The B-52's
Reissues
Reviewed by Margaret Moser, Fri., Feb. 15, 2002
The B-52's
Nude on the Moon (Warner Bros./Rhino) The B-52's are the reason "quirky" is part and parcel of modern rock critic speak. The Georgia-based quintet exploded on the late-Seventies punk scene of black leather and skinny ties like country bumpkins slicked up for a hoedown. "Hip" wasn't even an issue for the Southern-to-the-bone multisex combo, who had more in common with disco than the New Wave scene that embraced them. Assuming a high level of campiness in their music ("Rock Lobster," "Quiche Lorraine"), the B-52's popularity represented mainstream acceptance of the disenfranchised, in particular gays, theretofore represented in modern music almost exclusively by dance music. The group's fun loving, off-kilter vocals ("Dance This Mess Around," "Planet Claire") and Yoko-like shrieks ("Private Idaho") were anathema to the East Coast's blitzkrieg bop and West Coast's hardcore. Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson, Ricky Wilson, Cindy Wilson, and Keith Strickland built their cult following with road trips to NYC in a station wagon, which then led to national tours and sustained the band until 1985, when Ricky Wilson died of AIDS. After a lengthy hiatus, the band released their sixth LP in '89, Cosmic Thing, the single "Love Shack" launching the B-52's onto the charts with their first smash hit. Suddenly, the "tacky little dance band from Athens" was hot, and other hits followed ("Roam," "Channel Z") as the album achieved quadruple platinum status. Good Stuff, from '92, saw the group whittled to a trio with the departure of Cindy Wilson, but it was a strong showing with its fair share of radio-friendly tunes ("Good Stuff," "Is That You, Mo Dean?"), as well as their last studio session to date. Nude on the Moon condenses their musical history into a 2-CD set and sweetens the party mix with alternate takes ("Mesopotamia," "Queen of Las Vegas") and live tracks ("Whammy Kiss"). Unlikely survivors of an era of disposal, one-hit wonders, the B-52's exhilarating style shines through the decades as it leads, incredibly, into their fourth.
