Stop Making Sense Blu-ray Review

**The News Bot** · 26-10-2009, 10:05 AM

Reviewed by Keith Hurst, 26th October 2009
There are a few video concerts I enjoy; The Who at the Isle of Wight, some of Woodstock and Live in the Flesh. This one though beats them all and beats them for a wide variety of reasons. I love the music and obviously that helps but it is the way this concert / film was planned then put together which sets it apart from all the rest. Not just a bunch of guys on stage in front of an appreciative crowd tinkling the ivories with some interspersed interviews, no! This is unadulterated, undiluted pure music for the sheer hell of it. Fast, energetic, committed and so much fun.

I do believe that The Talking Heads would have been no one without David Byrne and to some degree he would have been nothing without them. A self confessed shy individual he blossomed on stage breaking free of his cocoon to become the glorious performer which he undoubtedly is. I have had the pleasure of seeing him on a number of occasions and what you get in Stop Making Sense is exactly what you get when you see him live. A sense of awe, a sense of his commitment and an unbelievable sense of the energy he had then and still to this day has.

If David Lynch was the director you turned to at one point to see something off the wall then David Byrne was your kind of guy. Producing music which pushed the boundaries of what we had before he then took this talent and migrated it to the larger stage. Taking his beloved band and producing the next generation of video concert. From a disc point of view it is the audio which is the most important aspect here and they know it. Apart form a little odd placing in the mix it's never been bettered, never fuller, never so detailed. The video still leaves a little to be desired but it wasn't about that at all. Exemplary stuff and one, yet again, I have to recommend. Even if you're not a Talking Heads fan then I urge you to pick this up to see how a concert should be performed and presented.
Read the full review...

FZR400RRSP · 26-10-2009, 12:14 PM

Good review of a cracking concert and my favourite band.
I have to make mention of David Byrne's 'energy' you note though.
Byrne has stated that he was 'visiting his friend Charlie' backstage.

Witness his 'clean' stage performances since, which are far less manic.

Keith Hurst · 26-10-2009, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FZR400RRSP

Witness his 'clean' stage performances since, which are far less manic.

Well I don't know, I saw him recently at the Glasgow Concert Hall and apart from the backing band it could have been this concert. His energy was still there, jogging on stage, running about and for a guy now who's pushing 60 that's no bad feat.

Like the video concert the people left their seats and the aisles were full of boogie

Almost got a chance to meet the guy this time round but alas it was never to be

KH

simonblue · 26-10-2009, 2:03 PM

Great review

,go to the top of my to buy list

FZR400RRSP · 26-10-2009, 3:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keith Hurst

Well I don't know, I saw him recently at the Glasgow Concert Hall and apart from the backing band it could have been this concert.

I was at that one, was it April/May?
I was also at the one in Edinburgh two months ago.
The Glasgow concert was good, the Edinburgh one was absolutely mind-blowing.
It was being filmed (HD cameras everywhere), so I'm waiting for a tour DVD with baited breath.
He's still reasonably animated on stage, don't get me wrong, but nowhere near the same levels as Stop making sense.
He rarely puts his guitar down these days, which curtails the same movements.
I have shaken the great man's hand, when he played Aberdeen in.....god....let me think....I can remember the girl I went with..so it must have been around 1997.
Front of the stage, thanked him for making the effort to come up, not many do.

FZR400RRSP · 26-10-2009, 4:07 PM

If any of you are into Talking Heads, I would recommend this book.

Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa: The Adventures of "Talking Heads" in the 20th Century: Amazon.co.uk: David Bowman: Books

It is heavy going, very detail obsessed.
But it must be the most definitive book out there, if not the easiest read.

Keith Hurst · 26-10-2009, 4:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FZR400RRSP

I was at that one, was it April/May?
I was also at the one in Edinburgh two months ago.

Yep March this year, there with 5 friends... one of the best nights I've had in a wee while. Also seen him at the Barrowlands on the Rei Mo Mo tour, The Fruit Market and at the Queen's Hall in Edinburgh... he's a class act and I would always make the time to see him if he was on the road.

KH

brian s · 27-10-2009, 9:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The News Bot

I do believe that The Talking Heads would have been no one without David Byrne and to some degree he would have been nothing without them. A self confessed shy individual he blossomed on stage breaking free of his cocoon to become the glorious performer which he undoubtedly is.

I first saw them on their first British tour (1978?). They were waiting to go on stage behind a partion which had a gap in it. When Byrne noticed me looking through the gap he nearly jumped out of his skin. I was very surprised that such a great performer could be so nervous. They were great and Stop Making Sense has been a favourite DVD of mine for many years now.

