The Talking Animals

The Talking Animals
Studio album by T Bone Burnett
Released	1988
Studio	Sunset Sound Sounset Sound Factory
Genre	Rock and Roll
Length	40:31
Label	Columbia[1]
Producer	David Rhodes T Bone Burnett[2]
T Bone Burnett chronology
T-Bone Burnett (1986) The Talking Animals (1988) The Criminal Under My Own Hat (1992)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Robert Christgau	B−[4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[1]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide	[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[6]

The Talking Animals is an album by T Bone Burnett, released in 1988.[7]

The guest musicians include Peter Case, Bono, and Tonio K, among others.[8]

Reception

Brett Hartenbach of AllMusic thought that "even with a few less than stellar songs, The Talking Animals is a strong, inspired record."[3] Trouser Press called the album "all in all, worth hearing, though one wishes this talented jerk weren’t so impressed with himself."[9] Robert Christgau wrote: "I hate to let the cat out of the bag, but this guy is pretentious."[4]

Track listing

All songs by T Bone Burnett unless otherwise noted.

Side one

1. "The Wild Truth" – 3:38
2. "Monkey Dance" – 4:43
3. "Image" – 4:02
4. "Dance, Dance, Dance" – 2:45
5. "The Killer Moon" (Burnett, M. Burnett, Peter Case) – 5:00

Side two

1. "Relentless" – 3:24
2. "Euromad" – 4:21
3. "Purple Heart" (Bono, Burnett) – 4:36
4. "You Could Look It Up" – 2:41
5. "The Strange Case of Frank Cash and the Morning Paper" (Burnett, Tonio K) – 5:25

Personnel

Musicians

T Bone Burnett – guitar David Rhodes – guitar Mickey Curry – drums Tony Levin – bass Jerry Scheff – bass Tom "T-Bone" Wolk – bass Mitchell Froom – harmonium, electric piano, clavinet Tom Canning – piano Sexteto Mayor

Singers: T Bone Burnett Cait O'Riordan Ruben Blades Ludmilla Peter Case Bono Tonio K David Rhodes

Production

• Produced by David Rhodes and T Bone Burnett
• Recorded by Tchad Blake at Sunset Sound and Sunset Sound Factory with Mike Kloster
• Mastered by Bob Ludwig

References

1. Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 2. MUZE. p. 68.
2. Himes, Geoffrey (March 13, 1988). "BURNETT'S LACK OF 'ANIMALS' MAGNETISM" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
3. Hartenbach, Brett. "The Talking Animals > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved June 22, 2011.
4. "Robert Christgau: CG: Artist 1354". robertchristgau.com.
5. MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 175.
6. The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 97.
7. "T-Bone Burnett | Biography & History". AllMusic.
8. Thompson, John Joseph (March 17, 2000). "Raised by Wolves: The Story of Christian Rock & Roll". ECW Press – via Google Books.
9. "T-Bone Burnett". Trouser Press. Retrieved 17 March 2021.