Speaking in Tongues (album)
Encyclopedia
Speaking in Tongues is the fifth studio album by the band Talking Heads
, released in 1983.
The album was a commercial breakthrough that produced the band's first (and only) American Top 10 hit, "Burning Down the House", which was accompanied by a promotional video. The following tour was documented in Jonathan Demme
's Stop Making Sense
, which generated a live album of the same name
. (The concert film and live album's title comes from the repeated phrase "Stop making sense!" during the song Girlfriend is Better.) In addition, the album crossed over to the dance charts, peaking at number two for six weeks.
David Byrne did the cover for the general release of the album. Artist Robert Rauschenberg
won a Grammy Award
for his work on the limited-edition LP version. This album featured a clear vinyl disc in clear plastic packaging along with three clear plastic discs printed with similar collages in three different colors. Original cassette copies of the album have special extended versions of "Making Flippy Floppy", "Girlfriend Is Better", "Slippery People", "I Get Wild/Wild Gravity" and "Moon Rocks".
The album was re-released in February 2006 as a remastered DualDisc
. It contains the extended versions of the songs found on the original cassette, and includes two additional tracks ("Two Note Swivel" and an alternate mix of "Burning Down the House"). The DVD-A side includes both stereo and 5.1 surround high resolution (96 kHz/24bit) mixes, as well as a Dolby Digital 5.1 version of the album, a new alternate version of "Burning Down the House" with the emphasis on experimenting the possibilities of surround sound, and videos for "Burning Down the House" and "This Must Be the Place" (videos are two channel Dolby Digital
only). 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.
Byrne has said, as a partial explanation of the album's title, "I originally sang nonsense, and uh, made words to fit that. That worked out all right."
Singles
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
, released in 1983.
The album was a commercial breakthrough that produced the band's first (and only) American Top 10 hit, "Burning Down the House", which was accompanied by a promotional video. The following tour was documented in Jonathan Demme
Jonathan Demme
Robert Jonathan Demme is an American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter. Best known for directing The Silence of the Lambs, which won him the Academy Award for Best Director, he has also directed the acclaimed movies Philadelphia, Rachel Getting Married, the Talking Heads concert movie Stop...
's Stop Making Sense
Stop Making Sense
Stop Making Sense is a concert movie featuring Talking Heads live on stage. Directed by Jonathan Demme, it was shot over the course of three nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theater in December 1983, as the group was touring to promote their new album Speaking in Tongues. The movie is notable for...
, which generated a live album of the same name
Stop Making Sense (album)
Stop Making Sense is a live 1984 album by Talking Heads, the soundtrack to the film of the same name. The original release of the album features only nine of the songs from the movie, many of them heavily edited. The album spent over two years on the Billboard 200 chart...
. (The concert film and live album's title comes from the repeated phrase "Stop making sense!" during the song Girlfriend is Better.) In addition, the album crossed over to the dance charts, peaking at number two for six weeks.
David Byrne did the cover for the general release of the album. Artist Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg was an American artist who came to prominence in the 1950s transition from Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art. Rauschenberg is well-known for his "Combines" of the 1950s, in which non-traditional materials and objects were employed in innovative combinations...
won a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for his work on the limited-edition LP version. This album featured a clear vinyl disc in clear plastic packaging along with three clear plastic discs printed with similar collages in three different colors. Original cassette copies of the album have special extended versions of "Making Flippy Floppy", "Girlfriend Is Better", "Slippery People", "I Get Wild/Wild Gravity" and "Moon Rocks".
The album was re-released in February 2006 as a remastered DualDisc
DualDisc
DualDisc was a type of double-sided optical disc product developed by a group of record companies including EMI Music, Universal Music Group, Sony/BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and 5.1 Entertainment Group and later under the aegis of the Recording Industry Association of America...
. It contains the extended versions of the songs found on the original cassette, and includes two additional tracks ("Two Note Swivel" and an alternate mix of "Burning Down the House"). The DVD-A side includes both stereo and 5.1 surround high resolution (96 kHz/24bit) mixes, as well as a Dolby Digital 5.1 version of the album, a new alternate version of "Burning Down the House" with the emphasis on experimenting the possibilities of surround sound, and videos for "Burning Down the House" and "This Must Be the Place" (videos are two channel Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital is the name for audio compression technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories. It was originally called Dolby Stereo Digital until 1994. Except for Dolby TrueHD, the audio compression is lossy. The first use of Dolby Digital was to provide digital sound in cinemas from 35mm film prints...
only). In Europe, it was released as a CD+DVDA two disc set rather than a single DualDisc. The reissue was produced by Andy Zax
Andy Zax
Andy Zax is a music historian and producer of CD boxed sets and reissues by Talking Heads, Rod Stewart, Echo & the Bunnymen, Television, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Judee Sill, John Cale, Nico, The Neon Philharmonic, Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, The Sisters of Mercy,...
with Talking Heads.
Byrne has said, as a partial explanation of the album's title, "I originally sang nonsense, and uh, made words to fit that. That worked out all right."
