The B-52's - The Complete Studio Album Collection 1979-1992 (2014) [Official Digital Download 24-bit/192kHz]

It is well known that The B-52's are The World’s Greatest Party Band. And thirty five years and over twenty million albums into their career, there can be no doubt as to why they remain one of rock music’s most beloved and enduring bands. Any mystery concerning the band’s longevity and ongoing appeal is immediately solved when exposed to a B-52's concert experience. From groundbreaking songs like “Rock Lobster”, “Dance This Mess Around” and “Private Idaho“ to chart-topping hits like “Love Shack” and “Roam” and “Deadbeat Club”, the B-52s’ unforgettable dance-rock tunes start a party every time their music begins.

×

The B-52's - The Complete Studio Album Collection 1979-1992 (2014) [Official Digital Download 24-bit/192kHz]

Close

Even in the weird, quirky world of new wave and post-punk in the late '70s, the B-52's' eponymous debut stood out as an original. Unabashed kitsch mavens at a time when their peers were either vulgar or stylish, the Athens quintet celebrated all the silliest aspects of pre-Beatles pop culture – bad hairdos, sci-fi nightmares, dance crazes, pastels, and anything else that sprung into their minds – to a skewed fusion of pop, surf, avant-garde, amateurish punk, and white funk. On paper, it sounds like a cerebral exercise, but it played like a party. The jerky, angular funk was irresistibly danceable, winning over listeners dubious of Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson's high-pitched, shrill close harmonies and Fred Schneider's campy, flamboyant vocalizing, pitched halfway between singing and speaking. It's all great fun, but it wouldn't have resonated throughout the years if the group hadn't written such incredibly infectious, memorable tunes as "Planet Claire," "Dance This Mess Around," and, of course, their signature tune, "Rock Lobster." These songs illustrated that the B-52's' adoration of camp culture wasn't simply affectation – it was a world view capable of turning out brilliant pop singles and, in turn, influencing mainstream pop culture. It's difficult to imagine the endless kitschy retro fads of the '80s and '90s without the B-52's pointing the way, but The B-52's isn't simply an historic artifact – it's a hell of a good time.

Tracklist:

01 - Planet Claire
02 - 52 Girls
03 - Dance This Mess Around
04 - Rock Lobster
05 - Lava
06 - There's A Moon In The Sky (Called The Moon)
07 - Hero Worship
08 - 6060-842
09 - Downtown

Conventional wisdom has it that all the B-52's' subsequent releases are highly inferior to their debut. While Wild Planet is not the rarefied wonder their first platter is, it's still darn good. The songs here are generally faster, tighter, and punchier than previously, though production values are not as wonderfully quirky and detailed; fewer songs here are as over-the-top crazy as the first album's "Rock Lobster" or "52 Girls." These formless selections continue to exhibit a cunning mix of girl group, garage band, surf, and television theme song influences, all propelled along by an itchy dance beat. "Give Me Back My Man" allows Cindy Wilson a unique opportunity to croon a broad, expressive melodic line. Fred Schneider parades his inimitably nervous vocals on chucklesome ditties like "Quiche Lorraine" and "Strobe Light." The best songs here are "Private Idaho," a wonderfully jittery number that employs a variant on the famous melodic snippet from the Twilight Zone theme music, and "Devil in My Car," a delightfully loopy hoot that lays the craziness on very thickly. Performances and sound quality are fine. This album is well worth hearing and recommended.

Tracklist:

01 - Party Out Of Bounds
02 - Dirty Back Road
03 - Runnin' Around
04 - Give Me Back My Man
05 - Private Idaho
06 - Devil In My Car
07 - Quiche Lorraine
08 - Strobe Light
09 - 53 Miles West Of Venus

After setting dancefloors alight and funny bones aquiver in 1979-1980 with their first two albums, The B-52's and Wild Planet, the B-52's seemed to run out of gas soon after, issuing a stopgap remix mini-album, Party Mix!, in 1981, and then turning in another stopgap mini in this lackluster set, produced by David Byrne, who must have seemed like a good choice, although his sense of humor is less zany, if just as weird, as that of the B's. Mesopotamia is the sound of a band that once sounded like it was on a steady path, now losing its footing.

Tracklist:

01 - Loveland
02 - Deep Sleep
03 - Mesopotamia
04 - Cake
05 - Throw That Beat In The Garbage Can
06 - Nip It In The Bud

Following the botched collaboration with David Byrne on Mesopotamia, the B-52's decided to craft their fourth album as a return to the pop-culture funk explosion of their debut. Smartly, they decided to not simply replicate the skewed Southern funk of that album, choosing to update their signature sound with drum machines and new wave synths. As a result, it now sounds a little forced and dated, but the best moments – "Legal Tender," "Whammy Kiss," "Butterbean," "Song for a Future Generation" – rank as B-52's classics, and the entire record is certainly entertaining, even with its faults.

