Dance This Mess Around

 

It is often said that 1979 is a golden year for music and it is true. There was a new band to discover almost every week and I found it difficult to make the right choice from the plethora of new releases in my favorite record shop. 

So it was clever that the B52's debut album stood out from the crowd visually. The cover shows the group in an edited photograph against a bright yellow background; faces, hands and feet are photographed, while the clothing is printed on. The beehive hairstyles of the two singers Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson, who also gave the band its name, were also striking.

The band's music, which moves between pop, rock, dance, surf, punk, new wave and retro, was exceptional. Rocky guitar riffs on a low-tuned Rickenbacker, reminiscent of a science fiction film from the 60s, a keyboard mixed in and the alternately melodic and shrill vocals of the singers created a unique sound that has lost none of its appeal even after 45 years.

The B52's - Dance This Mess Around

The B52's - Planet Claire

The B52's - Rock Lobster