TALKING HEADS – TRUE STORIES LP – Nr MINT UK 1986  NEW WAVE ROCK

Talking Heads – True Stories
(EMI Records  1986  EU3511)
Matrix No’s: A3/B2 – UK Pressing

Sleeve & Inner Sleeve in Nr MINT condition

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are a few light surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality)

Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne (lead vocals, guitar), Chris Frantz (drums), Tina Weymouth (bass), and Jerry Harrison (keyboards, guitar). Described by critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine as “one of the most critically acclaimed bands of the ’80s,” the group helped to pioneer new wave music by integrating elements of punk, art rock, funk, pop and world music with avant-garde sensibilities and an anxious, clean-cut image.

Former art school students who became involved in the 1970s New York punk scene, Talking Heads released their debut Talking Heads: 77 to positive reviews in 1977, and subsequently collaborated with producer Brian Eno on a trio of experimental and critically acclaimed releases: More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978), Fear of Music (1979), and Remain in Light (1980). After a hiatus, the band hit its commercial peak in 1983 with the US Top 10 hit “Burning Down the House” and released the concert film Stop Making Sense, directed by Jonathan Demme. They would release several more albums, including their best-selling LP Little Creatures (1985), before disbanding in 1991.

In 2002, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Four of the band’s albums appeared on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and three of their songs (“Psycho Killer,” “Life During Wartime,” and “Once in a Lifetime”) were included among The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. Talking Heads were also included at number 64 on VH1’s list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time.” In the 2011 update of Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Artists of All Time,” the band was ranked at number 100.

True Stories is the seventh album released by Talking Heads in 1986; it was released at the same time as the David Byrne film of the same name, True Stories.

The album does not contain the actors’ performances from the film. Instead, this is a Talking Heads studio album featuring recordings of songs from the film. While an original cast recording for this movie was never released, several of the film performances did appear on single releases of several songs from the album.

Later, lead singer Byrne released the album Sounds from True Stories containing incidental music from the soundtrack.

The single “Wild Wild Life” became the big hit from the album, accompanied by its video airplay on MTV. The “Wild Wild Life” video won two MTV Video Music Awards in 1987: “Best Group Video”, beating U2 and Crowded House, and “Best Video from a Film”. (The video is in fact an extended sequence lifted directly from the film itself). A video for “Love for Sale” was created for use in the film (during a sequence when a woman, played by Swoosie Kurtz, watches the video on TV), and an extended version was later released as a video in its own right.

In 2006, it was re-released and remastered by Warner Music Group on their Warner Bros./Sire Records/Rhino Records labels in DualDisc format, with three bonus tracks on the CD side (an extended mix of “Wild Wild Life”, “Papa Legba” with vocal by Pops Staples, and “Radio Head” with vocals by Tito Larriva). The DVD-Audio side includes both stereo and 5.1 surround high resolution (96 kHz/24bit) mixes, as well as a Dolby Digital version and the videos of “Wild Wild Life” and “Love for Sale”. In Europe, it was released as a CD+DVDA two disc set rather than a single DualDisc. The reissue was produced by Andy Zax with Talking Heads.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by David Byrne.

1. “Love for Sale” – 4:30
2. “Puzzlin’ Evidence” – 5:23
3. “Hey Now” – 3:42
4. “Papa Legba” – 5:54
5. “Wild Wild Life” – 3:39
6. “Radio Head” – 3:14
7. “Dream Operator” – 4:39
8. “People Like Us” – 4:26
9. “City of Dreams” – 5:06

Personnel

Talking Heads

• David Byrne – guitar, vocals
• Chris Frantz – drums
• Jerry Harrison – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals
• Tina Weymouth – bass guitar, backing vocals

Additional musicians

• Bert Cross Choir – vocals on “Puzzlin’ Evidence”
• Tommy Camfield – fiddle on “People Like Us”
• Paulinho Da Costa – percussion on “Papa Legba”, “Radio Head”, and “People Like Us”
• Steve Jordan – accordion on “Radio Head”
• St. Thomas Aquinas Elementary School Choir – vocals on “Hey Now”
• Tommy Morrell – pedal steel guitar on “People Like Us” and “City of Dreams”
• Gloria Loring – backing vocals on “Wild Wild Life”

Recording personnel

• Charles Brocco – assistant mixing
• Paul Christiensen – overdubbing engineer on “Puzzlin’ Evidence”
• Nick del Ray – assistant engineers
• Mick Guzauski – mixing on “Wild Wild Life”
• Lee Herschburg – mixing on “People Like Us”
• Robin Laine – assistant mixing
• Michael McClain – overdubbing engineer on “Hey Now”, “Radio Head”, “People Like Us”, and “City of Dreams”
• Tom Nist – assistant mixing
• Jack Skinner – mastering
• Eric Thorngren – engineer, mixing, overdubbing
• Melanie West – assistant engineers
• Mike Nicholson – engineer on “Wild Wild Life”