Everyone’s Getting Involved: A Tribute to Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense review: a masterclass on how to craft a tribute album
Talking Heads gained well-deserved recognition during their ascendance in the 1970s due to their contributions in carefully combining components of funk, punk, world music and, art-rock within their music. In 1984 the band released a concert film titled Stop Making Sense and a live album of the same name. To mark the continued legacy of Talking Heads and Stop Making Sense’s 40th Anniversary, A24 released Everyone’s Getting Involved: A Tribute to Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense.
Everyone’s Getting Involved encapsulates the timelessness of music by providing a modern re-interpretation of Stop Making Sense’s iconic tracks. These reimagined classics offer fresh, exciting, and surprising renditions from many artists representing this tribute album’s multi-genre eclecticism.
The album begins with Miley Cyrus’ cover of ‘Psycho Killer’, one of Talking Heads’ most notable singles. At first glance, Cyrus’ spin on the song alerts us to a questionable choice made by producers, given that out of all of the tracks on Everyone’s Getting Involved ‘Psycho Killer’ is most obscurely dissimilar from the original. The punchy instrumentation which makes the original track so iconic is replaced with an energetic and danceable beat, transforming the song into a disco-pop rock anthem. This is not a surprise given that Cyrus has delved into classic rock, during her collaboration with Stevie Nicks on ‘Edge of Midnight (Midnight Sky Remix)’. However, Cyrus’ cover truly encompasses the intentional ethos of the tribute album, by attempting to modernise classic rock tracks for contemporary audiences whilst paying a respectful homage to Talking Heads.
There is a recognisable fear and prominent debate within the existence of tribute albums that too many modifications within a cover could tarnish the original
Like with many tribute albums, there is a fear that the chosen cover artists will simply replicate the original, lacking the creative desire to transform the tracks. This can be said for a few tracks on Everyone’s Getting Involved, as they could arguably be perceived as suspected audio leaks from a celebrity night-out, as some of the artists tend to ‘sing over’ these Talking Heads classics. This was particularly evident in The National’s cover of ‘Heaven’ and Toro y Moi and Brijean’s ‘Genius of Love’ cover.
There is a recognisable fear and prominent debate within the existence of tribute albums that too many modifications within a cover could tarnish the original, displeasing fans of the band. However, if the track is too similar, it makes the audience question the purpose of the tribute album, as they might as well listen to the original.
Despite these concerns, Everyone’s Getting Involved indicates there is not one way of conducting a successful tribute album. DJ Tunez’s ‘Life During Wartime’, Jean Dawson’s ‘Swamp’, and The Cavemen.’s ‘What a Day That Was’ successfully modify these songs by incorporating different genres, whilst highlighting components that are quintessential to Talking Heads’ discography. For instance, ‘Swamp’ utilises the iconic instrumentation that is pertinent to Talking Heads’ discography but manipulates the melody with violin instrumentation. These three tracks experiment with Afrobeat, jazz, and soul. Although these genres have been historically pinned against the 1970s rock movement, these renditions provide a tasteful fusion of genres in order to adapt music and broaden its listenability to modern audiences. This reiterates the very nature of Everyone’s Getting Involved as it suggests Talking Heads’ musical legacy exists beyond rock.
Everyone’s Getting Involved conveys that despite using different genres, melodies, and vocal tones within covers, the extent of Talking Heads’ legacy allows these renditions to continually exhibit a prominent Talking Heads ‘feel’ to them. For instance, Lorde’s ethereal vocals on ‘Take Me to the River’ combined with instrumentation that is similar to the original but slightly toned down, reveals a refreshing but recognisable reinterpretation of the track. The same can be said for BADBADNOTGOOD and Norah Jones’ cover of ‘This Must Be The Place (Naïve Melody)’. With some of the original instrumentation combined with the rich and soulful tones of a female vocalist, ‘This Must Be The Place’ portrays an exquisite interconnection between Talking Heads’ rock and contemporary Neo-soul.
Paramore has evidently paid incredible attention to the meticulous details of one of Talking Heads’ most popular tracks
As the middle of the album approaches, Paramore’s cover of ‘Burning Down the House’ most accurately epitomises the goal of Everyone’s Getting Involved by exuding the exact energy of Talking Heads. Paramore has evidently paid incredible attention to the meticulous details of one of Talking Heads’ most popular tracks. The song begins with a whisper from frontwoman, Hayley Williams: “Who got a match?”, directly mirroring David Byrne’s introduction to the song during the live album in 1984. This is not all, during Paramore’s announcement of their cover, the visuals accompanying the single see Williams rock an oversized grey Byrne-esque suit whilst adopting his theatrical and funky stage presence. With adapted instrumentation to align with Paramore’s style, the cover features powerful vocals and layered vocal echoes to represent the features of ‘Burning Down the House’ which make it highly distinguishable and memorable. Paramore’s interpretation is so carefully conducted, that it is one of the best covers from the entire album.
Another notable cover is ‘Girlfriend Is Better’ by girl in red, as it exceeds all expectations when attempting to reinvent a classic. The cover elegantly exhibits the sass and energy needed to achieve a powerful Talking Heads cover successfully. girl in red’s vocals and indie-pop stance align with the track and make ‘Girlfriend Is Better’ a sapphic anthem. The creators of Everyone’s Getting Involved utilise different genres and the cover artists’ existing reputations to broaden the listener experience.
As ‘everyone is getting involved’, everyone should be talking about the success of Everyone’s Getting Involved: A Tribute to Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense in keeping Talking Heads’ legacy alive, as it preserves the band’s musical essence and ‘one of a kind’ nature, whilst reinterpreting their music for a diverse modern audience.
Recommended Listening: Paramore – ‘Burning Down the House’, BADNOTGOOD & Norah Jones – ‘This Must Be The Place (Naïve Melody)’, girl in red – ‘Girlfriend Is Better’, and Lorde – ‘Take Me to the River’.
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