by Joe Jamnitzky
You know, I easily could do an article on The B-52’s entire discography. After all, with the exceptions of their debut and Cosmic Thing, most of their stuff was owned mainly by fans of the band. Granted, they have a huge fanbase, but if you ask just a regular person, or even a non-fan, to name any of their songs, chances are good they’d reply with either “Love Shack” or “Rock Lobster”. Maybe a few will remember “Roam”.
If you look at their career though, this is a band that has released two EPs, seven albums, and two compilations. While not necessarily a lot, I’m willing to bet those numbers will surprise many of you, solely on the grounds that you probably didn’t realize they released that much stuff.
I actually discovered them back in 6th grade, when “Love Shack” was released, at which point I took it upon myself to get all the albums they had released up until that point (which was 1991). I’m sure you all knew this already, but I’m not a normal person. Also, I highly dislike that song, but that’s a whole other story.
Anyway, it was quickly apparent that there were three distinct phases to their sound. Phase one consisted of their first two albums, Wild Planet being their second album. Phase two, from 1981-1986, was when they were trying to change their sound in different ways, having internal difficulties, and ultimately dealing with the death of Ricky Wilson, their original guitarist. Phase three would consist of everything after, being much more produced, mainstream, and glossy, and giving them the major success they deserved after being around for 10 years at that point.
Which brings us to this album, Wild Planet. When you release an album as classic as their debut, with a song as well known as “Rock Lobster”, over time your follow up tends to end up either forgotten completely or just resides in the shadow of its predecessor. However, this album just doesn’t deserve that.
Wild Planet actually consists of songs they used to perform live, but weren’t recorded for the debut. That automatically gives it a similar vibe to the first album. The difference here is that it’s a bit more produced, smoothed out a little with a bit more emphasis on the beats. For some, that’s bad, and admittedly the raggedness of the debut is part of why it became such a classic. However, in this case, it was a smart move, because it gave Wild Planet a familiar, yet different, sound, rather than just completely repeating what they already did the first time.
Then there’s the songs. This album seriously has a dark, almost paranoid feel over a lot of it. While the previous album was a crazy, colorful, upbeat affair, this one almost plays like the complete opposite. While tracks like “Quiche Lorraine” and “Devil In My Car” still have the bizarre lyrical imagery the band was known for, the actual music makes them feel more dangerous and deranged this time around. “Party Out Of Bounds” is another one; while the song is basically about a party gone wrong, the music gives it a certain menace. Granted, it’s tongue-in-cheek, but that crazy guitar chord that opens and closes it just makes it feel disturbing. Meanwhile, the final track, “53 Miles West Of Venus”, is fairly instrumental, with an obvious sci-fi/space feel to the music, and the title repeated; however, by the end of it, the vocals become manipulated so that they’re wobbly and garbled, with the song fading out on the repeating riff, closing the album on a very eerie note.
Then there’s my personal favorite, and quite possibly the highlight of the album, “Give Me Back My Man”. This song has always been a huge fan favorite, and it’s easy to see why. Cindy Wilson has always been great at being expressive with her vocals, and only she could make a line like ‘‘I’ll give you fish’’ sound enticing. The music, meanwhile, has one of the catchiest guitar riffs ever written, and things reach a fever pitch of desperation by the end, when the furious strumming, swooping guitar sounds, toy piano (yes, you read that right), and Wilson’s vocalizing all hit you at once. Instant classic. If you don’t believe me, watch the video below (yes, I know it’s live, but it was the only official one I could find that we’d be allowed to post, and while it may initially not look very good, it’s fine after a few seconds)
It’s hard to pinpoint why this album wasn’t as huge as the first. Not to say it wasn’t popular or successful, but it didn’t reach the heights of the debut. Maybe the production put some people off; maybe it wasn’t promoted enough; or maybe, as great as the songs were, they weren’t as zany as “Rock Lobster” was, which is what the people were probably expecting. God forbid a band tries something a bit more serious sometimes.
Unfortunately, like I mentioned before, this would basically be the end of Phase One. After this, they would make attempts at changing their sound, and it wouldn’t be until 1989 that they would have a huge hit and mainstream success, 10 years after their debut. In between, though, are a lot of great albums and songs. Wild Planet, however, will always stand above them for me.
gdlr_rp