Tracklist:

01 - Legal Tender
02 - Whammy Kiss
03 - Song For A Future Generation
04 - Butterbean
05 - Trism
06 - Queen Of Las Vegas
07 - Moon 83
08 - Big Bird
09 - Work That Skirt

Two years after the release of Whammy!, guitarist Ricky Wilson died of AIDS, a shattering blow for the B-52's. The group recouped and finished Bouncing Off the Satellites, the album they were recording when Wilson died. Considering their loss, it's not surprising that the B-52's don't sound entirely focused throughout the record, and it's easy to forgive them for the momentary loss of direction. Still, that doesn't make listening to Bouncing Off the Satellites any more fun. Musically, it's a continuation of Whammy!, with the group's signature sound being enhanced by drum machines, synths, and sessionmen. There are so many musicians on the record that it winds up sounding too carefully considered – the polar opposite of the loose, inspired fun of their early work. That said, there are some flashes of inspiration scattered throughout the album ("Wig," "Juicy Jungle," "Theme for a Nude Beach," "She Brakes for Rainbows"). There isn't quite enough to make it of interest to anyone but the dedicated, yet those listeners will find that there's enough worth hearing on Bouncing Off the Satellites, especially if they're in a forgiving mood.

Tracklist:

01 - Summer Of Love
02 - Girl From Ipanema Goes To Greenland
03 - Housework
04 - Detour Thru Your Mind
05 - Wig
06 - Theme For A Nude Beach
07 - Ain't It A Shame
08 - Juicy Jungle
09 - Communicate
10 - She Brakes For Rainbows

Many observers were prepared to write off the B-52's after the release of Bouncing Off the Satellites. Granted, the album was completed in the wake of Ricky Wilson's death, but the group appeared bereft of new musical ideas and were sounding rather stale. In other words, the last thing anyone expected was a first-class return to form, which is what they got with Cosmic Thing. Working with producers Don Was and Nile Rodgers, the B-52's updated their sound with shiny new surfaces and deep, funky grooves – it was the same basic pattern as before, only refurbished and contemporized. Just as importantly, they had their best set of songs since at least Wild Planet, possibly since their debut. "Cosmic Thing" and "Channel Z" were great up-tempo rockers; "Roam" had a groovy beat blessed with a great Cindy Wilson vocal; and "Deadbeat Club" was one of their rare successful reflective numbers. Then there was "Love Shack," an irresistible dance number with delightfully silly lyrics and hooks as big as a whale that unbelievably gave the group a long-awaited Top Ten hit. The thing is, Cosmic Thing would already have been considered a triumphant return without its commercial success. The big sales were just the icing on the cake.

Tracklist:

01 - Cosmic Thing
02 - Dry County
03 - Deadbeat Club
04 - Love Shack
05 - Junebug
06 - Roam
07 - Bushfire
08 - Channel Z
09 - Topaz
10 - Follow Your Bliss

"Good Stuff" was a transparent attempt to recapture the good vibes of "Love Shack." It didn't succeed, but it had its own charms, from the friendly beat to Fred Schneider's endearing vocal affectations. It wasn't great, but it did have the distinction of being the best single pulled from Good Stuff. Since it was released in 1992, when singles were released in seemingly endless permutations in both the U.S. and the U.K., "Good Stuff" was available in all sorts of incarnations. In the U.S., it was released as a seven-inch single, with an edit of the title track taking up the A-side and the B given over to "Bad Influence." This same lineup was released as a seven-inch and cassette single in the U.K. In the U.S., it was also released as a 12-inch and CD-5 single featuring "Bad Influence" and three versions of "Good Stuff" – the "12-inch remix," the "remix edit" and the "Schottische Mix." Minus "Bad Influence," this lineup was replicated for the U.K. 12-inch single, but the same lineup – plus the original version of "Good Stuff" – was released as a single in Europe. But that wasn't the end of it by any means. Not counting the American promotional single (a worthless issue for anyone but DJs, containing just the edit and original version of "Good Stuff"), "Good Stuff" was also released in a box set (!) in the U.K., featuring the edited single version of the title track, "Bad Influence" and "Return to Dreamland," plus three badges, a sticker and a postcard. Certainly the kind of item just for collectors.

Tracklist:

01 - Tell It Like It T-I-IS
02 - Hot Pants Explosion
03 - Good Stuff
04 - Revolution Earth
05 - Dreamland
06 - Is That You Mo-Dean?
07 - The World's Green Laughter
08 - Vision Of A Kiss
09 - Breezin'
10 - Bad Influence


Thanks to the Original customer!