''Wild Planet'' is the second studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

the B-52's The B-52's, also styled as The B-52s, are an American new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synth bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals, p ...

, released in 1980. As with their first album, the B-52's traveled to

Compass Point Studios Compass Point Studios was a music recording studio in the Bahamas, founded in 1977 by Chris Blackwell, the owner of Island Records. The concept of the studio was of a recording facility supported by in-house sets of artists, musicians, producer ...

in the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

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 Rhett Davies (born 1949 in London) is an English record producer and engineer. Davies' father was trumpet player Ray Davies (no relation to Ray Davies of The Kinks). Davies became a studio engineer at Island Records studios in the early 1970s, a ...

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 ''My Own Private Idaho'' is a 1991 American independent adventure drama film written and directed by Gus Van Sant, loosely based on Shakespeare's ''Henry IV, Part 1'', '' Henry IV, Part 2'', and ''Henry V''. The story follows two friends, Mike ...

'' for the use of the song title "

Private Idaho "Private Idaho" is a single released by The B-52's from their 1980 album ''Wild Planet''. Composition The B-52's are from Athens, Georgia, and never played a concert in Idaho until September 13, 2011, when they played at Eagle River Pavilion in ...

". The song itself is not referred to anywhere in the movie.

Critical reception

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' 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". On the other hand,

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

found it less of a danceable success than its predecessor, writing in ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'' in March 1981: "'

Party Out of Bounds "Party Out of Bounds" is the title of a 1980 song by The B-52's, from their album ''Wild Planet''. Featured with the other dancefloor-bound tracks from the album, the song peaked at number 5 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play chart in 1980 ...

' and 'Quiche Lorraine' are expert entertainments at best and the wacko parochialism of '

' is a positive annoyance. Only on 'Devil in My Car' and '

Give Me Back My Man "Give Me Back My Man" is a song written and recorded by the American rock band the B-52's. It was released as the second single from their album ''Wild Planet'' (1980), and is one of many solo vocal performances from Cindy Wilson in the band's ea ...

' 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." ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' 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".

Track listing

"Party Out of Bounds" lends its name both to singer Fred Schneider's radio show on

Sirius Satellite Radio Sirius Satellite Radio was a satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Holdings. Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, Sirius ...

, and to an annual charity benefit party held in the band's hometown of

Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the sta ...

Personnel

The B-52's * Fred Schneider – vocals, percussion *

Cindy Wilson Cynthia Leigh Wilson (born February 28, 1957) is an American musician and one of the vocalists, songwriters and founding members of new wave rock band the B-52's. She is noted for her distinctive contralto voice and also plays percussion during ...

– vocals, percussion *

Kate Pierson Catherine Elizabeth Pierson (born April 27, 1948) is an American singer, lyricist, and founding member of the B-52's. She plays guitar, bass and various keyboard instruments. In the B-52s, she has performed alongside Cindy Wilson, Fred Schneid ...

– vocals, keyboards, synth bass * Ricky Wilson – guitars *

Keith Strickland Julian Keith Strickland (born October 26, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter, composer, musician, multi-instrumentalist, and one of the founding members of The B-52s. He was born in Athens, Georgia. Originally the band's drummer, Stricklan ...

– drums, percussion

Production

Chris Blackwell Christopher Percy Gordon Blackwell (born 22 June 1937) is an English businessman and former record producer, and the founder of Island Records, which has been called "one of Britain's great independent labels". According to the Rock and Roll ...

– executive producer * The B-52's – producers *

– producer, engineer * Benjamin Armbrister – assistant engineer * Robert Waldrop – art direction *

Lynn Goldsmith Lynn Goldsmith (born 1948) is an American recording artist, film director, celebrity portrait photographer, and rock and roll photographer. She has also made fine art photography with conceptual images and with her painting. Books of her work hav ...

– cover photography * Paul Bricker – make-up * La Verne & Phyllis – hairdos * Gary Kurfirst – management

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{Authority control The B-52's albums 1980 albums Albums produced by Rhett Davies Albums produced by Chris Blackwell Warner Records albums