Side one
- "Burning Down the HouseBurning Down the House"Burning Down the House" is a song by New Wave band Talking Heads, released as the first single from their fifth studio album Speaking in Tongues.-Background:...
" – 4:00 - "Making Flippy Floppy" – 4:36
- "Girlfriend Is BetterGirlfriend Is Better"Girlfriend Is Better" is a song by New Wave band Talking Heads, from their fifth studio album Speaking in Tongues. The song's single version was a live version from the soundtrack of their concert film Stop Making Sense....
" – 4:25 - "Slippery People" – 3:30
- "I Get Wild/Wild Gravity" – 4:06
Side two
- "Swamp" – 5:09
- "Moon Rocks" – 5:04
- "Pull Up the Roots" – 5:08
- "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)"This Must Be the Place " is a song by New Wave band Talking Heads, released as the second single from their fifth album Speaking in Tongues...
" – 4:56
2006 DualDisc reissue
- "Burning Down the House" – 4:01
- "Making Flippy Floppy (Extended Version)" – 5:53
- "Girlfriend Is Better (Extended Version)" – 5:42
- "Slippery People (Extended Version)" – 5:05
- "I Get Wild/Wild Gravity (Extended Version)" – 5:16
- "Swamp" – 5:12
- "Moon Rocks (Extended Version)" – 5:45
- "Pull Up the Roots" – 5:09
- "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" – 5:03
- "Two Note Swivel (Unfinished Outtake)" – 5:51
- "Burning Down the House (Alternate Version)" – 5:09
Talking Heads
- David ByrneDavid ByrneDavid Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer...
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, keyboards, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - Chris FrantzChris FrantzChris Frantz is an American musician and record producer. He was the drummer for both Talking Heads and the Tom Tom Club.-Career:...
– drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, backing vocals, synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones... - Jerry HarrisonJerry HarrisonJerry Harrison is an American songwriter, musician and producer...
– keyboards, guitar, backing vocals - Tina WeymouthTina WeymouthMartina Michèle "Tina" Weymouth is an American musician, best known as a founding member and bassist of the New Wave group Talking Heads and its side project Tom Tom Club .-Profile:Weymouth is of French heritage on her mother's side. Weymouth was a cheerleader in high school...
– synthesizer and string bass, backing vocals, guitar
Additional musicians
- Wally BadarouWally BadarouWally Badarou is a musician from Benin.-Biography:A synthesiser specialist, Badarou was the longtime associate of the British band Level 42, known for its blend of funk, pop, soul and rock...
– synthesizer - Raphael DeJesus – percussion
- Nona HendryxNona HendryxNona Hendryx is an American vocalist, producer, songwriter, musician, author, and actress.Hendryx is known for her work as a solo artist as well as for being one-third of the trio Labelle, who had a hit with "Lady Marmalade." Her music has ranged from soul, funk, dance, and R&B to hard rock, art...
– backing vocals - Richard Landry – saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
- Dolette McDonald – backing vocals
- Steve Scales – percussion
- ShankarL. ShankarLakshminarayanan Shankar, also known as L. Shankar and Shenkar, is an Indian-born American violinist, singer and composer.-Early life:...
– violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello.... - David Van Tieghem – percussion
- Alex WeirAlex WeirAlex Weir is an American guitarist, who has worked with both Talking Heads and the Tom Tom Club on their albums, and in concert. He appears in the critically praised 1984 concert film, Stop Making Sense. Prior to this he worked with The Brothers Johnson, with whom he is a cousin...
– guitar - Bernie WorrellBernie WorrellGeorge Bernard "Bernie" Worrell, Jr. is an American keyboardist and composer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic...
– synthesizer
Recording personnel
- John Convertino – assistant engineer
- Franklin Gibson – assistant overdubbing engineers, mixing
- Ted JensenTed JensenTed Jensen is an American recording engineer. Jensen is the chief mastering engineer at Sterling Sound. He started his career as a mastering engineer in 1976 and is currently the most active Mastering Engineer in the industry...
– masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced... - Butch Jones – engineer
- Jay Mark – assistant overdubbing engineers, mixing
- Alex SadkinAlex SadkinAlex Sadkin is best remembered as a record producer in the early 1980s, but actually got his start in the music industry as a saxophonist for the Las Olas Brass in Fort Lauderdale, Florida....
– overdubbing engineer, mixing - Brian Kehew - 2006 Dual Disc bonus mixes
Chart performance
Album| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... 200 |
15 |
| Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums |
58 | |
| UK Albums | 21 |
Singles
| Year | Song | Peak | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
||
| 1983 | "Burning Down the House Burning Down the House "Burning Down the House" is a song by New Wave band Talking Heads, released as the first single from their fifth studio album Speaking in Tongues.-Background:... " |
9 | — |
| "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) "This Must Be the Place " is a song by New Wave band Talking Heads, released as the second single from their fifth album Speaking in Tongues... " |
62 | 51 |