live)
This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody) (Live)
Once In a Lifetime (Live)
Big Business / I Zimbra (Live)
Genius of Love (Live)
Girlfriend is Better (Live)
Take Me to the River (Live)
Crosseyed and Painless (Live)
Psycho Killer (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Heaven (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Thank You for Sending Me an Angel (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Found a Job (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Slippery People (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Cities (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Burning Down the House (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Life During Wartime (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Making Flippy Floppy (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Swamp (Live) (2023 Remaster)
What a Day That Was (Live) (2023 Remaster)
This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody) (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Once In a Lifetime (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Big Business / I Zimbra (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Genius of Love (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Girlfriend is Better (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Take Me to the River (Live) (2023 Remaster)
Crosseyed and Painless (Live) (2023 Remaster)