The Talking Heads instrumentalists began recording this album in late 1994 after spending several years trying to get vocalist David Byrne to participate.

[1] The title track was first released on the soundtrack to Virtuosity,[2] with recording continuing through 1995, as friends and musical acquaintances filled in as guest vocalists.

[1] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that the collaborators were "as barren of ideas as the Heads themselves", and that most of the music, bar the tracks with Andy Partridge and Shaun Ryder, was "simply bland".

[11] Dom Stud of Melody Maker noted that most of the album's guests "contribute a strong identity", with some "even managing to inject new life into the tired trio", and concluded, "All in all, No Talking, Just Head works as a series of cameos.

"[12] A review of "Damage I've Done" in Billboard recommended the track to retailers as having sales potential for being a "murky, oddly appealing rocker" that was "derivative but undoubtedly hit-bound".