The B-52's (album)

The B-52's is the debut album by the Athens, Georgia-based new wave band the B-52's. 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
Studio album by
the B-52's
ReleasedJuly 6, 1979
Recorded1978–1979
StudioCompass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas
Genre
Length39:14
LabelWarner Bros.
ProducerChris Blackwell
The B-52's chronology
The B-52's
(1979)		 Wild Planet
(1980)
Singles from The B-52's
  1. "Rock Lobster"
    Released: April 1978
  2. "Planet Claire"
    Released: July 6, 1979
  3. "Dance This Mess Around"
    Released: 1979

The B-52's peaked at number 59 on the Billboard 200,[3] and "Rock Lobster" reached number 56 on the Billboard Hot 100.[4] In 2003, the television network VH1 named The B-52's the 99th greatest album of all time. Shortly before his death, John Lennon said he enjoyed the album.[5] In his 1995 book, The Alternative Music Almanac, Alan Cross placed the album ninth on the list of 10 Classic Alternative Albums. In 2012, the album was ranked number 152 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[6]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideA[7]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[8]
Music Story[9]
Pitchfork9.0/10[10]
Rolling Stone[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[12]
Select4/5[13]
Slant Magazine[14]
Spin Alternative Record Guide10/10[15]

Critical reception for The B-52's was generally favorable; critics praised the album's kitschy lyrics and party atmosphere.[1][16] 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."[17]

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."[1] Rolling Stone writer Pat Blashill concluded that "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 "(l)ike 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] The B-52's was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[18]

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)VocalsLength
1."Planet Claire"
4:35
2."52 Girls"
3:34
3."Dance This Mess Around"
  • R. Wilson
  • Schneider
  • Strickland
  • Pierson
  • C. Wilson
  • C. Wilson
  • Pierson
  • Schneider
4:36
4."Rock Lobster"
  • R. Wilson
  • Schneider
  • C. Wilson
  • Pierson
  • Schneider
6:49
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)VocalsLength
5."Lava"
  • R. Wilson
  • Schneider
  • Strickland
  • Pierson
  • C. Wilson
  • C. Wilson
  • Pierson
  • Schneider
4:54
6."There's a Moon in the Sky (Called the Moon)"
  • R. Wilson
  • Schneider
  • Strickland
  • Pierson
  • C. Wilson
  • C. Wilson
  • Pierson
  • Schneider
4:54
7."Hero Worship"
  • R. Wilson
  • Robert Waldrop
C. Wilson4:07
8."6060-842"
  • R. Wilson
  • Schneider
  • Strickland
  • Pierson
  • C. Wilson
  • Pierson
  • Schneider
2:48
9."Downtown" (Petula Clark cover)Tony Hatch
  • C. Wilson
  • Pierson
2:57
Total length:39:14

Personnel

The B-52's

Technical

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts
Chart (1979/80) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[20] 7
U.S. Billboard 200[3] 59

Year-end charts
Chart (1980) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[21] 13

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[22] Platinum 50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[23] Platinum 15,000^
United States (RIAA)[24] Platinum 1,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

|}

References
  1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The B-52's – The B-52's". AllMusic. Retrieved March 22, 2004.
  2. "The Definitive Guide to Dance-Rock". Spin. 21 (10). October 2005.
  3. The B-52's > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums at AllMusic. Retrieved 16 October 2004.
  4. The B-52's > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles at AllMusic. Retrieved 16 October 2004.
  5. imdb.com
  6. Levy, Joe; Steven Van Zandt (2006) [2005]. "152 | The B-52's - The B-52's". Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (3rd ed.). London: Turnaround. ISBN 1-932958-61-4. OCLC 70672814. Archived from the original on 3 April 2010. Retrieved 8 Aug 2011.
  7. Christgau, Robert (1981). "The B-52's: The B-52's". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor and Fields. ISBN 0-89919-026-X. Retrieved March 31, 2006.
  8. Larkin, Colin (2011). "B-52's". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  9. "The B-52's". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  10. Shepard, Susan Elizabeth (October 14, 2018). "The B-52's: The B-52's". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  11. Blashill, Pat (October 16, 2003). "The B-52's: The B-52's". 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. Cinquemani, Sal (October 11, 2003). "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. Carson, Tom (September 20, 1979). "The B-52's: The B-52's". Rolling Stone. No. 300. Archived from the original on June 21, 2008. Retrieved February 21, 2009.
  17. Christgau, Robert (September 3, 1979). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
  18. Dimery, Robert, ed. (2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (revised and updated ed.). Universe Publishing. ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.
  19. 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."
  20. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  21. 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.
  22. "Sale 40 - Lot 489: Australian Record Industry Association Award For The B-52's". Australian Recording Industry Association. Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins & Collectibles. 2011. Retrieved 2013-04-29.
  23. "New Zealand album certifications – The B-52's – The B-52_s". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  24. "American album certifications – The B-52's – The B-52_s". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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