Track Listing

1. Party out of Bounds
2. Dirty Back Road
3. Runnin' Around
4. Give Me Back My Man
5. Private Idaho
6. Devil in My Car
7. Quiche Lorraine
8. Strobe Light
9. 53 Miles West of Venus

Product Details

• Released on: 2009-08-25
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Dimensions: .19 pounds

From Amazon.com
After the likes of "Rock Lobster" and "606-0842," a lot of new wavers were curious about what Athens, Georgia's fun-loving B-52s were going to do for an encore. The answer came with this rollicking second album in 1980, which found flat-toned Fred Schneider and twin bouffant-topped, gogoing chanteuses Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson nearly equaling the giddy highs of their debut. From the riotous "Party Out of Bounds" and "Devil in My Car" to the ahead-of-the curve couch potato classic, "Private Idaho" to the ever-kitschy "Strobe Light" and the other-worldly "53 Miles West of Venus," this collection proved the B-52s were no flash in the lava lamp. --Billy Altman

Album Description
Wild Planet is the ultimate in new-wave party albums, starting with the opening "Party Out of Bounds." The song sums up everything that's great about the B-52s, the kitschy, minimalist dance band that somehow managed to overcome its primitive musicianship and crank out a big pile of hit records. The B-52s keep the dance beats coming while amusing any party people who take care to pay attention to the group's witty, oddball lyrics. "Runnin' Around," "Private Idaho," and "Strobe Light" are the other standout tracks here.

Customer Reviews

Desert Island fav!
If you were stuck on a desert island you want to make sure you bring this CD. Just about every song here makes you wanna dance. Some great memories with the B's. Truly one of the cornerstone bands of the New Wave era with a style that will never be duplicated. A must have for any 80's or even punk fan. Strobe light is one of my favs. 5 stars! Go get it!

A Slight Sophmore Slump--But Fans Will Enjoy It
Lots of bands suffer from the legendary "sophomore slump." The B-52's were no exception: WILD PLANET seems quite tame in comparison to their legendary, self-titled debut. Even so, the release offers several truly memorable B-52's classics--you'll just have to work a bit harder to get at them.

The big number here is "Private Idaho," and it stands alongside the absolute best of the band, a sharp and crackly piece with sardonic lyrics, a driving tempo, and a wicked sense of humor. "Party Out of Bounds" and "Devil in My Car" aren't quite in the same league, but they're still good enough to spin your head around. But the rest of the selections don't quite manage to cross the line into manic B-52's country.

"Dirty Back Road" and "Runnin' Around" are well done but not actually very memorable--and indeed, as I sit here fresh from the recordings I can barely call either of them to mind. "Give Me Back My Man," "Strobe Light," and "53 Miles West of Venus" seem to be slightly lesser reincarnations of cuts from the debut album, and while the notorious "Quiche Lorraine" starts well it overplays into pure silliness without ever finding the cutting quality for which The B-52's were and are so famous.

Listening to WILD PLANET today, it seems to me that the problem was less with the band than it was with management. The debut album got lots of critical attention and became a cult-smash, but then as now it proved too edgy for the sort of airplay that translated into big bucks with the buying public. I can almost hear the money men saying "Oh, that's fine--but if you'd only just..." and in the process tampering with the very thing that made the B-52's so memorable in the first place: their complete originality. Fans will enjoy this particular recording, but when everything is said and done its neither edgy enough nor pop enough to rank with the band's best.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

A fairly mixed album
I loved the first B-52's album for its wackiness and great beats. This second outing has some great material (Party Out of Bounds, Private Idaho, and possibly Give Me Back My Man) but the rest of the songs are much weaker: You can't listen to Quiche Lorraine too many times before it wears out and other tracks sound out of energy.