The B-52's

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

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.