Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 01/15/2002
The B-52's were one of the great
new wave bands, one of the ones who defined the style and cut one of the great records of their time (their eponymous debut), an outfit who maintained a dedicated following even as they fell off the radar of critics and hipsters, a group who overcame a tragic loss (guitarist
Ricky Wilson) to make a startling, unpredictable comeback that launched them beyond college radio and to the top of the
pop charts. It's a hell of a story, even if the final act was decidedly anticlimatic (after one follow-up to the
Cosmic Thing comeback, 1992's
Good Stuff, the group essentially disappeared apart from an embarrassing version of the
Flintstones theme for the 1993 big-screen adaptation), and they're easily one of the more legendary bands of their time. Unfortunately, legend doesn't always translate to great music, and the fact of the matter is that
the B-52's really only had two very good records: the transcendent debut and the comeback. The second record had its share of moments, more than the other albums that followed, and there were some sublime cuts scattered among the other records, but by and large they were a band who got by on their brilliant moments -- brilliant moments that were surrounded by competence and mediocrity. It really was the kind of career that could be salvaged and justified by a tremendous double-disc retrospective like
Nude on the Moon: The B-52's Anthology, which has a lot of their greatest moments as well as interviews in the comprehensive booklet, great photos, and just the general warm vibe this Georgian band -- perhaps the greatest Georgian musical act this side of
Jerry Reed or
R.E.M. -- gives off.
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
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