Speaking In Tongues (studio album) by Talking Heads

Speaking In Tongues by Talking Heads
Year: 1983
Overall rank: 353rd   Overall chart historyOverall chart history
Average Rating: 
81/100 (from 754 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 10 albums of 1983 (6th)
Award Top 50 albums of the 1980s (45th)
Award Top 500 albums of all time (353rd)
Product Details
Availability

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Talking Heads - Speaking In Tongues - Vinyl LP Record - 1983 - Special Limited
Condition: Used

$185.00


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Special edition rock lp TALKING HEADS Speaking in Tongues 1983 Rauschenberg VG+
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Talking Heads - Speaking in Tongues [New Vinyl LP] 180 Gram
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Talking Heads bestography

Speaking In Tongues is ranked 3rd best out of 15 albums by Talking Heads on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Talking Heads is Remain In Light which is ranked number 27 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 30,956.

Talking Heads album bestography « Higher ranked (234th) This album (353rd) Lower ranked (409th) »
Fear Of MusicSpeaking In TonguesStop Making Sense

Upcoming concerts

Apr
21
Sun
12:00
The Rock and Roll Playhouse plays the Music of Talking Heads + More for Kids ft. Bushwick's Dead Family Band - Earth Day Celebration
Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn, United States. United States
Tickets from $17.00 (Ticketmaster) Get tickets
 
Apr
23
Tue
19:00
NTL Presents: HEARTBYRNE, a TALKING HEADS Tribute from Austin, TX
FITZGERALDS NIGHTCLUB, Berwyn, United States. United States
Tickets from $20.00 (Ticketmaster) Get tickets
 
Apr
25
Thu
20:00
Talking Heads Tribute - Heartbyrne
Impact Fuel Room, Libertyville , United States. United States
Tickets from $20.00 (Ticketmaster) Get tickets
 
Discover more upcoming concerts

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Speaking In Tongues track list

  Track ratingsTrack ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 85 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Speaking In Tongues rankings

Speaking In Tongues collection

Speaking In Tongues ratings

Average Rating: 
81/100 (from 754 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 754 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
80/100
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4 days ago RadioGraaah  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 46878/100
 
85/100
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03/14/2024 09:15 Purplepash  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 4,12775/100
 
90/100
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03/13/2024 02:48 culwin  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 45277/100
 
70/100
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03/12/2024 12:41 Jibb  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 1,08683/100
 
80/100
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02/29/2024 17:32 DriftingOrpheus  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 62081/100

Rating metrics: Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 1% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 80.7/100, a mean average of 80.2/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 80.8/100. The standard deviation for this album is 12.5.

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Speaking In Tongues comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 32 comments |
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Rating:  
90/100
From 03/13/2024 02:49
Remain In Light gets all the love, and it has some great songs for sure, but this is the best Talking Heads album for me - every track is 8/10 or better.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 10/16/2022 21:52
Funky and groovy as hell, full of great songs. I love Burning Down The House, Girlfriend Is Better and This Must Be A Place, just incredible songs. There is a problem with some ok songs lasting too long which makes them a little annoying (Moon Rocks, Swamp). The most underrated track is probably I Get Wild/Wild Gravity, I really like it. Overall definitely in their top 3.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 09/07/2022 01:08
Alright record
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 08/07/2022 04:30
Full of Talking Heads most famous songs. Another must listen for those who love Talking Heads!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
30/100
From 01/11/2022 21:21
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Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -3 votes (0 helpful | 3 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 01/08/2022 10:34
This album does have some good moments but is let down by the production amongst other things. Most tracks on here are very easy to groove to and are also very easy listening so make a smooth album. The lyrics are also amazing pretty much the whole way through and are the crowning achievement for this record. The vocal is consistent as well and when you add all this together it creates a pretty decent listen. What holds it back is the production which doesn't let some of the instruments properly shine in moments when they are incredible. Also, it make the music feel less cohesive. Some tracks as well are a bit weaker than their usual standard and there is no song on here which truly stuns me away with the quality. Overall, the album is pretty good and I can see why this rougher style may appeal to other people but for me I prefer their more polished and complete work.
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Rating:  
70/100
From 08/24/2021 06:05
This album, front to back, is full of absolutely incredible songwriting. Every song on here SHOULD be an absolute banger. However, the production just sucks dookie. The opener and closer sound awesome, but everything else sounds so muffled and pathetic. It's a shame too, because "Making Flippy Floppy" has an incredible bass line, but you can barely hear it. If you want to hear better versions of most songs on this thing, listen to any of the Talking Head's live albums. Everything sounds much more powerful and fun on those albums.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 02/11/2020 20:55
Another great, funky record by Talking Heads. You can't help to AT LEAST bob your head along to most of the tracks here. I keep coming back to this one ever once in a while and always love it.

Favorite Tracks: This Must Be the Place, Girlfriend is Better, Burning Down the House
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
55/100
From 05/01/2019 19:08
Favourite track: "This Must Be The Place"
Least-liked track: "Swamp"
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 03/11/2019 01:31
The odd ball production and quietly paranoid lyrics really give this album a charm. The second half does have some hollow lyrics but is still catchy. And of course "This must be the place" may be the best love song ever written with a beautiful ending note.
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Best Albums of 1983
1. Murmur by R.E.M.
2. Violent Femmes by Violent Femmes
3. Power, Corruption & Lies by New Order
4. War by U2
5. Synchronicity by The Police
6. Speaking In Tongues by Talking Heads
7. Swordfishtrombones by Tom Waits
8. Kill 'Em All by Metallica
9. Let's Dance by David Bowie
10. The Final Cut by Pink Floyd
11. Clics Modernos by Charly García
12. Script Of The Bridge by The Chameleons
13. Soul Mining by The The
14. Pyromania by Def Leppard
15. Script For A Jester's Tear by Marillion
16. Holy Diver by Dio
17. Piece Of Mind by Iron Maiden
18. The Hurting by Tears For Fears
19. Eliminator by ZZ Top
20. Texas Flood by Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble
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