Speaking in Tongues
The first record after Eno: their highest-charting studio album in America, with Burning Down the House up front and This Must Be the Place to close.
Talking Heads, 1983
- Released
- 1 June 1983
- Recorded
- 1982
- Studio
- Blank Tape and Sigma Sound, New York, and Compass Point, Nassau
- Label
- Sire
- Producer
- Talking Heads and Alex Sadkin
- Length
- 40:51
Co-produced with Alex Sadkin, with Wally Badarou, Bernie Worrell, Alex Weir, L. Shankar and Nona Hendryx joining the four. Byrne said the title partly described his method of singing nonsense first and fitting words to it later. He designed the general-release cover, while Robert Rauschenberg's clear-vinyl limited edition won Rauschenberg a Grammy. The cassette carried extended versions.
It reached 15 on the Billboard 200, their best placing there for a studio album, and Burning Down the House went to 9 on the Hot 100. In Rolling Stone, David Fricke wrote that it finally erased the line between arty white pop and deep black funk, and Christgau gave it an A minus. The tour that followed was filmed as Stop Making Sense.
Track listing
- Burning Down the House4:01
- Making Flippy Floppy4:34
- Girlfriend Is Better4:22
- Slippery People3:31
- I Get Wild/Wild Gravity4:07
- Swamp5:12
- Moon Rocks5:03
- Pull Up the Roots5:08
- This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)4:56
Personnel
- David Byrne lyrics, music
- Chris Frantz music
- Jerry Harrison music
- Tina Weymouth music
- Alex Sadkin co-producer
- Wally Badarou additional musician
- Bernie Worrell additional musician
- Alex Weir additional musician
- L. Shankar additional musician
- Nona Hendryx additional musician
More from Talking Heads
Remain in Light (1980)
Sources
- Speaking in Tongues (Talking Heads album), Wikipedia
- Speaking in Tongues, Discogs