The B-52's - The B-52's
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Free Music Notes for The B-52's
Free Music Review: Twist around the fire, have fun!
Hit: 5 Stars
I remember how captivated I was when I first heard this album, and how impressed I was by the B52s sound: it was part pop, part surf, part 60s, part "Monster Mash". Words cannot express how in awe I was of Fred's Jersey-tinged, slightly effeminate bark, and Cindy and Kate's esoteric harmonies. But I can tell you that this album made me learn how to dance because I couldn't resist it. It also made me howl with laughter at the sheer joy and pleasure of their tunes. Everyone has their favorites but give me "Dance This Mess Around" anytime. Even their all-too-short cover of "Downtown" was nothing less than inspired brilliance and fun.
This album is so friendly and fun that to not like it is, in my opinion, snobbery. So come down of your high horse and pick up this CD.
Free Music Review: Putting the "New" in New Wave
Hit: 5 Stars
Formed in 1976 as a lark, the five-member Athens, Georgia band made a hit on the dance club scene with their unexpected tongue-in-cheek lyrics and weirdly retro "Twilight Zone" sound. But they didn't really get off the ground in a big way until 1979, when their self-titled debut release pretty much put the "new" in 1970s and 1980s New Wave--and even today it's hard to think of that era without contemplating it.Opening with the memorable "Planet Claire," with its retro-rhythms, electronic pings, and truly off the wall lyrics, the band puts you on notice: it will be quite unlike anything you've heard before. And that holds true through virtually every cut. Of course, whether you like it or not is an entirely different matter: it can be difficult to relate to music made with such instruments as smoke-detectors, toy pianos, and a stripped down guitar-bass-drums combo, not to mention lyrics that often seem to be thrown together from the first rhyming words the band could think of. Quite a few people will find that a little of it goes a long way.
But it grows on you. It really does. "52 Girls," with Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson spewing out female names very much like you'd recite state capitols in high school, is wickedly funny once you manage to tune into it--and when you move on to "Dance this Mess Around" you're hooked, plugged into Cindy and Kate's alternately strident, alternately harmonic vocals and Fred Schneider's unexpected rap-like interjections.
For all its weirdness, this is music designed to get you on your feet, and on draggy days when I don't quite feel up to the task I can drop this particular CD on the stereo and "dance this mess around" all the way to a spotless kitchen. Much of the B-52's music takes off from pop culture, with a very specific emphasis on those alternately bizarre and utterly lame 1950s and 1960s sci-fi drive-in flicks that live so fondly in cult-fan-memory. "Rock Lobster," a classic of its kind, is a perfect example, subverting Frankie and Annette's rear-projection waves into mundo-bizarro tanning butter; "Lava" is a wild mix of drop-dead sultry and drop-dead wacko; "There's a Moon in the Sky" can only be described as the musical equivalent of Flash Gordon on acid.
My particular guilty pleasure from this CD is the flat-out warped "6060-842," the twisted fable of Tina's visit to the ladies' room and the telephone number written on the wall. But whether it's the sexually perverse "Hero Worship" or trashing Petula Clark's 1960s pop hit "Down Town," its all just a lot of fun. If you only know The B-52's from their later, pop-tinged party hits, you owe yourself this one. Turn up the volume and make the neighbors roll their eyes and wonder what you're doing!
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
Free Music Review: 25 years old...and still fresh
Hit: 5 Stars
It's hard to believe that this debut album was unleashed a quarter of a century ago; nobody has come close to duplicating what The B-52's accomplished upon its release. Raw, energetic and charmingly naive, this one's about the basics of rock and roll: singing your heart out, dancing yourself into a frenzy, and celebrating youth.There are a handful of B-52's anthologies on the market, but their late-blooming commercial success detracts from the brilliance of their debut. There isn't a weak track among the bunch. Beginning with the bizarre "Planet Claire," the listener goes on a wild journey that is steeped in the culture of 1950s science fiction movies, beehive hairdos, dance crazes, and joyful irreverence.
Musically, the band adopts much of the punk "do it yourself" attitude that prevailed during the time of the album's release. Bass guitars seem to fixate on one chord, rhythm guitars run up and down scales, and basic drum beats push the songs forward. Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson's voices, which at first blush seem so wildly out of tune, blend in a manner that is sublimely beautiful. Fred Schneider's vocals, which recall Rex Harrison's talk/singing in the film version of "My Fair Lady," seem so natural in this setting that it's easy to find yourself singing along with him at any point.
Lyrically, the band explores territory that few have ever chanced. Name-checking Tina Louise and Jackie Onassis in "52 Girls" is unique to say the least, and including a reference to limburger cheese in a list of dances ("Dance This Mess Around") is a route that was never evident to Burt Bacharach. By the time you reach the closer, a left-field cover of Petula Clark's "Downtown," you get the feeling that anything is possible from this band, and the further out they drift, the more you want to go along for the ride.
Of course, this isn't going to appeal to everyone. Indeed, the band didn't find widespread acceptance for another ten years after this album's release. However, if you're in the mood for something that's fun, not top-heavy, and ultra-groovy--or, if you've ever stood in front of your mirror and wondered what it would be like to be a rock star without having to play by someone else's rules--this is one you shouldn't miss.
Free Music Review: I say, don?t that make you feel a whole lot better?
Hit: 5 Stars
What's that you say? You want party music. You wanna dance like a monk-funk mowgli, but you don't want to be seen to be a trend-hound, you don't want to leap aboard this funk-punk-disco wagon that doin' the rounds. Hmm... let me see now... Well there's always this, you can't go wrong with this. It's a joyous meisterwork from Athens' finest, the B-52s. This could whip up a mother thumpin' rumpus in a mausoleum. It's new wave gospel music. And these Georgians preach a fearsome hip shaking truth... Yeah, this is the one. Hearing this again... It's making my ears all prickly. Wow I mean look at these songs. Planet Claire, that's a kind of spooky b-movie sci-fi, exotica, hypno-rhythmic monster, if you follow me. 52 Girls, that might be my favourite. It hits this, this incredible surf guitar groove that sends shivers up and down my spine. And Dance This Mess Around, there's your perfect party song right there. You could goad your friends into doing the Hip-o-crit, or the Aqua-velva, or or the Escalator! Oh yeah, and then of course you've got the demented Rock Lobster. You must know that one. It'll have you beating the dance floor like a loved-up baboon. Side two doesn't really live up to that sublime flip but, you know, it's still good stuff. I mean that 6060-842, yeah that's a cracking little song. So, anyway, has that helped? Come on, be honest. I don't mind. You were lookin' a bit down in the mouth. This will give you that sparkle, I promise. Look at my eye. See that sparkle? And I'm just sitting here talking about it...Free Music Review: Weird and wonderful
Hit: 4 Stars
The B-52's added a welcome shot of humour to the post-punk scene from 1979 onwards. Not only did they look kitchy and weird in an over-the-top 1960s type of way, their sound was something quite distinctive and they wrote great songs.It's still hard to define the music which is a fun blend of pop, quirky funk and experimental rock. In addition to the jerky arrangements, the innovative vocals are what made the mix so successful and distinctive. The male voice hovers between a singing and speaking style while the female vocals frame it with tight, urgent harmonies and shrieks. The closest comparison I can find of a similar band from the same era is The Flying Lizards, but they were much more obscure.
My favourite songs include the jerky Rock Lobster with its great hooks, the tuneful Planet Claire and the infectious Dance This Mess Around. Many of the tracks are good for the dancefloor too. Although not all the songs are up to the quality of the aforementioned hits, they're all innovative, funny and listenable. After all these years, this album still sounds unique.