Speaking in Tongues (album)

Infobox Album
Name = Speaking in Tongues
Type = Studio album
Artist = Talking Heads


Released = May 31, 1983
Recorded = Blank Tapes, NY
Compass Point Studios
Sigma Sound
July 1982–February 1983
Genre = New Wave / Art punk
Length = 46:50
Label = Sire
Producer = Talking Heads
Reviews =
*Allmusic rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:aekcikk6bb19 link]
*Robert Christgau (A-) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=talking+heads link]
*"Rolling Stone" rating|4.5|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/talkingheads/albums/album/88266/review/5943976/speaking_in_tongues link]
Last album = "The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads"
(1982)
This album = "Speaking in Tongues"
(1983)
Next album = "Stop Making Sense"
(1984)

"Speaking in Tongues" is the fifth studio album released by the band Talking Heads; it was released in 1983.

The album was a commercial breakthrough that produced the band's first American Top 10 hit, "Burning Down the House". A striking video was frequently broadcast during the song's chart run. [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12anBpSpqik&feature=related YouTube - Talking heads-Burning down the house ] ] The following tour was documented in Jonathan Demme's "Stop Making Sense", which generated another live album of the same name.

The album was re-released in February 2006 as a remastered Dualdisc. The CD side 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.

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 album, which featured a clear disc along with three clear plastic discs printed with similar collages in three different colors.

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." [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwCEajWOjKE YouTube - Talking Heads on Letterman '83 Pt. 1] ]

Track listing

All lyrics were written by David Byrne. All music by Talking Heads.

ide one

#"Burning Down the House" – 4:00
#"Making Flippy Floppy" – 4:36
#"Girlfriend Is Better" – 4:25
#"Slippery People" – 3:30
#"I Get Wild/Wild Gravity" – 4:06

ide two

#"Swamp" – 5:09
#"Moon Rocks" – 5:04
#"Pull Up the Roots" – 5:08
#"This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" – 4:56

2006 DualDisc reissue previously unreleased bonus tracks

10. "Two Note Swivel"
11. "Burning Down the House" (Alternate Version)

Personnel

Talking Heads

*David Byrne – vocals, keyboards, guitars, bass, percussion
*Chris Frantz – drums, backing vocals, synthesizer
*Jerry Harrison – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals
*Tina Weymouth – synthesizer and string bass, backing vocals, guitar

Additional musicians

*Wally Badarou – synthesizer
*Raphael DeJesus – percussion
*Nona Hendryx – backing vocals
*Richard Landry – saxophone
*Dolette McDonald – backing vocals
*Steve Scales – percussion
*Shankar – violin
*David Van Tieghem – percussion
*Alex Weir – guitar
*Bernie Worrell – synthesizer

Recording personnel

*John Convertino – assistant engineer
*Franklin Gibson – assistant overdubbing engineers, mixing
*Ted Jensen – mastering
*Butch Jones – engineer
*Jay Mark – assistant overdubbing engineers, mixing
*Alex Sadkin – overdubbing engineer, mixing

Chart performance

;Album

;Singles

References