The B-52's is the debut album by American new wave band the B-52's, released in 1979. The kitschy lyrics and mood, and the hook-laden harmonies helped establish a fanbase for the band, who went on to release several chart-topping singles. The album cover was designed by Tony Wright (credited as Sue Ab Surd).

The B-52's peaked at number 59 on the Billboard 200, and "Rock Lobster" reached number 56 on the Billboard Hot 100. Shortly before his death, John Lennon said he enjoyed the album.[6] In 2003, the television network VH1 named The B-52's the 99th greatest album of all time. In 2020, The B-52's was ranked number 198 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Critical reception

Original professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Smash Hits5/10[7]
Christgau's Record GuideA[8]
Retrospective professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Pitchfork9.0/10[9]
PopMatters10/10[10]
Rolling Stone[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[12]
Select4/5[13]
Slant Magazine[14]
Spin Alternative Record Guide10/10[15]
Stylus Magazine8.8/10[16]

The B-52's album has received critical acclaim, with music reviewers praising its infectious rhythms and guitar riffs, kitschy lyrics, and party atmosphere.[2][17] In July 1979, British journalist Tim Lott wrote in Record Mirror that The B-52's album was the best record he had heard that year.[18] In his "Consumer Guide" column for The Village Voice, music critic Robert Christgau remarked on his fondness "for the pop junk they recycle—with love and panache," while also noting that he was "more delighted with their rhythms, which show off their Georgia roots by adapting the innovations of early funk (a decade late, just like the Stones and Chicago blues) to an endlessly danceable forcebeat format."[19]

In the 1979 Pazz & Jop year-end critics poll, The B-52's album was ranked number 7.[20] New Musical Express ranked it number 12 on their critics' list of the best albums of 1979.[21]

In a retrospective review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote: "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."[2] Rolling Stone writer Pat Blashill concluded: "On The B-52's, the best little dance band from Athens proved that rock & roll still matters if it's about sex and hair and moving your body. Even if you have to shake-bake shake-bake it like a Shy Tuna."[11] Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani stated that "like any over-the-top act, the B-52's wears thin, but the band successfully positioned themselves as pop-culture icons—not unlike the musical antiquities they emulated."[14]

In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked The B-52's number 152 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,[22] maintaining the ranking in a 2012 update of the list[23] and dropping it to number 198 in a 2020 update.[24] In 2003, VH1 named it the 99th greatest album of all time.[25] The B-52's was included in the 2005 book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[26] In 2013, it was ranked number 452 on New Musical Express magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[27]

In 1995, The B-52's was named number 42 on the top 100 alternative albums list of all time by the Spin Alternative Record Guide.[28] Rolling Stone ranked the album number 28 on its 2013 list of 100 best debut albums of all time, dropping it to number 43 in a 2022 update.[29][30] In 2023, Paste magazine's staff placed The B-52's at number 86 on their list of the 100 greatest debut albums of all time.[31] PopMatters magazine named it number 40 on its 2024 list of the 50 best post-punk albums ever.[32]

Influence

In January 1980, the B-52's appeared on the TV show Saturday Night Live, where they performed "Rock Lobster" and "Dance This Mess Around", two songs from this album. Kurt Cobain and Dave Grohl mentioned seeing the B-52's in this TV episode as a memorable moment in their preteen lives.[9][33]

Stephen Malkmus, frontman of the American band Pavement, said in 2018: "There's a time in your life, when you're 13/14, when you buy records just 'cos you're supposed to buy them. I had Get Happy!! by Elvis Costello & the Attractions, Give 'Em Enough Rope by The Clash and this one from the B-52's. Well. I listened to the B-52's a thousand times, Elvis Costello like 20 times, and Give 'Em Enough Rope maybe five times."[34]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Planet Claire"
4:35
2."52 Girls"
3:34
3."Dance This Mess Around"
4:36
4."Rock Lobster"
  • R. Wilson
  • Schneider
6:49
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."Lava"
  • R. Wilson
  • Schneider
  • Strickland
  • Pierson
  • C. Wilson
4:54
6."There's a Moon in the Sky (Called the Moon)"
  • R. Wilson
  • Schneider
  • Strickland
  • Pierson
  • C. Wilson
4:54
7."Hero Worship"
  • R. Wilson
  • Robert Waldrop
4:07
8."6060-842"
  • R. Wilson
  • Schneider
  • Strickland
  • Pierson
2:48
9."Downtown"Tony Hatch2:57
Total length:39:14

Personnel

The B-52's

Additional personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1979/80) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[36] 7
U.S. Billboard 200[37] 59

