Complete True Stories Soundtrack [Red Vinyl] [B&N Exclusive]

by Talking Heads

Overview

In the mid-'80s, David Byrne was enjoying his heyday as America's favorite multimedia eccentric when he persuaded Warner Bros. to bankroll a feature film he would write and direct. The result was 1986's True Stories, a quirky but generous study of the denizens of a small town in Texas. In the movie, several of the characters sang songs written for the project by Byrne, but to help promote the movie, the producers insisted that Byrne and his band Talking Heads record an album that offered their interpretations of the True Stories songs. The Talking Heads album was a chart success, but while an album of other pieces Byrne penned for the movie, Sounds from True Stories: Music for Activities Freaks, appeared in 1986, the performances from the film's cast went unreleased. That changed in 2018, when the Criterion Collection gave the movie True Stories a deluxe release on Blu-ray and DVD; as a bonus, they included a CD that compiled a complete soundtrack album for the film for the first time. Nonesuch Records has given the soundtrack a stand-alone release, and True Stories, A Film by David Byrne: The Complete Soundtrack is certainly a more satisfying release than the out of print Sounds from True Stories. The sequence of the album is a much better approximation of the ebb and flow of the movie, and the best performances from the actors have a gravity and emotional force that Byrne's delivery didn't always catch, especially Annie McEnroe's evocative "Dream Operator" and John Goodman's "People Like Us," which has an honesty and heart that sometimes belie the lyrics. And "Cocktail Desperado" by Terry Allen & the Panhandle Mystery Band is a terrific track that has long deserved wider exposure. However, there's a low-key tone to much of this music, and the Talking Heads tracks here ("Wild Wild Life," "Love for Sale," and "City of Dreams") stand out in sharp relief, with their bright and booming production and a level of energy and force the rest of the tracks don't try to match. David Byrne fans will appreciate having all this in one place for the first time, but the truth is that a lot of what's here is background score, and divorced from the movie it doesn't have an especially strong identity of its own, even if some individual pieces like "Glass Operator," "Road Song," and "Dinner Music" are quite lovely. The movie True Stories deserves reevaluation, and True Stories, A Film by David Byrne: The Complete Soundtrack will please its partisans, but picking up Criterion's release of Byrne's film may be a better way to experience this music in its intended context. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	11/23/2018
Label:	BARNES & NOBLE .COM
UPC:	0075597927474

Tracks

1. Road Song
2. Freeway Son
3. Disco Hits!
4. Cocktail Desperado
5. Wild Wild Life
6. City of Steel
7. Mall Muzak
8. Dream Operator
9. Love Theme from True Stories
10. Brownie¿¿¿s Theme
11. Dinner Music
12. Puzzlin¿¿¿ Evidence
13. Glass Operator
14. Hey Now
15. I (heart) Metal Buildings
16. Love For Sale
17. Soy De Tejas
18. Buster¿¿¿s Theme
19. Festa Para Um Rei Negro
20. Radio Head
21. Papa Legba
22. People Like Us
23. City of Dreams

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Roebuck "Pops" Staples   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
John Ingle   Primary Artist,Vocals
John Goodman   Primary Artist,Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Esteban "Steve" Jordan   Primary Artist,Bass,Guitar,Vocals,Accordion,Featured Artist
Steve Jordan   Primary Artist,Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Los Vampiros   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Tommy Morrell   Primary Artist
Annie McEnroe   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
St. Thomas Aquinas Elementary School Choir   Primary Artist,Choir/Chorus
Banda Eclipse   Primary Artist
The Bert Cross Choir   Primary Artist,Choir/Chorus
Panhandle Mystery   Primary Artist
Terry Allen & the Panhandle Mystery Band   Primary Artist
Terry Allen   Primary Artist
Bert Cross Ministry Choir   Primary Artist
Talking Heads   Primary Artist
David Byrne   Primary Artist,Bass,Guitar,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Meredith Monk   Primary Artist
Tito Larriva   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Kronos Quartet   Primary Artist,Ensemble
Carl Finch   Primary Artist,Accordion
Steve Erquiaga   Guitar
Paulinho Da Costa   Percussion
Hank Dutt   Viola
Marcella DeCray   Harp
Joan Jeanrenaud   Cello
Charlie McCarthy   Flute,Piccolo
David Harrington   Violin
Philip Aaberg   Piano
Jerry Harrison   Piano,Guitar,Vocals (Background)
Prairie Prince   Drums
Michael Spiro   Percussion
Tina Weymouth   Bass,Vocals (Background)
Gloria Loring   Vocals (Background)
John Sherba   Violin
Chris Frantz   Drums
Tommy Camfield   Fiddle
Steve Jordan Jr.   Drums
Robin May   Oboe
Michael McClain   Keyboards
Greg Barber   Bassoon
Jim Pukey   Clarinet,Clarinet (Bass)
Dick Bright   Violin
Rich Girard   Bass
Charlie Judge   Piano,Keyboards
Steve Mitchell   Drums

Technical Credits

Terry Allen   Composer
Talking Heads   Producer
David Byrne   Arranger,Composer,Producer
Meredith Monk   Composer
Carl Finch   Composer
Jeff Barnes   Arranger
David Bryne   Producer
Dick Bright   Arranger
Esteban Jordan   Composer