Cheers
Bri

drummerjohn · 27-10-2009, 11:07 AM

If you are wondering why the sounds are off ie drummer hits cymbal but no sound or vice versa? It's because the whole concert audio thing was re-recorded in the studio. None of it is "live" audio footage.

Anyone remember the VHS release - it was almost 200ms out throughout the whole video. Awful.

Keith Hurst · 27-10-2009, 11:26 AM

The audio from Stop Making Sense was digitally recorded at the concerts and simply remixed in the studio in a number of different ways. It's the mix that's slightly out not the recording per-se.

KH

drummerjohn · 27-10-2009, 11:53 AM

You can clearly see it's all been re-recorded. The vocals don't match at all with regard to breathing, mic distance etc. I'm a drummer and so much of the drumming for me is very wrong.

So much of the guitar playing is wrong as well. It just doesn't work when you scrutinise it. I still love it mind you.

FZR400RRSP · 28-10-2009, 5:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drummerjohn

None of it is "live" audio footage.

No offence, but that's just rubbish.
Undoubtedly some 'cleaning up' and remastering, but it's 100% concert audio.
To suggest the band somehow 'dubbed' studio audio onto the DVD is just silly.

Grimley · 02-11-2009, 2:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drummerjohn

Anyone remember the VHS release - it was almost 200ms out throughout the whole video. Awful.

The DVD isn't perfect either, the 1st 3 tracks are out of sync IIRC.

I'm tempted to 'upgrade' at some point - anyone know if this is scheduled for a UK release anytime soon?

drummerjohn · 02-11-2009, 3:48 PM

No offence taken. I'm just using my experience as a band member to tell me what's real and what's not. I also read somewhere, 7-8 years ago (can't find any mention of it on internet), that it was re-recorded in a studio.

Ask an experienced drummer or guitarist to look at the video and they will tell you not much of it makes sense. (see what I did there).

I have sat and watched this with a guitarist of 30 years experience, a bass guitar player (who taught Mark King from Level 42) and drummer. We all came to exactly the same conclusion - most if not all of it was re-recorded. And then when I read the statement a few years later, circa 2002, I thought how honest it was.

Still great fun to watch mind you.

Keith Hurst · 02-11-2009, 4:55 PM

Stop Making Sense was one of the first films to use digital recording for the audio and much was made of this on it's initial release.

There's no way they would have gone to all that throuble then re-recorded the whole kit and caboodle in the studio. The audio has been tinkered with, there's no doubt about that, but not a wholesale re-recording.

As you say, still tremendous fun to watch :D

KH

FZR400RRSP · 04-11-2009, 4:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drummerjohn

No offence taken. I'm just using my experience as a band member to tell me what's real and what's not. I also read somewhere, 7-8 years ago (can't find any mention of it on internet), that it was re-recorded in a studio.

Ask an experienced drummer or guitarist to look at the video and they will tell you not much of it makes sense. (see what I did there).

I have sat and watched this with a guitarist of 30 years experience, a bass guitar player (who taught Mark King from Level 42) and drummer. We all came to exactly the same conclusion - most if not all of it was re-recorded. And then when I read the statement a few years later, circa 2002, I thought how honest it was.

Still great fun to watch mind you.

I'd put my mortgage on the fact you and the other people are wrong, despite their experience (I play the bass too).
There is zero mention of this in any Talking Heads book I own, some of which are so detailed it would surely be stated somewhere.

PS, I'm also a massive Mark King fan and have never seen any reference to him being taught by anyone, just self-taught.

drummerjohn · 04-11-2009, 6:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FZR400RRSP

PS, I'm also a massive Mark King fan and have never seen any reference to him being taught by anyone, just self-taught.

On the first Level42 album you will see a mention on the thanks list to Jon Gough. Jon was the original bass player and Mark was the drummer in the band prior to it becoming Level42. Jon lived on the mainland, Mark on the IoW. Mark wanted to learn the bass so Jon taught him. Jon left the band as he couldn't be bothered with it all. Silly him.

drummerjohn · 04-11-2009, 6:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FZR400RRSP

I'd put my mortgage on the fact you and the other people are wrong, despite their experience (I play the bass too).
There is zero mention of this in any Talking Heads book I own, some of which are so detailed it would surely be stated somewhere.

I know what you are saying which is why I spent like 20 minutes trying to find something on it (20 mins is a long time in google world). I know I read it but can't squat now.