David Byrne puts on the big suit once more for A24's remastered release of Stop Making Sense
Jonathan Demme's legendary Talking Heads concert film will show in theaters worldwide
After working with A24 for the soundtrack of the Oscar-winning Everything Everywhere All At Once, David Byrne is once again linking up with the production and distribution company for a restoration and wide theatrical rerelease of Talking Heads’ pivotal concert film, Stop Making Sense.
In the nostalgia-tinged promotion video, we see David Byrne pick up the trademark oversized suit from the dry cleaners nearly forty years the film’s original release. Byrne (who famously loves cycling) then takes the suit back home, and looks sharp as ever when putting the big suit back on.
In December 1983, Stop Making Sense was filmed by director Jonathan Demme (The Silence Of The Lambs) over the course of three nights at Los Angeles’ Pantages Theater. Those on stage included core band members Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz and Jerry Harrison, as well as Bernie Worrell, Alex Weir, Steve Scales, Lynn Mabry, and Edna Holt.
The concert film pioneered the use of 24-track digital recording, resulting in “extraordinarily clear” sound. Some would even dare say some of the live versions recorded during the concert are better than the studio-recorded tracks (for example: “Life During Wartime,” “Take Me To The River,” and Tom Tom Club’s rendition of “Genius Of Love”).
In the New York Times review of Stop Making Sense from 1984, Janet Maslin wrote, “The film’s visual style is as coolly iconoclastic as Talking Heads itself. Mr. Demme has captured both the look and the spirit of this live performance with a daring and precision that match the group’s own … It’s worth noting some of the things that are not to be found here: Screaming crowds, gaudy skintight costumes, candid scenes of the band members backstage. Talking Heads’ performance style is unlike anything that has ever been captured by a standard concert film, and Mr. Demme is very well attuned to the group’s eccentricities.”
She adds, “Stop Making Sense owes very little to the rock film-making formulas of the past. It may well help inspire those of the future.”
Paired with the 4K restoration, label Rhino is reissuing the soundtrack for digital and vinyl release on August 18, which will feature the Stop Making Sense concert in its entirety for the first time.