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All pages and cover are intact (including the dust cover, if applicable). Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May include "From the library of" labels. Shrink wrap, dust covers, or boxed set case may be missing.
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True Stories

Talking Heads Format: Audio CD
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 204 ratings
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Track Listings

1 Love for Sale
2 Puzzlin' Evidence
3 Hey Now
4 Papa Legba
5 Wild Wild Life
6 Radio Head
7 Dream Operator
8 People Like Us
9 City of Dreams
10 Wild Wild Life (Extended Mix)

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: TALKING HEADS
Title: TRUE STORIES
Street Release Date: 07/07/1987
Domestic
Genre: ROCK/POP

Product details

  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.96 x 5.59 x 0.51 inches; 2.89 ounces
  • Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ Warner Off Roster
  • Item model number ‏ : ‎ 2015921
  • Original Release Date ‏ : ‎ 1990
  • Date First Available ‏ : ‎ February 20, 2007
  • Label ‏ : ‎ Warner Off Roster
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B000002LAR
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 204 ratings

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
204 global ratings
A much overlooked gem
5 Stars
A much overlooked gem
After seeing the movie in 1986, I was surprised to hear this album. In the movie, it was the actors who sang all of these songs, but it was certainly fun to hear the Heads do them. Nonetheless, it would be great to hear the actual soundtrack--perhaps a double album with this disc. Anyway, none of these tracks contain throw-away tunes; on the contrary, it is fitting that the release of this album was sandwiched between "Little Creatures" and "Naked." It's hard to choose a favorite from this album, but "Puzzlin' Evidence," "Wild Wild Life," Radio Head," and...forget it, they are all good.
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Top reviews from the United States

William Michael
5.0 out of 5 stars A much overlooked gem
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2020
Verified Purchase
After seeing the movie in 1986, I was surprised to hear this album. In the movie, it was the actors who sang all of these songs, but it was certainly fun to hear the Heads do them. Nonetheless, it would be great to hear the actual soundtrack--perhaps a double album with this disc. Anyway, none of these tracks contain throw-away tunes; on the contrary, it is fitting that the release of this album was sandwiched between "Little Creatures" and "Naked." It's hard to choose a favorite from this album, but "Puzzlin' Evidence," "Wild Wild Life," Radio Head," and...forget it, they are all good.
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William Michael
5.0 out of 5 stars A much overlooked gem
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2020
After seeing the movie in 1986, I was surprised to hear this album. In the movie, it was the actors who sang all of these songs, but it was certainly fun to hear the Heads do them. Nonetheless, it would be great to hear the actual soundtrack--perhaps a double album with this disc. Anyway, none of these tracks contain throw-away tunes; on the contrary, it is fitting that the release of this album was sandwiched between "Little Creatures" and "Naked." It's hard to choose a favorite from this album, but "Puzzlin' Evidence," "Wild Wild Life," Radio Head," and...forget it, they are all good.
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2 people found this helpful
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Thomas D. Leblanc
5.0 out of 5 stars Product received in excellent condition
Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2022
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I would like to apologize. I sent a message that I hadn't received the CD. However, I just found it! Sorry for any misunderstanding. The CD arrived on time and in excellent condition. Thanks!
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ewomack
4.0 out of 5 stars An album that arose from the financial necessity of movie making, but still contains many unforgettable tracks...
Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2016
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Strange things can happen when big money and music meet, even the unintended. Finance, along with the pursuit of attention, has so hyper-commodified the music industry that even a glimpse of its looser creative past feels unreal. This didn't happen in an eye blink, but gradually coalesced as mass culture morphed into super-mass culture through the absolute omnipresence of the internet and social media. People plugged into this vaporous edifice can no longer escape it. As such, we no longer seek culture, it seeks us. Today, it can find us with pinpoint precision and, almost surreptitiously, it shapes and defines the way we process the world. In this milieu, nothing happens in isolation. Rarely is a song just a song. Most singers are not just singers, but also models or actors. In fact, being a model seems to be the best starting point, if not a prerequisite, for any kind of entertainment career today (except for playing "evil" characters). If this new world tells us anything, it's that looks are everything. But we knew that.

