I think the first time I heard the B52’s was in a clip on the Old Grey Whistle Test. This was back in ’79, the fall over from punk was still in place and we all thought they were part of that movement. If you listen, you can hear the surf rock influence with a punk attitude but with added 50’s sci-fi B- movie schtick. The UK had something similar with the Rezillos, but they were way more comic book. What set these guys apart from the other punk bands was the killer production from Island Records’ boss Chris Blackwell.
Unless you have been living under a rock for the past 45 years, I’m sure that most people will have heard at least Rock Lobster from this record, as it’s now ingrained in pop culture. This was and is such a fun record to listen to and they had such a great sense of humour with it. I’m going to pick one of the lesser known tracks as my favourite: 6060-842. Such an off the wall track that just rings my bell. The guitar riff that repeats over and over is so cool and it sounds superb.
I don’t care for much else the band did after this. It’s definitely a time and place album for me.
8.5/10 from The Grooveman.
