Planet Claire - B-52's (The)

Advantages: Better than Bouncing Off Satellites. Boppy and updeat.
Disadvantages: Nothing new in this album, same silly lyrics and plastic sounding tracks. Irritating at best.

...Fans of The B-52s will probably really like this album, much better than Bouncing Off the Satellites. Although I still really like this band. This album is a return their earlier style (before Ricky Wilson died). I will admit that their sound is a tiny bit more updated in this album but it still isnt really anything special in my opinion. I will say that it is very up-beat and boppy (which is something fans probably really like about this band). But I have to say that I found the electric synthesizer 'twangy' sound really annoying and a constant back ground reiteration of the lyrics is also really irritating. Although I think that Cindy Wilson's vocals can be really lovely at times, in some of the songs they are a bit whiny and aggravating. The lyrics are not much more developed than the hay-day of Love Shack (a tune I actually... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Quirky, fun, odd, danceable, bizarre...
Disadvantages: It's unlike 'Love Shack'... probably not for your average pop fan...

...to like because the weirdness seems too studied and less natural, and it a bit disappointing that the album closes on a lower note after being consistently great. Still, for novelty value alone, and for seeing just what a bunch of new wave weirdo's can do with a shimmery pop classic, it's worth a listen. All in all, a fine album. Something this weird should belong in everybody's record collection. The B-52's would stay around on the alternative scene for a while, before returning in 1990 with the massive party anthem 'Love Shack', a song so soaked into the public consciousness that it is hard to acknowledge that it's singers were once a small punk band singing about red snappers snappin' and a girl from Planet Claire. Get this today, invite your coolest friends and throw a party. 'The B-52's is available from Amazon.co.uk at £6.97... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Some good stuff
Disadvantages: Losing their way

...A second B-52?s album, Wild Planet, was released in September 1980, and proved to be a major disappointment; only the occasional track like Quiche Lorraine recalled the verve of its predecessor and, at the end of 1981, the B-52?s balloon began to deflate. The band still consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals), Kate Pierson (keyboards and vocals), Cindy Wilson (vocals), Ricky Wilson (guitar) and Keith Strickland (drums), but the spark that had been there previously seemed to have gone - they just weren?t cooking in the way that they had when they first emerged. It was sad, and they were not to recover their form for years to come. However, they will be remembered for their music which was a bizarre and intriguing blend of styles, a subtle but stirring mixture of the Ronettes, Captain Beefheart?s Magic Band and Cuban drum music, while... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful