Time Capsule is an excellent, 18-track collection that offers a comprehensive overview of the B-52's' career, from their kitschy post-punk beginnings to their unexpected chart success in the early '90s. Along the way, all the big songs -- "Planet Claire," "Rock Lobster," "Private Idaho," "Quiche Lorraine," "Summer of Love" (in its original mix), ...
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 ...
The B-52's were one of the great new wave bands, one of the ones who defined the style and cut one of the great records of their time (their eponymous debut), an outfit who maintained a dedicated following even as they fell off the radar of critics and hipsters, a group who overcame a tragic loss (guitarist Ricky Wilson) to make a startling, ...
The idea behind Rhino's Instant Party Disc series is that any compilation bearing the label Instant Party Disc is guaranteed to turn the lamest gathering into a rip-roaring bash. Which is why there's nothing but party favorites here, regardless of style, genre or decade -- "Celebration," "We Are Family," "Tequila," "Rock This Town," "Mickey," ...
If Cosmic Thing found them returned to most-favored party band status, this followup gamely soldiers on in similar fashion. Without Cindy Wilson, Good Stuff becomes Kate Pierson's showcase, while even Fred Schneider turns in his most purely musical performance to date. If the B-52's hit some dead ends while trying to stretch out a bit, be assured ...
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 ...
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 ...
Millennium: '80s New Wave Party, the final installment in Rhino's five-disc series Millennium Party, basically recycles 20 hits available in the label's extensive new wave series Just Can't Get Enough, but it does so in style. Like other volumes in the series, New Wave Party contains nothing but genre classics, the songs everybody knows. In this ...
In 1981, The B-52's issued a six-track EP containing remixes of some of the most popular songs from their first two albums. In 1982, they released a new six-track EP produced by Talking Heads' David Byrne called Mesopotamia. Neither of them was essential, but both had their virtues, and they were put together on one CD after the group's big ...
Lost Property collects post-punk and alternative music from college radio staples of the late '70s through early '90s, including the Psychedelic Furs, the Happy Mondays, the Jesus & Mary Chain, the Wonder Stuff, and Simple Minds. Morrissey's "Everyday Is Like Sunday," the Pixies' "Monkey Gone to Heaven," the B-52's "Rock Lobster," Primal Scream's ...
Ultimate Dance Party 1998 is an entertaining, continuous-mix party album that features such new wave classics as the Romantics' "What I Like About You," Billy Idol's "Dancing With Myself," Modern English's "I Melt With You," Soft Cell's "Tainted Love," Blondie's "Heart of Glass," the Cars' "Just What I Needed," David Bowie's "Let's Dance," ABC's ...
One of the very best volumes in a generally superb series, the third volume of Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the 80's ups the ante in every respect. The crossover hits are bigger, the cult hits better, the novelties weirder and funnier. Best of all, it remembers that new wave wasn't confined to new bands; it also includes semi-veterans ...
Out of nowhere, the B-52's had a genuine hit single -- as in a single that went all the way to number three, not just one that was an underground hit -- with "Love Shack," athe irresistible second single from Cosmic Thing that showcased all three lead vocalists to fine effect. Since it was a hit, however, "Love Shack" became the most recycled and ...
Out of Bounds: Journey Through Modern Rock is aptly titled, though a bit too scatterbrained to be truly representative of the genre. While key tracks from the likes of Belly ("Gepetto"), the Smiths ("Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now"), and the B-52's ("Party Out of Bounds") are indeed highlights from the college rock era, obscure cuts from the Red ...
Released only in the U.K., Japan, and various parts of Europe in 1990, The Best of the B-52's: Dance This Mess Around was designed to capitalize on the unexpected success of Cosmic Thing. It's an excellent summation of the group's late-'70s/early-'80s heyday, featuring such staples as "Wig," "Give Me Back My Man," "Song for a Future Generation," ...
Pop in the 90's: Volume 3 is a budget-line disc that starts out well enough, with tracks by Deee-Lite ("Groove Is in the Heart"), the B-52's ("Roam") and INXS ("Disappear"), but the compilation soon disintegrates with limp songs like "Hold On" by Jamie Walters, "I'll Be There" by the Escape Club and "Easy Come, Easy Go" by Winger. Like the rest of ...
Razor & Tie's On the Edge collects late-'80s/early-'90s alternative hits like the Pixies' "Here Comes Your Man," the La's "There She Goes," Elvis Costello's "Veronica," and Crowded House's "Don't Dream It's Over." REM's "Orange Crush," the Smiths' "How Soon Is Now," Jane's Addiction's "Been Caught Stealing," and the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Higher ...
Released within months of the official, Warner-sanctioned compilation, Planet Claire was another European compilation of the B-52's' early years, containing a nearly identical lineup to Dance This Mess Around and The Best of the B-52's. That means all the familiar items are here -- "Planet Claire," "Rock Lobster," "Lava," "Downtown," "6060-842," ...
Buddha's Poptronica series boasts a title that's a play on the prevalent term for techno in the '90s, electronica. In the early '80s, however, synth pop was often called techno -- something that the compilers of Poptronica remembered when it came time to assemble a three-disc series of synth pop hits from the '80s. Though Poptronica has a bit of a ...
All the 80's is a three-CD box set assembled by the Strategic Marketing division of the Australian branch of major label Warner, consisting of 45 tracks performed by 43 different American, Australian, and British recording artists. The selection and sequencing are random; the only determining factor in choosing the songs seems to have been that ...
It may be hard to get beyond the title of Rhino's series MTV the First 1000 Years, which just may be the dumbest title in the first 1000 years of the recording industry, but the actual discs aren't bad at all. For instance, the New Wave volume is a solid collection of 15 hits, all that received a considerable boost from the music television ...
Released by Rhino's budget-line Flashback division -- so, there is packaging that leaves a lot to be desired, as well as a rather short track list -- One Step Beyond: The Best of New Wave takes a fairly arbitrary look at new wave. And, in a couple instances, it goes well outside new wave's time frame: Dramarama's "Anything, Anything (I'll Give You ...
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