1989
Tag: Keith Strickland
audio review : Funplex ( album ) … The B-52s
They got the title right. This album, which marks the return of The B-52s, including Cindy Wilson, after a long hiatus, is all about Fun. That comes mostly in the form of Dancing and Partying, though wacky wordplay at times make for sexually suggestive undertones. “There’s a G-spot,” Fred Schneider announces, “Pull the car over!”
That car might as well be a Mercury Lynx as the band, with the help of New producer Steve Osbourne, rocks out in 1980s retro fashion. The best parts are some of the catchy, at times refreshingly unconventional, hooks they stumble across along the way. The ones on Eyes Wide Open and Juliet Of The Spirits are particularly pleasing.
my rating : 3 of 5
2008
audio review : Cosmic Thing ( album ) … The B-52s
This is only wacky space music during the first song. The rest, with the exception of Fred Schneider’s alien sprechgesang vocals, are quite Earthly. There’s talk of hot summers, bushfires, fast cars, even a Love Shack; all in the name of new wave rock music.
The best song is Topaz, a breezy delight, but the others are fun too. It’s Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson; specifically their melodic, sometimes harmonious, singing; that are the life of the party. Fred and his silly antics serve as more of an odd-man egg-on.
my rating : 4 of 5
1989