Maps of Music

True Stories (1986)

Where the lyrics of True Stories take you, and where it was really made.

The English band Radiohead took its name from the sixth track on this album, 'Radio Head'.

Key places

Basic tracks at Sigma Sound (1986)

Recording site Sigma Sound Studios — The album booklet says all basic tracks were recorded at Sigma Sound, New York. The source gives only the city name. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Most songs mixed in Westwood (1986)

Recording site Village Recorders — Most songs on the album were mixed at The Village Recorder Studios in Westwood, California, except tracks 5 and 8. The source gives the studio's city, not an exact street address. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Track 5 mixed in Hollywood (1986)

Recording site Conway Recording Studios — Track 5 of the album was mixed at Conway Recording Studios in Hollywood, California, according to the album booklet. The source gives the studio's city, not an exact street address. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Overdubs in Toluca Lake (1986)

Recording site O'Henry Sound Studios — The overdubs for the album were recorded at O'Henry Studios in Toluca Lake, California, according to the album booklet. The source gives the studio's city, not an exact street address. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Track 8 mixed in North Hollywood (1986)

Recording site Schnee Studio — Track 8 of the album was mixed at Amigo Studios in North Hollywood, California, according to the album booklet. The map point uses the city center. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• True Stories: seventh studio album by the American rock band Talking Heads
• Released September 15, 1986 by Sire Records (French Wikipedia gives 7 October 1986)
• Companion record to David Byrne's satirical musical comedy film True Stories
• Contains only Talking Heads studio recordings of songs from the film
• An original cast recording was planned but not released at the time
• Some cast performances appeared on the B-sides of singles from the album
• Basic tracks recorded at Sigma Sound, New York
• Most songs mixed at The Village Recorder Studios, Westwood, California

Background

• The film is a satirical musical comedy directed by David Byrne, the band's lead vocalist
• Later in 1986 Byrne released Sounds from True Stories, containing incidental music from the soundtrack
• The 2018 complete film soundtrack combined cast performances with tracks from the two earlier albums
• That 2018 release included only the three Talking Heads performances from the first album that are heard in the film

Recording

• Overdubs recorded at O'Henry Studios, Toluca Lake, California
• Track 5 mixed at Conway Recording Studios, Hollywood
• Track 8 mixed at Amigo Studios, North Hollywood
• Track 2 recorded by the Omega Audio Remote Facility at the Arcadia Theater, Dallas
• Tracks 3, 6, 8 and 9 recorded at Studio Southwest, Sunnyvale, Texas
• Mastered digitally at Sterling Sound, New York

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1975.
• Byrne, Frantz, and Weymouth met at the Rhode Island School of Design, where they formed the Artistics in 1973.
• After moving to New York, they took the name Talking Heads, joined the New York punk scene, and recruited Jerry Harrison in January 1977.
• They signed to Sire Records in November 1976 and released their debut album Talking Heads: 77 in 1977.

Members

• David Byrne: lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion (1975–1991, 2002).
• Chris Frantz: drums, percussion, backing vocals (1975–1991, 2002).
• Tina Weymouth: bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (1975–1991, 2002).
• Jerry Harrison: keyboards, guitar, backing vocals (1977–1991, 2002).
• Additional musicians including Adrian Belew, Bernie Worrell, and Nona Hendryx joined the band's shows and sessions in the 1980s.

Career

• The band collaborated with producer Brian Eno on More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978), Fear of Music (1979), and Remain in Light (1980).
• Their cover of Al Green's "Take Me to the River" was their first Billboard Top 30 hit.
• Speaking in Tongues (1983) brought mainstream commercial success, including the Top 10 hit "Burning Down the House".
• Stop Making Sense (1984), directed by Jonathan Demme, is often regarded as the greatest concert film of all time.
• Little Creatures (1985) was their best-selling studio album.
• Byrne left in 1991 and the band disbanded; they reunited briefly in 2002 for their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.
• Four Talking Heads albums appeared on Rolling Stone's 2003 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Ken Tucker of The Philadelphia Inquirer gave the album three out of four stars
• Tucker described the album as gently melodic pop with less polyrhythmic aggressiveness than recent Talking Heads albums
• Tucker found some songs verging on triteness or banality
• Tucker called 'Love for Sale' and 'People Like Us' beautiful rock music

Records

• Reached number 28 on the Billboard 200
• Certified gold by the RIAA on 18 November 1986
• The 'Wild Wild Life' video won two MTV Video Music Awards in 1987

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The 'Wild Wild Life' video, which won two MTV Video Music Awards in 1987, is an extended sequence taken directly from the film.
• A video for 'Love for Sale' was made for use in the film, where a character played by Swoosie Kurtz watches it on television.
• That 'Love for Sale' video was later released as a video in its own right in an extended version.
• The 2006 reissue was remastered in DualDisc format with three bonus tracks, including a 'Papa Legba' version with lead vocals by Pops Staples.
• Radiohead named themselves after the sixth track, 'Radio Head', which has vocals by Tito Larriva on the 2006 reissue.
• The 2018 soundtrack was the first complete film soundtrack release, after the cast recording had been planned in the 1980s but not released.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

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