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 (Nassau)
Genre
Length39:14
LabelWarner Bros. (US), Island (EU)
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: 1979
  2. "52 Girls"
    Released: 1979 (Netherlands and Germany)
  3. "6060-842"
    Released: 1979 (U.K.)
  4. "Planet Claire"
    Released: July 6, 1979
  5. "Dance This Mess Around"
    Released: 1979

The B-52's peaked at number 59 on the Billboard 200,[5] and "Rock Lobster" reached number 56 on the Billboard Hot 100.[6] 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.[7] In his 1995 book, The Alternative Music Almanac, Alan Cross placed the album ninth on the list of the "10 Classic Alternative Albums". 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[8]
Retrospective professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideA[9]
Pitchfork9.0/10[10]
PopMatters10/10[11]
Rolling Stone[12]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[13]
Select4/5[14]
Slant Magazine[15]
Spin Alternative Record Guide10/10[16]
Stylus Magazine8.8/10[17]

Critical reception for The B-52's was generally favorable; critics praised the album's kitschy lyrics and party atmosphere.[1][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 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."[12] 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."[15] The B-52's was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[20] In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked The B-52's number 152 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,[21] maintaining the ranking in a 2012 update of the list[22] and dropping it to number 198 in a 2020 update.[23]

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Planet Claire"
4:35
2."52 Girls"
3:34
3."Dance This Mess Around"
  • R. Wilson
  • Schneider
  • Strickland
  • Pierson
  • C. Wilson
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

Technical

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (1979/80) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[25] 7
U.S. Billboard 200[5] 59

Year-end charts
Chart (1980) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[26] 13
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[27] 8

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[28] 2× Platinum 140,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[29] Platinum 15,000^
United States (RIAA)[30] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The B-52's – The B-52s". AllMusic. Retrieved March 22, 2004.
  2. Hermes, Will (October 2005). "The Definitive Guide to: Dance Rock". Spin. Vol. 21, no. 10. p. 141. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  3. 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.
  4. 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...
  5. The B-52's > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums at AllMusic. Retrieved 16 October 2004.
  6. The B-52's > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles at AllMusic. Retrieved 16 October 2004.
  7. "John Lennon". IMDb.com. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  8. Starr, Red. "Albums". Smash Hits (August 9–22, 1979): 25.
  9. 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.
  10. Shepard, Susan Elizabeth (October 14, 2018). "The B-52's: The B-52's". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  11. Wilhelm, Rich (May 3, 2022). "Ranking the B-52s Albums". PopMatters. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. Cavanagh, David (July 1990). "Flip Your Wig". Select. No. 1. p. 121.
  15. Cinquemani, Sal (October 11, 2003). "Review: The B-52's, The B-52's". Slant Magazine. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
  16. 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.
  17. Smith, Chris. "The B-52's – The B-52's". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on January 27, 2003. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  18. 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.
  19. Christgau, Robert (September 3, 1979). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
  20. 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.
  21. "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.
  22. "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. May 31, 2012. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  23. "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 22, 2020. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  24. 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."
  25. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  26. 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.
  27. "Top Selling Albums of 1980 — The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  28. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1996 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  29. "New Zealand album certifications – The B-52's – The B-52_s". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  30. "American album certifications – The B-52's – The B-52_s". Recording Industry Association of America.
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