10 Greatest Live Albums In Rock Music History
1. Talking Heads - Stop Making Sense
The soundtrack to Jonathan Demme’s masterpiece concert movie is certainly improved by the auteur’s visuals, including David Byrne’s big suit, some ludicrously energetic dancing, and the spectacle of the stage slowly filling up as the show progresses.
Even without all of this, though, Stop Making Sense remains the finest live album ever recorded. Things start off in typically idiosyncratic style, with Byrne bringing a boombox onstage to back his one man, nerve-jangling rendition of “Psycho Killer”. Tina Weymouth joins him for a beautiful performance of “Heaven”, and before long, the whole band have picked up their instruments.
From there, it’s a masterclass of live performance from a brilliantly tight act backed by additional singers and keys. “Life During Wartime” could be the highlight, an exhaustingly energetic funk workout whose sheer live exuberance finds grooves within the song which couldn’t have existed on record.
As ever, Talking Heads switch things up at the last, ending on the relatively downtempo, but totally engrossing cut of Al Green’s “Take Me To The River”, putting their soulful backing band to perfect use. This might just be the definitive release by one of the all-time most influential groups.