Talking Heads Premiere ‘Cities’ Ahead of Stop Making Sense Expanded Release

Talking Heads have previewed the upcoming expanded edition of ‘Stop Making Sense’ with the rare ‘Cities’, not included on the original album.

‘Cities’ is one of two tracks, along with ‘Big Business/I Zimbra’ not included on the soundtrack album. The songs were included on the VHS release of the movie but not the DVD. The new edition of ‘Stop Making Sense’ is being released to mark its 40th anniversary, now restored to 4K quality.

‘Stop Making Sense’ was a Jonathan Demme movie. Demme later made ‘Married To The Mob’, ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ and ‘Philadelphia’.

Bass player Tina Weymouth said, “Jonathan was a very enthusiastic, highly adaptive, and imaginative guy who was just as good a listener as he was a talker and collaborator. From the get-go you just got the impression he was as flexible as he was disciplined. Being team players, that boded well for a great relationship and a great film!”

Jerry Harrison says, “To 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 re-aim them, had just come into vogue. Had we used them, there would have been a timestamp on the film, and it eventually would have felt dated…The absence of interviews, combined with the elegant and timeless lighting, created a film that can be watched over and over.”

David Byrne says, “We had done a live album before this, but coupled with the film, and with the improved mixes and sound quality, this record reached a whole new audience. As often happens, the songs got an added energy when we performed them live and were inspired by having an audience. In many ways, these versions are more exciting than the studio recordings, so maybe that’s why a lot of folks discovered us via this record.”

Chris Frantz recalls, “I’m talking about real, conscious, transcendent joy… I’m talking about what the Southern gospel people call ‘getting happy,’ which means ‘to be filled with the Spirit.’ That is what happened to us onstage every night, and from my seat behind the drums, I recognized that this was happening to the audience too. 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
1. “Psycho Killer”
2. “Heaven”
3. “Thank You For Sending Me An Angel’
4. “Found A Job”
5. “Slippery People”
6. “Cities” *

Side Two
1. “Burning Down The House”
2. “Life During Wartime”
3. “Making Flippy Floppy”
4. “Swamp”

Side Three
1. “What a Day That Was”
2. “This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)”
3. “Once In A Lifetime”
4. “Big Business / I Zimbra” *

Side Four
1. “Genius Of Love”
2. “Girlfriend Is Better”
3. “Take Me To The River”
4. “Crosseyed And Painless”

* Previously Unreleased

‘Stop Making Sense’ will be screened in cinemas. The album will be released 18 August, 2023.

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