
Speaking in Tongues is the fifth studio album by American rock band Talking Heads, released on June 1, 1983, by Sire Records. After their split with producer Brian Eno and a short hiatus, which allowed the individual members to pursue side projects, recording began in 1982. It became the band’s commercial breakthrough and produced the band’s sole US top-ten hit, “Burning Down the House”.
The album’s tour was documented in Jonathan Demme’s 1984 film Stop Making Sense, which generated a live album of the same name. The album also crossed over to the dance charts, where it peaked at number two for six weeks. It is the group’s highest-charting album on the US Billboard 200, peaking at number 15. It was also their biggest-selling album in Canada, where it was certified platinum in 1983.
- “Burning Down the House” 4:01
- “Making Flippy Floppy” 4:34
- “Girlfriend Is Better” 4:22
- “Slippery People” 3:31
- “I Get Wild/Wild Gravity” 4:07
- “Swamp” 5:12
- “Moon Rocks” 5:03
- “Pull Up the Roots” 5:08
- “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)” 4:53
- “Two Note Swivel” (unfinished outtake) 5:51
- “Burning Down the House” (alternate version) 5:09
David Byrne – vocals, keyboards, guitars, bass guitar, synthesizer, percussion
Chris Frantz – drums, backing vocals, synthesizer
Jerry Harrison – keyboards, synthesizer, guitars, backing vocals
Tina Weymouth – bass guitar, backing vocals, synthesizer, guitar
Wally Badarou – synthesizer on “Burning Down The House”, “Swamp” and “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)”
Raphael DeJesus – percussion on “Slippery People”, “I Get Wild/Wild Gravity” and “Pull Up the Roots”
Nona Hendryx – backing vocals on “Slippery People”
Richard Landry – saxophone on “Slippery People”
Dolette McDonald – backing vocals on “Slippery People”
Steve Scales – percussion on “Burning Down The House” and “Moon Rocks”
L. Shankar – double violin on “Making Flippy Floppy”
David Van Tieghem – percussion on “I Get Wild/Wild Gravity” and “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)”
Alex Weir – guitar on “Making Flippy Floppy”, “Swamp”, “Moon Rocks” and “Pull Up the Roots”
Bernie Worrell – synthesizer on “Girlfriend Is Better”