Talking Heads
Stop Making Sense

THE REVIEW

Benzo 24, in his comment on the review of the live performance by the Talking Heads entitled "The name of this band is Talking Heads", claims that 'Stop Making Sense' is a useless album; well, I found myself somewhat bewildered by this definition as I consider it one of the greatest live performances ever released as well as an essential chapter in the discography of the Talking Heads.

Perhaps, however, I am making a mistake, because every time I think of this album, I also think of the Film/Concert made by the great Jonathan Demme (not Carlo Vanzina) to support the artists' performance in 1984. The concert in question could be appreciated by any music lover but also by supporters of the theater of the absurd.
"Absurd" – no word could better summarize this performance; in fact, in an hour and a half, Byrne and company cause a riot (and pure genius) on the stage, worthy heirs of the best Beckett. From the "one by one" entrance on the platform (it's limiting to talk about a stage) to the ever-moving background with images changing continuously, from the races to the eccentric dances to the final and immortal performance of David trapped in a jacket at least 4 sizes too big.

But rightly, we must talk about the album, and guys, I just realized I didn't make any mistake in giving it the highest score because, leaving aside the video aspect, the result is still wild, hypnotic, and irresistible. In fact, the band's greatest asset is taking their pieces, throwing them into a blender, and coming out with something different, eccentric and animalistic. It starts with a "Psycho Thriller" with only Byrne on guitar and a "radio" (typically '80s) accompanying him, and gradually all the musicians join: Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, and 5 extraordinary black artists who add a touch (and what a touch) of ethnicity. We go from a "Slippery People" never so rhythmic and tense with those final chilling howls to a "Burning Down The House" mad as all the tracks from the latest album: "Speaking in Tongues" so unjustly mistreated by many.

Emotion makes its way during "Naive Melody," a sad melody beautifully rendered by the extraterrestrial voice of the group's leader. Classic oldies are dusted off ("Once in a Lifetime" and "Life During Wartime" above all), but there's a moment, exactly at track 15, that left me breathless: "Take Me to the River"; "What the hell is it?" I asked myself on the first listen.
The song, contained in the splendid "More Songs About Buildings and Food," is a cover of Al Green; restrained and disarmingly calm on the 1978 album, here it becomes a tribal dance without brakes with the entire group at the peak of performance, led by a Byrne alternating between a captivating singing and delightful hysterical cries. It concludes with "Cross-Eyed and Painless," which brings a bit of calm but does not stop making us dance and dream, then everyone goes home.

Dear Benzo 24, I sincerely invite you to listen to 'Stop Making Sense' again because I find it something different from a simple album, but an experience of transgression, of alienation—and to quote the "Pere Ubu", a modern dance for the apocalypse (musically speaking).