Track Listing

1. Cosmic Thing
2. Dry County
3. Deadbeat Club
4. Love Shack
5. Junebug
6. Roam
7. Bushfire
8. Channel Z
9. Topaz
10. Follow Your Bliss

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3671 in Music
• Released on: 1989-06-06
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
Nirvana made a lot of things irrelevant when Nevermind was released in 1991. Among the most unfortunate casualties caught inside the blast radius were the B-52's. Just two years prior, they had released their very first mainstream breakthrough album, Cosmic Thing. This album was featherweight, sun-kissed, playfully pansexual and, most importantly, danceable. Tracks like "Love Shack" and "Roam" reminded us there could be fun without responsibility. Alternately kitschy and lazy (I still insist that "Deadbeat Club" was a slacker anthem long before Beck's "Loser"), Cosmic Thing took the B-52's signature Trekkie-camp sensibility and slowed it down just enough to click on MTV and portable radios wonderfully. And let's be honest, anyway: would you rather road-trip to Kurt's sad refrain of "Well, whatever, nevermind" or Fred Schneider belting out, "The whole shack shimmies!!" at the top of his lungs? On second thought, don't answer that. --Todd Levin

Customer Reviews

Probably my favorite B-52 'albums'
I was first exposed to The B-52's in college, and really liked their music. I bought the vinyl albums The B-52's and Wild Planet. I checked out this CD from the local library. At first I did not like it but the more I listened to the album, the more I liked it. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys The B-52's.

Quintessential summer album
The exciting new wave sounds of the early 80's had given way to the utter dross of 1985 to 1989 (Yazz and the Plastic Population anyone?), but just on the cusp of Grunge and the Madchester Baggie scene was this bomb from the wonderfully eccentric B52s. Like a happy version of Wall of Voodoo but less Crazy than Devo, they came in from left field with a shimmering summer gem of an album. I always remember the English summers of the period as hot and dry, great cricket and BBQ weather. Never mind global warming, I think that this album alone lead to a succession of brilliant summers leading from 89 to about 95. I`m the sort of shy diffident person who would stay on board a sinking liner if I had to dance to get on a lifeboat, but even now, Loveshack would be one of the 3 songs that could make me do some sort of (ahem) "groove thang." Some might call this a desert island album, and why not? A desert island would be THE perfect place to listen to this, hammock, cool beer, some sort of shack (love optional). Alas in Ireland, the sun never shines anymore, perhaps I will dig Cosmic Thing out again and see if it can repeat the magic?

PURE FUN
Another mix of fun and greatness from the Athenian Clan! Thank you for this LP!!!!!!!!!