When John Lennon says you're his favorite band, and sites your song, Rock Lobster as his own inspiration, people tend to take notice.
I did my first post on The B-52's a few years ago when I reviewed their 1979 self titled debut as part of my classic rock series of Retro Spins. Since then, I've left the band alone, despite their CD's sitting on my shelf.
After the success of their debut, the band quickly returned to the studio to work on their 1980 follow up, Wild Planet. The album consisted of several songs which they had been playing live since 1978, but to date had not recorded due to an abundance of music for their initial album. Upon its release, it was certified gold, and reached number 18 on the Billboard 200.
As I played through it, I was definitely greeted by the quirky party / surf style of The B-52's. If nothing else, it's different enough to make it fun. However, what it lacks, perhaps intentionally, is hits.
Ultimately, where Wild Planet suffers is that its just not memorable for any catchy hooks, fun choruses, or in general, memorable songs. Instead, it feels as though it serves more so as background noise to a beach party.
With that said, it's not without its songs that I found shuffle worthy. I ended up adding Give Me Back My Man, and Private Idaho to this ever growing list. I'll even go so far as to say I'm glad to have done so. I suppose I'll take it a step further, and say, I'm not counting the band out. I'm intrigued to hear their follow up, and see where things go from there. If nothing else, The B-52's sound is intriguing enough to keep me invested in seeing what else they have, for now.
Really, there's not much to say about this one, so I suppose my next stop is 1983's Whammy!
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS August 24, 1985 |
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