The B52039s - B52s (9 tracks) +Album Reviews

Undoubtably one of the msot creative pop albums ever

Zelie Nic | Pittsburgh | 11/16/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I don't know if the B-52's thought they'd ever be heard outside of Athens, Georgia. But I'm so glad they were, and even if you don't like them, or think their music is too weird, an artist you do like may have been inspired by them including: John Lennon, who claimed that hearing this album made him want to record music again; and Kurt Cobain, who watched the B-52's on Saturday Night Live and was inspired.

And what was inspiring about the B-52's? They sounded familiar, and yet were unlike any band before them. Like the Cramps, the B-52's were high lords of low culture and were also influenced by 50/60's camp, surf and rockabilly music. The B-52's played toy insturments. They were fun, and they did it all on there own terms... for a while. The guitar, though famliarly surfy, had only four strings which were tuned to some bizarre tuning. And the guitar's rythym was... off the wall. There's a depth to the musicality that might not be apparent to those who are not listening to the music.

I had this tape as a kid and I listened to it so much that it became unlistenable; the tape ruined by so many plays. Check out the ultra-catchy "52 Girls" it's my personal favourite, but it also best incorporates the unique sound that defines these early records."

A genre of one

jcd | 05/22/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The thing about the B-52s, this album especially, is that though their reference points are obvious and ridiculous--old '50s sci-fi movies, bad high school dances-in-the-gym bands and, generally, a '50s TV sit-com view on the universe--the music they make out of all this junk is somehow absolutely original, brilliant and memorable. Right up there with the most inspired music of its day, from "Horses" to "The Clash." And, of course, total blissed-out dance madness to boot--which you can't really say about "Never Mind the Bollocks"..."

Awesome! Buy it now!

Treadstone71 | Somewhere else | 12/28/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The B-52's ought to be my favorite band. Their funky, fresh, and unique style of music really attracts a guy like me. This is their debut album, originally released in the summer of 1979. This album, in my opinion, is the most unique and fresh of them all. Their take on New Wave and rock music is very amusing and fun to sing along and dance along to ("Rock Lobster", "Lava", "There's a Moon in the Sky (Called the Moon)"), while their unique take on pop rock is very funky and enjoyable ("52 Girls"). Some of their later albums were less enjoyable for me and became over-commercialized, but "The B-52's" truly stands out as a significant part of music history. 'Tis a shame their guitarist Ricky Wilson died. His guitar work on these songs were wonderful. Overall, I highly recommend this awesome album!"

Seriously Insane

Steven Haarala | Mandeville, LA USA | 03/26/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In 1980, a strange little person in the French Quarter mentioned a band called the B-52's to me. I paid him no mind. In 1981, when I thought Blondie was the limit, my best friend, apparently much hipper than I, played this album for me. I later bought it, and my brain was never the same. At times in the 80's I played it so often and so repeatedly that I thought I would go mad. I finally had to put it away and leave it alone, so I could regain my tenuous grip on reality.

The B-52's were New Wave pioneers. "Rock Lobster", influenced by the vocalizations of Yoko Ono, is of course a New Wave classic. But oh, there is so much more. "Planet Claire" combines tacky space-horror-flick music with lyrics like "Some say she's from Mars/Or one of the seven stars/That shine after 3:30 in the morning/WELL SHE ISN'T!" My favorite track, "Dance This Mess Around", is a brilliant mish-mosh of Shangri-Las melodrama, Supremes pop, 50's and 60's dance fads and wacky teen soap opera. It begins with great solemnity: "Remember...when you held my hand/Say, remember...when you were my man", and it goes on from there. I can't begin to describe it totally. You just have to hear it. In "Lava", a song about hot love, Fred announces "I'm gonna jump in a crater", and Cindy and Kate respond nonchalantly "See ya later". Track #6 has the very logical title "There's a Moon in the Sky (Called the Moon)", but it mentions other heavenly bodies: "You better move over/Here comes a super-nova." And if Petula Clark ever heard this version of "Downtown", I hope her sense of humor was intact, because if not, she probably wanted to go sharpen her axe.

The songs, musically spare and slyly obliterating the then-reigning (and declining) disco sound, consist mostly of minimalist clanging guitar, choppy and/or eerie keyboards, and slashingly witty lyrics with on-target vocal delivery by all. What you have to understand is that in spite of the wackiness, this album works as serious music, or maybe I mean to say "music to take seriously". How, I'm not sure. That's the beauty of it."

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	The B-52's B-52's Genres: Alternative Rock, Pop, Rock Track Listings (9) - Disc #1 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 CD > POPULAR MUSIC > ROCK
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