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The B-52's ( 1979 )
Planet Claire / 52 Girls / Dance This Mess Around / Rock Lobster / Lava / There’s a Moon in the Sky (Called the Moon) / Hero Worship / 6060-842 / Downtown Hailing from Athens, Georgia, which would become famous as the hometown of the world’s biggest death metal band, R.E.M., the early B-52’s were one of the most original and adventurous bands of their era, seamlessly combining seemingly contradicting genres (60’s instrumental rock, girl group pop, punk, surf, avant-garde elements, etc) into an eccentric but convincing whole, constantly sauntering on the thin line between kitsch and artiness. The band consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, some miscellaneous instruments), Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson (mainly giggles and some other stuff), Cindy’s brother Ricky on guitar, and Keith Strickland on drums. It is not only the music that was deemed semi-deranged. Some of the band members also looked almost alien (especially Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson, with their outrageous hairdos), while the cover of the album was an extraordinary canary yellow.The album was produced by Chris Blackwell,founder of Island Recordsand also producer of several classic reggae-albums by Bob Marley and Toots & The Maytals, in Nassau (the Bahamas). And it shows. This is definitely a party record, one that will crack you up guaranteed, and that will have you hum along for almost 40 minutes. |
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| “Planet Claire” is probably one of the greatest album openers of ’79, with some Hank Marvin/ Bob Bogle-guitar stylings (or is that Duane Eddy’s “Peter Gunn”?), sounding ultra-tight. Add to this some extra-terrestrial keyboards, the robotic singing of Fred Schneider, the band's trademark nonsensical lyrics (“Some say she’s from Mars, or one of the seven stars, that shine after 3:30 in the morning, WELL SHE ISN’T”), and you’re left with a winner. During the more swinging “52 Girls” we get the same cleanly-produced but punchy guitars, slightly false harmonies by the 2 women, weird synth-accents, and a combination of girl group cheesiness and punk energy. “Dance This Mess Around” starts off with keyboard bass (no ‘regular’ bass on this album) and drums, and is quite repetitive (so are most of the other tracks on the album, by the way). The song does become memorable because of Cindy Wilson’s ecstatic shrieks (“I say, don’t that make you feel a whole lot better?”), the demented instrumentation and more freaky lyrics, though. “Rock Lobster” is probably the most notorious of these tracks, and rightly so, since this 6:50-combination of idiotic vocals, spacey noises and cool guitars is one of the most infectious tracks my ears have ever encountered. The second half of the album, on the other hand, is a bit less impressive, although it starts off with “Lava,” which has muscular guitars, a GREAT melody, and the best vocals on the album, with Pierson and Wilson trading off excited shouts and ear-piercing shrieks. Next up is “There’s a Moon in the Sky,” a shortened variation on “Planet Claire” but ultimately not as entertaining (and it’s a bit too long). “Hero Worship” strikes back, though, with jerky musicianship, a bouncy rhythm (the bass-line sounds like something from a Talking Heads-album), and Pierson freaking out, making the weirdest sounds and noises with that voice of hers. “6060-842” is the last song that’s at least good. The best part of the song is the repeated “Your number’s been disconnected” at the end. Last (and least) on the album is the disappointing “Downtown”. Yes, it’s the one Petula Clark also sung, but unfortunately this version is awful, and sounds uninspired, with just monotonous keyboards and false vocals by Pierson. It gets better when the guitar is more prominently present towards the end, but it remains sub-standard nevertheless. “The Yellow Album” is an album with an original and even stunning first half, but it slumps down somewhat during the second half, which has a few songs that are no match for the earlier highlights (“Planet Claire,” “52 Girls,” and “Rock Lobster”). The entire album is still a great kick to listen to, though, even 24 years after its release. Much like Devo, The B-52’s were one of those weird bands that were often dismissed or categorized on the basis of one or two songs, but this album proves they were truly a one-of-a-kind-bunch that effortlessly dabbled in music history and came up with a damn fine debut, which everyone, who ever plans on having a party, should have. |
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Wild Planet ( 1980 )7
Party out of Bounds / Dirty Back Road / Runnin’ Around / Give Me Back My Man / Private Idaho / Devil in My Car / Quiche Lorraine / Strobe Light / 53 Miles West of Venus One look at the album cover, and you'll immediately expect more of the spacey surf-pop-goes-extra-terrestrial that made up a large part of the debut. The canary yellow is replaced by blood red, but the line-up, the ridiculous hairdos (created by Laverne), Schneider’s silly moustache, and the overall kitsch have remained the same. Although it’s still vintage 52’s, they have altered their sound somewhat: the eerie keyboards and ear-piercing shrieks have diminished, those ultra-tight guitar riffs are less upfront, and the album as a whole leans more towards a new wave-meets-dance pop sound that wasn’t as out of step with the time as their debut album, which was regarded by many as a masterpiece. Of course that was an exaggeration (the second album half was positively disappointing compared to the supreme lunacy of the first half), but the second album is not the enormous deterioration many critics claimed it to be either. It lacks the quirky charm of the debut somewhat, but the song-writing and performances are for the most part still very good. |
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Album opener “Party out of Bounds” has a very appropriate title, as it’s a deliciously infectious track that hesitates between quite conventional dance-pop and more angular funk. The guitar is less upfront, but the fast percussion and silly backing vocals help to turn it into a damn fine opener any band would be proud of. It’s immediately followed by another excellent track, “Dirty Back Road”, even though it lacks the typical eccentricity, sounds more serious and ‘normal’ than anything the band had ever recorded before (the women sing quite conventional and doing a great job at it). The album’s highlight is undoubtedly “Private Idaho,” which starts off a bit weird, but suddenly transforms itself into a brilliantly catchy song with cool-sounding guitars (reminiscent of the first album), and, most importantly, astonishing vocal harmonies that turn this song into one of their very best, one that gives “Planet Claire” and “Rock Lobster” a run for their money. Though the rest of the album isn’t nearly as good (heard that before, right?), there are still some interesting songs left: the peculiar dance-pop of “Give Me Back My Man” benefits from the alternately breathy/seductive and shrieking vocals of Cindy Wilson, while Fred Schneider’s hysterical vocals shine in the exciting “Devil in My Car.” “Strobe Light,” simple and loud, ups the ante, and would be one of the last instances of a clear punk-influence in their music (although Schneider would re-visit this territory on his hard-rocking solo album Just…Fred (1996)). Like the debut, Wild Planet also has its share of lesser tracks that aren’t bad, but that somehow lack the wickedness of the album’s highlights. “Runnin’ Around” is quite fast and exciting in the beginning, but doesn't have much to offer ultimately, while both “Quiche Lorraine” and “53 Miles West of Venus” never fulfil their expectations, and drag on for too long. Many other bands would’ve been happy with songs like these, though. Wild Planet still sounds very fresh and adventurous when compared to albums by most contemporary party-bands. Like the debut, its best songs (“Party out of Bounds,” “Private Idaho”) are really good tracks that combine irresistible dance rhythms with sonic details that must’ve been something completely different at the time. Unfortunately, the band isn’t capable of sustaining the momentum during the remainder of the album, which consists of good tracks and a few semi-successful ones. Wild Planet is also supposed to be their last (well, that’s early) truly intriguing effort, as their act became increasingly more of an easy gimmick during the next years, and their sound less bizarre and adventurous. |
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