True Stories (Talking Heads album)

True Stories is the seventh studio album by American rock band Talking Heads.  It was released on September 15, 1986, by Sire Records, around the same time as lead singer David Byrne's film of the same name. 

The album does not contain the actors' performances from the film.  Instead, this is a Talking Heads studio album featuring recordings of songs from the film.  While an intended original cast recording from the film was not released at the time, several of the film performances did appear on single releases of several songs from the album.  Later that year, Byrne released the album Sounds from True Stories containing incidental music from the soundtrack.  In 2018, a complete film soundtrack album was finally released, combining tracks from the two released albums (though only the three performances by Talking Heads from the first True Stories album that were actually heard in the film were included) and the cast performances heard in the film. 

The single "Wild Wild Life" became the big hit from the album, accompanied by its video airplay on MTV.  The "Wild Wild Life" video won two MTV Video Music Awards in 1987: "Best Group Video", beating U2 and Crowded House, and "Best Video from a Film". ( The video is in fact an extended sequence lifted directly from the film itself).  A video for "Love for Sale" was created for use in the film (during a sequence when a woman, played by Swoosie Kurtz, watches the video on TV), and an extended version was later released as a video in its own right. 

In 2006, the album was re-released and remastered by Warner Music Group on their Warner Bros./Sire Records/Rhino Records labels in DualDisc format, with three bonus tracks on the CD side (an extended mix of "Wild Wild Life", "Papa Legba" with vocal by Pops Staples, and "Radio Head" with vocals by Tito Larriva).  The DVD-Audio side includes both stereo and 5.1 surround high resolution (96 kHz/24bit) mixes, as well as a Dolby Digital version and the videos of "Wild Wild Life" and "Love for Sale".  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. 

Track listing
All songs written and composed by David Byrne. 
"Love for Sale" – 4:30
"Puzzlin' Evidence" – 5:23
"Hey Now" – 3:42
"Papa Legba" – 5:54
"Wild Wild Life" – 3:39
"Radio Head" – 3:14
"Dream Operator" – 4:39
"People Like Us" – 4:26
"City of Dreams" – 5:06
"Wild Wild Life" (Extended mix) (CD bonus track) – 5:30
"Papa Legba" (Pops Staples vocal version) (Re-release bonus track) – 5:59
"Radio Head" (Tito Larriva vocal version) (Re-release bonus track) – 3:50

Tracks 11 and 12 appear on the 2006 CD issue only.  Of the 9 tracks on the original LP release, "Love for Sale", "Wild Wild Life" and "City of Dreams" are the only recordings that actually appear in the film.  On screen, the other songs are performed by the film actors; two of those are included among the bonus tracks of the 2006 reissue.  The performance of "Papa Legba" by Pops Staples that was included in 2006 reissue runs a full minute longer than the track included in the "complete soundtrack" version of 2018. 

The band Radiohead named themselves after Track 6, of the same name. 

Personnel

Talking Heads
David Byrne – guitar, vocals
Chris Frantz – drums
Jerry Harrison – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals
Tina Weymouth – bass guitar, backing vocals

Additional musicians
Bert Cross Choir – vocals on "Puzzlin' Evidence"
Tommy Camfield – fiddle on "People Like Us"
Paulinho Da Costa – percussion on "Papa Legba", "Radio Head", and "People Like Us"
Steve Jordan – accordion on "Radio Head"
St. Thomas Aquinas Elementary  School Choir – vocals on "Hey Now"
Tommy Morrell – pedal steel guitar on "People Like Us" and "City of Dreams"
Gloria Loring - backing vocals on "Wild Wild Life"

Production
Charles Brocco – assistant mixing
Paul Christiensen – overdubbing engineer on "Puzzlin' Evidence"
Nick del Ray – assistant engineers
Mick Guzauski – mixing on "Wild Wild Life"
Lee Herschburg – mixing on "People Like Us"
Robin Laine – assistant mixing
Michael McClain – overdubbing engineer on "Hey Now", "Radio Head", "People Like Us", and "City of Dreams"
Tom Nist – assistant mixing
Jack Skinner – mastering
Eric Thorngren – engineer, mixing, overdubbing
Melanie West – assistant engineers
Mike Nicholson – engineer on "Wild Wild Life"
Brian Kehew - expanded CD bonus track mixing

Charts

Certifications

References

Category:1986 albums
Category:Albums produced by David Byrne
Category:Albums produced by Jerry Harrison
Category:Albums recorded at Sigma Sound Studios
Category:Concept albums
Category:Sire Records albums
Category:Talking Heads albums