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

When Talking Heads Reinvented the Concert Film

ByJohn

Once upon a time there were rock concerts at the cinema. And they still exist, although in a completely different context: today we are surrounded, almost overwhelmed by live images, which reach us from everywhere: as soon as there is a concert we can see on social media what happened and the artists themselves worry about distributing clips or producing documentaries and films to distribute to platforms. Every now and then in the theater (and they are blockbusters, like the recent case of “The eras tour by Taylor Swift”).

A few decades ago, going to a concert was the only way to see a band or an artist live. Then there was the cinema: concert films were made, which served to create or consolidate myths. Artists preferred cinema to TV, both for the sound quality and because they considered it more “artistic”: the 70s and 80s were the golden age of rock films, with titles such as the historic “Woodstock” by Michael Wadleigh (1970) which went on to win an Oscar, “Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii” by Adrian Maben (1972), “The song remains the same” by Led Zeppelin (1976) and “The Last Waltz” (1978) by Scorsese, dedicated to the last concert of The Band.

Then came Talking Heads, directed by Jonathan Demme, and “Stop Making Sense”, released in theaters in 1984, when the live film format was already living off stereotypes and self-celebration (so much so that some concerts were filmed and sold directly on VHS video cassettes, knowing that in theaters they would not have had a response).
The film is back in theaters for its 40th anniversary – and to present it, the band reunited after more than twenty years. Now it arrives in physical format, in a deluxe version, along with the live album that was made from it at the time.

What did “Stop making sense” represent?

Talking Heads are among the bands that changed the perception of what pop and rock could be and do, that film changed the perception of the relationship between contemporary music and the big screen. Apparently it is a simple concert film: behind the camera there is a director who would be noticed especially only two years later, in 1986, with “Something wild” and who would get an Oscar in ’91 with “The Silence of the Lambs” (awarded as best film and best director). In reality it is much more: Demme and Talking Heads challenge conventions that have now become clichés: they stage not only the performances, but also the backstage: the stage is built piece by piece, for each song, with the band joining David Byrne, who starts alone. A brilliant idea to break down a format that was hugely successful in the 70s – the cinema concert – but which in the 80s had often become stereotyped or self-celebratory.

A curiosity, speaking of stereotypes: on the back of the booklet, Byrne had a series of questions printed, to anticipate the classic ones of journalists: (“What does the title mean?”, “Why did you make a film?” “Is music better in the studio or live?”, “Why do the musicians come out one at a time?”, “Why are you wearing such a big dress?” and so on). He hoped that in this way the press would ask him more: “I’m not sure that worked”, he comments today in the liner notes of the reissue.

How the band remembers “Stop making sense”

According to David Byrne, this film and the album brought the band to a wider audience: “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 extra energy when we performed them live and we were inspired by the presence of the audience. In many ways, these versions are more emotional than the studio recordings, so maybe that’s why so many people discovered us through this record.”

According to Jerry Harrison, who did the Dolby Atmos remix of the entire concert, the film is still relevant today: “For me, ‘Stop Making Sense’ has remained relevant because the staging and lighting techniques could have been created in a much earlier time period. For example, Vari-Lights, lights with motors to reorient them, had just come into fashion. If we had used them, it would have put a time stamp on the film and ultimately it would have looked dated… The lack of interviews, combined with the elegant and timeless lighting, created a film that can be watched over and over again.”

The tracklist of the Deluxe edition in 2CD/Blu-ray

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 Disc
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)

John
John

With an untamed passion and deep, eclectic knowledge of music, John is the soul of RadioWise UK. Having worked in the music industry for over two decades, his vision was to create a platform that embodies the love and respect for music. John is known for his great attention to detail and insatiable thirst for discovering new talents and music genres.