Album: True Stories
Year: 1986
. . .
Because I lived in Fresno in 1986, I had to fly to London to see David Byrne’s directorial debut, True Stories (the film), in the theatre. Sure, technically, I was in the U.K. to be the best man at Tim & Jean’s wedding, but whatever with that, man: I was one of the first of my friends to see Byrne’s archly sincere film about a place he’d never live if you paid him. The film which, of course, landed him on the cover of Time magazine, which was still like a huge deal in the 1980s.
I think I was hoping that True Stories (the film) would help me make more sense of something that felt more like an afterthought than a huge deal: the album True Stories, which left me cold every time I played one of the songs on KFSR. You know how Tom Petty used a bunch of the songs that didn’t make Wildflowers for the soundtrack of She’s The One? This was like that a decade before, because the True Stories (the album) songs were recorded at the same time as the Little Creatures songs, but of course those songs were also written for the film, which I very much enjoyed, BTW, though I think I liked some of the cast’s vocal performances more than Byrne’s, especially Annie McEnroe’s gorgeous performance of “Dream Operator.”
True Stories (the album) points out the one problem with being a renaissance man: you can do a bunch of things great, but it’s hard to do them great all at once. And so, despite enjoying the film; the lovely melody of “Dream Operator” and “Wild Wild Life” being their third (and final) top 30 single; and when I first heard the name of the band who did that “Creep” song I thought, “hey there’s a Talking Heads song with that name, but these guys don’t sound like them at all” I’ve never warmed to True Stories (the album) all that much. I mean it’s all right there in the utterly boring album cover, the first one without any kind of thought behind it since Talking Heads: 77, and I would argue that one was minimalist on purpose.
So to me, the best song on the album is the gospel-stomper “Puzzlin’ Evidence” which rides a rollickin’ Jerry Harrison organ and sturdy Chris Frantz backbeat over lyrics that were weirdly prescient about the Time magazine cover.
You got the CBS…!
And the ABC…!
You got Time and Newsweek!
Well, they’re the same to me!
Now don’t you wanna get right with me?
(Puzzling evidence)
I hope you get ev’rything you need
(Puzzling vidence)
Unlike the approximation of a gospel choir that was in “Road to Nowhere,” the response vocals are sung by the Bert Cross Choir, and they pretty much make the song, especially every single time the sing the title on the chorus.
Puzz-ling evidence!
Puzz-ling evidence!
Puzz-ling evidence!
Done hardened in your heart
Done hardened in your heart
Like most good gospel songs, “Puzzlin’ Evidence” goes on longer than is strictly necessary, everybody getting off on the groove, the call-and-response and Jerry Harrison’s longest organ solo since his days in the Modern Lovers until it all finally collapses in on itself.
“Puzzlin’ Evidence” From True Stories (The Album)
“Puzzlin’ Evidence” From True Stories (The Film)
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