Music also has a hard time standing on its own. An album needs an image first and foremost. Think of Adele's inescapable decapitated catatonic gaze. Videos, a movie or apps must also accompany the "mere music." Way back in 1986, when "DDD" really meant something, this inexorable trend had already gained well-rooted traction. In those wispy analog days of yore, David Byrne wanted to make a film. His band, Talking Heads, had quickly evolved from undisputed masters of explosively innovative rock to pop music household names. This newfound fame and wealth granted Byrne some commercial license for larger projects. But movies need money and money requires financiers. As the rumor mill goes, Byrne intended the songs for this film project to only appear in the film and he only wanted the actors to sing them. This whole enterprise likely didn't begin as a "Talking Heads" project but as a David Byrne project. The band itself, who, apart from Byrne, didn't appear in the original film, seems tacked on after the fact. Given the recent success of Talking Heads, with radio hits such as "Burning Down the House" and "And She Was," the film's backers supposedly wanted an album released alongside the movie. Back then, oh those legendary days, albums could produce fertile revenue streams. Really, they could. Though against Byrne's wishes, the backers had financial savvy because the album more than likely spawned far more cash than the movie. Thus "True Stories" found its way into the marketplace as a film and as Talking Heads' somewhat unintentional seventh studio album. Money and music again produced the unexpected.

Sadly, the band had come to a splintered crossroads by this time. Their previous album, "Little Creatures," though very successful, treated the band itself as merely a backup to Byrne. Unlike some of their earlier releases, Byrne had written the vast majority of the songs and taught them to the other members. The older method of composing via the whole band improvising in the studio, used on "Speaking in Tongues," had vanished along with the members' personal relationships. So once again Byrne assembled the now disgruntled band and taught them some simple pop songs. Once again they felt like an afterthought to Byrne's dominance and rising musical and artistic reputation. This sordid situation produced another highly successful album financially, but it remains Talking Heads' least acclaimed, and probably least inspired, release. Nonetheless, a band's worst albums do test its musical resilience. Some "worst" albums really are execrable and embarrassing. Countless examples exist, none of which anyone probably wants to recall. But if "True Stories" shows the Talking Heads at their "worst," then this band really had something, because it still sounds relatively fresh today - for the most part, at least.

"Love For Sale," the album's explosive opener, provides an absolute highlight and may qualify as one of Talking Heads' best songs. It just rocks. The layers of competing guitar and almost subliminal backing tracks sound different with each listen. In almost every way it stands eons above the album's aging hit, "Wild Wild Life." Perhaps the song's explicit condemnation of pitching products with sex kept it off the heavily sponsored airwaves. "Dream Operator" may stand as Talking Heads' most beautiful song. It successfully dangles on the edge of sentimentality without ever falling over. The simple music box counter-melodies sound almost unsophisticated and puerile upon first listen, but they interweave to gorgeous effect and quickly reveal a complex tapestry of harmony. "City of Dreams" also sounds solid today. The closest this band ever came to a power ballad, it tells a sad tale of dinosaurs, legendary settlers, gold, genocide and broken small town dreams. A melancholy longing pervades the song's repetitive but gradually mesmerizing verses. It also asks some ominously nagging questions: where do our current dreams and desires come from? Upon what were our towns and cities founded? Who are we? An enlightening lifelong education awaits anyone who attempts to follow that dusty meandering path. Pop music rarely raises such specters.

"Wild Wild Life" once soaked the airwaves. This song's chart performance alone, though not stellar, sent this album's sales skyrocketing, to the unending pleasure of the financial backers, no doubt. Though still highly enjoyable and catchy, it exemplifies the production values of its day and so has begun to sound a little dated. Byrne only recently resurrected it on his tour with St. Vincent. "Radio Head" not only inspired a band name but also provides some musica norteña hooks. This version could have used some extra oomph to make it into an absolutely great recording. At times it feels slightly lagging. "People Like Us," sung memorably by John Goodman in the film, dives deep into country. Its excellent refrain may sum up, maybe unfairly or possibly satirically, the underlying feelings of many people: "we don't want freedom, we don't want justice, we just want someone to love." The remaining songs extend the range of the album into gospel-inspired media criticism, fervent adolescent desires and mysticism. All are enjoyable, but none are really essential.

How the Talking Heads managed to record another album after the overt viciousness of "True Stories" remains a sullen mystery. Tired of marginalization, some band members lashed out at Byrne in a divisive Rolling Stone interview. They criticized his maturity, his tyranny, the lackluster quality of his new songs, the unpopularity of his film and their subjugation as a band. Outright rebellion broke out. This may have provided the foundation for the "bad blood" Byrne has referred to in interviews. Perhaps even more occurred that thankfully never made it into the press. In any case, it was depressing for many fans to watch the childishness on all sides surface so brutally. But this did make the appearance of their final album, "Naked," a mere two years later all the more shocking. Their subsequent long dwindling breakup came as far less of a surprise. As one member of another infamous breakup once sang: "all things must pass." The Talking Heads soon drifted into history, floating above all the accumulated detritus of popular music.
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Michael
5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite Talking Heads record.
Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2013
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Often cited as a weak album but to me, True Stories is Talking Heads at their absolute best. The 1986 film of the same title directed by David Byrne had originally the actors perform the songs and a separate soundtrack album was released to accompany it but the rest of the Talking Heads insisted that they record an album of them playing the songs. What became of it is in my opinion some of the best songs in the group's catalogue. Only one track here that's a little weak which is "Papa Legba" but the rest are so amazing that it makes up for it. Includes some of Byrne's most powerful and uplifting songs like the superb "Dream Operator", "People Like Us" and "City Of Dreams". Most popular song here is the catchy "Wild Wild Life." Fun fact: a certain band called Radiohead named themselves after a tune from this record.
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Am
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect condition!
Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2021
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Christmas gift for my grandson he loves the Talking Heads, the record was in perfect condition. He loves listening to music on vinyl.
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InMyOpinion
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best soundtracks ever.
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2019
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One of the best Talking Heads album. If you're a fan then you need this and you must see the movie.
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ADRIENNE MILLER
4.0 out of 5 stars "We drive on this highway of fire..."
Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2015
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"True Stories" may not the Talking Heads best album, but it's definitely full of charm and flavor. This is an unusual album. It's considered a soundtrack to the movie, "True Stories". I've never seen the film so I can't really comment on that. I do enjoy this strange piece of art. This record signifies the end of the beginning for the band. This album feels much more like a David Byrne album than a Talking Heads album. But the songs on "True Stories" are really good and diverse. "Hey Now" is a cool, calypso-flavored gem. "Puzzlin' Evidence" is a pop song disguised as a gospel tune. Love the choir in the background. "People Like Us" borrows from country and bluegrass. And don't forget the ballads! "Dream Operator" and "City of Dreams" are the bands most beautifully-written songs. Byrne proves he's not only a gifted songwriter but a strong vocalist as well. Those 2 songs alone are reason enough to purchase "True Stories". "Wild Wild Life" (there's also an extended mix included) and "Love For Sale" were the hit singles. "Love For Sale" is definitely the most important track. Love the tempo changes and the lyrics are genius. The song is about corporate greed and America's fascination with materialism. It was the '80s after all. "Radio Head" is my favorite song on the album. And yes the band, Radiohead named themselves after this song. The only track I don't care for is "Papa Legba". It's a very disjointed, messy song with a lazy arrangement. Too bad. "True Stories" is a fun album. If you like weird, obscure '80s albums then this one is for you. Enjoy!
6 people found this helpful
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Howard Harrelson
5.0 out of 5 stars Still GREAT after all these years.
Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2008
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My girlfriend introduced me to the Talking Heads this year and I've not been able to get their songs out of my head since... "People Like Us," "Radio Head," and "Wild, Wild Life," are all standards from twenty years ago and they still have a clue... these songs speak to something in us that no other band has yet done. "Talking Heads," is subversive music of the best sort. AAAAA+++++
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Top reviews from other countries

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Gary
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic album
Reviewed in Canada on December 22, 2023
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Love this album. Love every track!
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daFox
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 8, 2022
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Arrived very quickly and very well packaged. Takes me back to simpler times! I love it!!
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タカ＆渡士洋
5.0 out of 5 stars Talking Heads らしさ
Reviewed in Japan on December 27, 2023
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Talking Heads らしい既成概念に囚われない自由で面白いアルバムです。とは言っても、個人的にはわりと普通っぽい「Dream Operator」が一番好きですが・・・
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EL MAJICO
5.0 out of 5 stars Talking Heads
Reviewed in Italy on May 21, 2016
Verified Purchase
Articolo come da descrizione (nuovo sigillato). Era l'ultimo disco dei Talking Heads che mi mancava e, finalmente sono riuscito a completare la collezione. Venditore eccezionale. Ho ricevuto il disco prima del previsto. Consigliato.
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SeanO
5.0 out of 5 stars Funky Talking Heads
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 24, 2019
Verified Purchase
This soundtrack is filled with funk and world influences in their arrangements. I may be in the minority given the recent release of the soundtrack using the actors performances from the film, but I prefer David Byrne and company's take. There are a few extra tracks as a bonus as well to this nice remastering.
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