The "live" album--music recorded from a concert rather than the studio--is such a tricky creature. In rock and roll, there's a number of live albums that have achieved classic status (those that come to mind immediately include Frampton Comes Alive, Woodstock, Led Zeppelin's The Song Remains the Same, and The Last Waltz). Of those, the last three also had documentaries associated with the concerts being recorded. And yet, when it comes to favorites, I ignore all of those in favor of yet one more documentary cum live album: Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense.

I might be using the word documentary wrong here, because Stop Making Sense is not so much about Talking Heads as it simply shows why they were such a musical force. For example, there are no talking heads in the movie--the film begins with David Byrne simply walking on-stage with a tape recorder and his guitar, introducing himself and immediately going into a solo version of "Psycho Killer." Each successive song adds a person or two, until about two-thirds through the show, the entire Speaking in Tongues era-Heads entourage are rocking out on stage. The film never breaks from the show, even as it documents how the show was put together. In true art school fashion, the show itself was organized to show how a live concert is created, piece-by-piece. Truly, this is a case of "show, don't tell."

The album made from the movie/concert does the same. Unlike some live recordings, where the audience overwhelms the music, Stop Making Sense is clean. Even in the beginning and end of songs, when applause can be heard, the mixing mutes it, concentrating instead on the, for example, wavering synthesizer and infectious drumbeat that begins "Once in a Lifetime." Within the songs, the distinctions between instruments and voices are clear as well.

And what great songs these are! I enjoy Talking Heads: 77 and More Songs about Buildings and Food, but the versions of "Psycho Killer" and "Take Me to the River" benefit from the live arrangements. "Psycho Killer," sparse to begin with, becomes even more disturbing as a solo piece, stark in its rage and eccentricity. "Take Me to the River," on the opposite side of the movie and album, equally benefits from the full-force production of fourteen people on stage, becoming a kind of New Wave gospel anthem. The other songs gain a lot from the energy of a live performance. Talking Heads was a cerebral band in the studio, especially under the helm of producer Brian Eno for Fear of Music and Remain in Light. Those albums, while wonderful, suffer somewhat from the layer-upon-layer of soundscapes favored by Eno at the time (similar to the problem of the Robert Fripp-produced Peter Gabriel album). Live, these same songs open up, becoming even more funky and weird, matching the stage antics of Byrne.

The only problem with this album was the fact that all of the songs from the movie weren't on it, including bright reworkings of "Thank You for Sending Me an Angel" and "Found a Job." Someone must have been listening, however, and for its 20th anniversary, the album was rereleased in a special edition with four more songs. Thus a great album is made even greater.

As "Life During Wartime" goes, "This ain't no party/this ain't no disco/this ain't no fooling around." Stop Making Sense shows that Talking Heads were a serious force, the true culmination of the New Wave spirit in the U.S.