Little Creatures
Studio album by
Talking Heads
ReleasedJune 10, 1985
RecordedOctober 1984 – March 1985
StudioSigma Sound (New York City)
Genre
Length38:38
LabelSire
ProducerTalking Heads
Talking Heads chronology
Stop Making Sense
(1984) 		Little Creatures
(1985) 		True Stories
(1986)
Singles from Little Creatures
  1. "The Lady Don't Mind"
    Released: May 1985
  2. "Road to Nowhere"
    Released: June 1985
  3. "And She Was"
    Released: August 1985[1]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Chicago Tribune[3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
Hot Press11/12[5]
Pitchfork8.0/10[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[7]
Spin Alternative Record Guide8/10[8]
Tom Hull – on the WebA[9]
Uncut9/10[10]
The Village VoiceA[11]

Little Creatures is the sixth studio album by American rock band Talking Heads, released June 10, 1985, by Sire Records. The album examines themes of Americana and incorporates elements of country music, with many songs featuring steel guitar. It was voted album of the year in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll, and is the band's best-selling studio album, with more than two million copies sold in the United States. The cover art was created by outsider artist Howard Finster, and was selected as album cover of the year by Rolling Stone.

Track listing

All tracks are written by David Byrne, except where noted

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."And She Was" 3:36
2."Give Me Back My Name"Byrne, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth3:20
3."Creatures of Love" 4:12
4."The Lady Don't Mind"Byrne, Frantz, Harrison, Weymouth4:03
5."Perfect World"Byrne, Frantz4:26
Side two
No.TitleLength
6."Stay Up Late"3:51
7."Walk It Down"4:42
8."Television Man"6:10
9."Road to Nowhere"4:19
1985 UK CD Bonus Track
No.TitleLength
10."The Lady Don't Mind" (Extended Mix)6:51
2005 reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
10."Road to Nowhere" (Early version)4:37
11."And She Was" (Early version)3:36
12."Television Man" (Extended mix)7:52

Personnel

Talking Heads

Additional musicians

Recording

Charts

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for Little Creatures
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia — 150,000[38]
Germany (BVMI)[39] Gold 250,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[40] Platinum 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[41] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[42] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. p. 809. ISBN 9780862415419.
  2. ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Little Creatures – Talking Heads". AllMusic. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  3. ^ Kot, Greg (May 6, 1990). "Talking Heads On The Record". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  4. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  5. ^ Stokes, Dermot (July 5, 1985). "Little Creatures". Hot Press. Archived from the original on February 21, 2002. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  6. ^ Bloom, Madison (April 23, 2020). "Talking Heads: Little Creatures". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  7. ^ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Talking Heads". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 802–03. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  8. ^ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). "Talking Heads". Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. p. 394. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  9. ^ Hull, Tom (November 27, 2023). "Grade List: Talking Heads". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  10. ^ "Uncut - August 2015 UK". Uncut. August 1, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  11. ^ Christgau, Robert (July 30, 1985). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  12. ^ Kent 1993, p. 304.
  13. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Talking Heads – Little Creatures" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
  14. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0564". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
  15. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Talking Heads – Little Creatures" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  16. ^ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Eurotipsheet. Vol. 2, no. 29/30. July 29, 1985. p. 14. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  17. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  18. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Talking Heads – Little Creatures" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
  19. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved May 29, 2022. Select "Album" in the "Tipo" field, type "Talking Heads" in the "Artista" field and press "cerca".
  20. ^ "Charts.nz – Talking Heads – Little Creatures". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
  21. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Talking Heads – Little Creatures". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
  22. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Talking Heads – Little Creatures". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
  23. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Talking Heads – Little Creatures". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  24. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
  25. ^ "Talking Heads Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  26. ^ "Lista prodaje 43. tjedan 2023" (in Croatian). Top of the Shops. October 16, 2023. Archived from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  27. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista (fizikai hanghordozók) – 2023. 41. hét". MAHASZ. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  28. ^ Kent 1993, p. 437.
  29. ^ "RPM's Top 100 Albums of 1985". RPM. Vol. 43, no. 16. December 28, 1985. p. 14. ISSN 0033-7064 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  30. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1985" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  31. ^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts – 1985" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  32. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1985". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
  33. ^ "Top 100 Albums (January 5–December 28, 1985)" (PDF). Music Week. January 18, 1986. p. 11. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
  34. ^ Kent 1993, p. 438.
  35. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1986". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  36. ^ "Top 100 Albums (January to December 1986)" (PDF). Music Week. January 24, 1987. p. 25. ISSN 0265-1548 – via World Radio History.
  37. ^ Kent 1993.
  38. ^ Barker, Glenn A. (November 9, 1985). "Majors". Billboard. Vol. 97, no. 45. p. A-26. ISSN 0006-2510 – via Google Books.
  39. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Talking Heads; 'Little Creatures')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  40. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Talking Heads – Little Creatures". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
  41. ^ "British album certifications – Talking Heads – Little Creatures". British Phonographic Industry. November 26, 1985. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  42. ^ "American album certifications – Talking Heads – Little Creatures". Recording Industry Association of America.

Bibliography

External links

Talking Heads
Authority control databases
Categories