Year-end charts

Chart (1980) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[38] 13
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[39] 8

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[40] 2× Platinum 140,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[41] Platinum 15,000^
United States (RIAA)[42] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Irvin, Jim, ed. (2007). The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion (4th ed.). Canongate. p. 423. ISBN 978-1-84767-643-6.
  2. ^ a b c d e Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The B-52's – The B-52s". AllMusic. Retrieved March 22, 2004.
  3. ^ Hermes, Will (October 2005). "The Definitive Guide to: Dance Rock". Spin. Vol. 21, no. 10. p. 141. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  4. ^ Catlin, Roger (1998). "The B-52's/Fred Schneider". In Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. p. 56-57.
  5. ^ Pitchfork Staff (September 10, 2018). "The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 21, 2023. After the manic perfection of their 1979 debut put them...in the realm of college rock...
  6. ^ Deming, Mark. "The B-52s Biography". AllMusic.
  7. ^ Starr, Red (August 9–22, 1979). "Albums" (PDF). Smash Hits. p. 25.
  8. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "The B-52's: The B-52's". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor and Fields. p. 46. ISBN 0-89919-026-X. Retrieved March 31, 2006.
  9. ^ a b Shepard, Susan Elizabeth (October 14, 2018). "The B-52's: The B-52's". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  10. ^ Wilhelm, Rich (May 3, 2022). "Ranking the B-52s Albums". PopMatters. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  11. ^ a b Blashill, Pat (October 16, 2003). "The B-52's: The B-52s". Rolling Stone. No. 933. Archived from the original on June 2, 2007. Retrieved March 22, 2004.
  12. ^ Considine, J. D. (2004). "The B-52's". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 67–68. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  13. ^ Cavanagh, David (July 1990). "Flip Your Wig". Select. No. 1. p. 121.
  14. ^ a b Cinquemani, Sal (October 11, 2003). "Review: The B-52's, The B-52's". Slant Magazine. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
  15. ^ Huston, Johnny (1995). "B-52's". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 38–39. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  16. ^ Smith, Chris. "The B-52's – The B-52's". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on January 27, 2003. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  17. ^ Carson, Tom (September 20, 1979). "The B-52's: The B-52s". Rolling Stone. No. 300. Archived from the original on June 21, 2008. Retrieved February 21, 2009.
  18. ^ Lott, Tim (July 14, 1979). "The B-52s: I Belong to Dada". Record Mirror – via Rock's Backpages.
  19. ^ Christgau, Robert (September 3, 1979). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
  20. ^ Christgau, Robert (January 28, 1980). "The 1979 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". The Village Voice.
  21. ^ "NME's best albums and tracks of 1979". New Musical Express. December 1979.
  22. ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time: The B-52's – The B-52's". Rolling Stone. No. 937. December 11, 2003. Archived from the original on December 20, 2010. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  23. ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. May 31, 2012. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  24. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 22, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  25. ^ Hoye, Jacob, ed. (2003). VH1: 100 greatest albums. New York: Pocket Books. p. x. ISBN 978-0-7434-4876-5.
  26. ^ Nichols, David (2006). "The B-52's: The B-52's". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Universe Publishing. p. 427. ISBN 978-0-7893-1371-3.
  27. ^ Barker, Emily (October 21, 2013). "The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time: 500-401". NME. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  28. ^ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. New York: Vintage Books. pp. 453–454. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  29. ^ "The 100 Best Debut Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. March 22, 2013.
  30. ^ "100 Best Debut Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. July 1, 2022. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  31. ^ "The 100 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time". Paste. November 6, 2023.
  32. ^ Fitzgerald, Colin (February 2, 2024). "The 50 Best Post-Punk Albums Ever". PopMatters.
  33. ^ Creney, Scott; Herron, Brigette A. (2023). The Story of the B-52s: Neon Side of Town. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 95–96. ISBN 978-3031225697.
  34. ^ Atkins, Jamie (May 2018). "Stephen Malkmus: Gold Soundz". Record Collector – via Rock's Backpages.
  35. ^ Mancini is credited as a co-author of "Planet Claire" on reissues of the album due to the song's use of the bass line from Mancini's "Peter Gunn Theme."
  36. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  37. ^ "The B-52s Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  38. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 432. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  39. ^ "Top Selling Albums of 1980 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved January 28, 2022.
  40. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1996 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  41. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – The B-52's – The B-52_s". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  42. ^ "American album certifications – The B-52's – The B-52_s". Recording Industry Association of America.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_83
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