Wild Planet

Wild Planet is the second studio album by the B-52's, released in 1980.

For The Nettwerk compilation album, see Wild Planet (compilation album).
Wild Planet
Cover art by Lynn Goldsmith
Studio album by
the B-52's
ReleasedAugust 27, 1980
RecordedApril 1980
StudioCompass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas
Genre
Length34:44
LabelIsland (UK) / Warner Brothers (US)
ProducerRhett Davies, the B-52's, Chris Blackwell (executive producer)
The B-52's chronology
The B-52's
(1979)		 Wild Planet
(1980)		 Party Mix!
(1981)
Singles from Wild Planet
  1. "Private Idaho"
    Released: October 1980
  2. "Give Me Back My Man"
    Released: 1980
  3. "Party Out of Bounds"
    Released: 1980

As with their first album, the B-52's traveled to Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas to record Wild Planet. Several of the songs from the album had been concert staples since 1978. The band deliberately did not record them for their first album because they had too many tracks and wanted a strong second album, knowing that performing the tracks live would make fans look forward to it. Rhett Davies co-produced the album, and more emphasis was put on production for Wild Planet. Wild Planet was quickly certified gold.

Film director Gus Van Sant thanks the band in the credits of the 1991 film My Own Private Idaho for the use of the song title "Private Idaho". The song itself is not referred to anywhere in the movie.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideB+[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[3]
Spin Alternative Record Guide7/10[4]

Billboard gave Wild Planet a positive review, calling it an improvement over the band's debut album and "a cinch for hot rotation in rock-oriented discos".[5] On the other hand, Robert Christgau found it less of a danceable success than its predecessor, writing in The Village Voice in March 1981: "'Party Out of Bounds' and 'Quiche Lorraine' are expert entertainments at best and the wacko parochialism of 'Private Idaho' is a positive annoyance. Only on 'Devil in My Car' and 'Give Me Back My Man' do they exploit the potential for meaning—cosmic and emotional, respectively—that accrues to the world's greatest new-wave kiddie-novelty disco-punk band."[6] Rolling Stone magazine's Frank Rose also felt that it "plainly lacks the relentless exuberance of the group's debut disc", which he considered "partly a result of the production: flatter and duller sounding than its predecessor".[7]

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)VocalsLength
1."Party Out of Bounds"
  • Schneider
  • Pierson
  • C. Wilson
3:21
2."Dirty Back Road"
  • R. Wilson
  • Robert Waldrop
  • Pierson
  • C. Wilson
3:21
3."Runnin' Around"
  • Schneider
  • Strickland
  • R. Wilson
  • C. Wilson
  • Pierson
  • Schneider
  • Pierson
  • C. Wilson
3:09
4."Give Me Back My Man"
  • Schneider
  • Strickland
  • R. Wilson
  • C. Wilson
C. Wilson4:00
5."Private Idaho"
  • Schneider
  • Strickland
  • R. Wilson
  • C. Wilson
  • Pierson
  • Schneider
  • Pierson
  • C. Wilson
3:35
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)VocalsLength
6."Devil in My Car"
  • Schneider
  • R. Wilson
  • C. Wilson
  • Pierson
  • Pierson
  • C. Wilson
  • Schneider
4:28
7."Quiche Lorraine"
  • Schneider
  • Strickland
  • R. Wilson
  • Schneider
  • Pierson
  • C. Wilson
3:58
8."Strobe Light"
  • Schneider
  • Strickland
  • R. Wilson
  • Schneider
  • Pierson
  • C. Wilson
3:59
9."53 Miles West of Venus"
  • Schneider
  • R. Wilson
  • C. Wilson
  • Pierson
  • Pierson
  • C. Wilson
  • Schneider
4:53
Total length:34:44

"Party Out of Bounds" lends its name both to singer Fred Schneider's radio show on Sirius Satellite Radio, and to an annual charity benefit party held in the band's hometown of Athens, Georgia.

Personnel
The B-52's
Technical
  • Rhett Davies - engineer
  • Benjamin Armbrister - assistant engineer
  • Robert Waldrop - art direction
  • Lynn Goldsmith - cover photography

Chart performance

The album spent 27 weeks on the U.S. Billboard album charts and reached its peak position of #18 in late September 1980.[8]

Chart (1980) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200 18
UK Albums Chart 18

Certifications
Organization Level Date
RIAA – U.S. Gold October 21, 1981

References
  1. Cleary, David. "Wild Planet – The B-52's". AllMusic. Retrieved October 16, 2004.
  2. Christgau, Robert (1990). "B". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved August 17, 2020 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. Considine, J. D. (2004). "The B-52's". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 67–68. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
  4. Huston, Johnny (1995). "B-52's". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 38–39. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  5. "Billboard's Top Album Picks" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 85 no. 37. September 13, 1980. p. 68. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 24, 2020 – via World Radio History.
  6. Christgau, Robert (March 2, 1981). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved November 29, 2011.
  7. Rose, Frank (October 30, 1980). "The B-52's: Wild Planet". Rolling Stone. No. 329. Archived from the original on February 12, 2008. Retrieved May 12, 2006.
  8. "Billboard 200: The B-52s". Billboard.com. Billboard. 2017. Retrieved February 9, 2017.
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