Ten Favorite 1986 Albums: True Stories (#5)

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Earlier today in my post about the Louisville Slugger Museum I said that there are times that I'm so obvious they should replace Captain Obvious with me! This is one of those times. Here's another great album from a great music year, 1986. I was inspired to highlight 1986 after @miketagz said he was born in 1986. Here's the next album. #5: True Stories - Talking Heads Anyone surprised? Anyone at all? Didn't think so. I'm sure the cracks that formed in this band with the first break-up (in 1981) weren't repaired when the band reunited in 1983. By their final album, 1988's Naked, the cracks were Grand Canyon-sized gulfs. I've often quoted Tina Weymouth saying that she was told by her lawyer that Talking Heads hadn't broken up, it was a divorce. (To their credit, and to the shame of those who have since done otherwise, they did put aside everything to reunite for their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, prompting Chris Frantz to thank the Hall "for giving this band a happy ending.") But in 1986 the glue was still holding the band together, and they released True Stories. This was confusing: there was a movie by that name (which David Byrne co-wrote, directed, and starred in), a Talking Heads album by that name, and a "music from the movie" album (which featured the incidental music and NOT the actors singing the songs that appear on the True Stories album). Confused yet? Don't be. It boils down to this: True Stories was a great album by a great band. It provided their final top 40 hit, "Wild Wild Life." It was a terrific follow-up to Little Creatures and didn't need the movie (or anything else) to stand on its own. Trivia: the video for "Love For Sale" was banned by MTV. Why? To highlight the theme of overt commercialism in the song the video featured over 100 clips of TV ads. True Stories Recorded by Talking Heads Produced by Talking Heads Hey, this song's title might make a good name for a band: