The B-52's - Whammy!
| Comments: | I consider this The B-52's best album. Highly underrated. |
| Artist: | The B-52's |
| Rating: | |
| Genres: | New Wave |
| Released: | 1983 |
| Type: | Album |
| Label: | Warner Bros. |
| Link: | Spotify |
| In Lists: |
Whammy! is the third studio album by American new wave band the B-52's. It was recorded at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas, in December 1982 and was produced by Steven Stanley. The record was refined and mastered at Sterling Sound, New York City. It was released on April 27, 1983 in the United States, with Warner Bros. Records as the primary label. Sales for Whammy! were generally weaker than their previous album, but overall successful, spawning the popular singles "Legal Tender," "Whammy Kiss," and "Song for a Future Generation." The album entered the Billboard 200 twice in 1983, reaching both number 29 and 171 throughout the year, while "Legal Tender" reached the Billboard Hot 100 chart, as well as the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Singles chart alongside its two respective singles....
The band's goal with Whammy! was to update their signature sound with drum machines and synthesizers. The album was also the first to feature vocal performances by all five members of the band, as exemplified in "Song for a Future Generation."
The B-52's initially conceived Whammy! in early 1982, during a visit to Compass Point Studios, where the band commenced re-recordings of three songs ("Butterbean", "Big Bird", and "Queen of Las Vegas"); all three tracks were originally intended to be included on their previous album Mesopotamia; however, none of them were completed due to pressure and time constraints from Warner Bros. and their manager Gary Kurfirst. The album's remaining six songs ("Legal Tender", "Whammy Kiss", "Song for a Future Generation", "Trism", "Don't Worry", and "Work That Skirt") were recorded in December 1982, again at Compass Point Studios. Unlike their previous albums, all instruments on Whammy! were played exclusively by Keith Strickland and Ricky Wilson; both played the guitar and keyboards, while Strickland played the drums and Wilson played the bass.
Producer Steven Stanley supported Wilson and Strickland's concept of mixing the album into one continuous track in a manner similar to the band's previous album Party Mix!; however, both Kurfirst and Warner Bros. vetoed this decision in favor of the more traditional track order.
On initial pressings of the album, the seventh track was "Don't Worry", a cover version of the Yoko Ono song "Don't Worry, Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow)". However, the song was removed during later pressings due to legal issues. On subsequent pressings, the song was replaced with "Legal Tender"'s B-side, "Moon 83", a remake of their earlier track "There's a Moon in the Sky (Called the Moon)".
The band's goal with Whammy! was to update their signature sound with drum machines and synthesizers. The album was also the first to feature vocal performances by all five members of the band, as exemplified in "Song for a Future Generation."
The B-52's initially conceived Whammy! in early 1982, during a visit to Compass Point Studios, where the band commenced re-recordings of three songs ("Butterbean", "Big Bird", and "Queen of Las Vegas"); all three tracks were originally intended to be included on their previous album Mesopotamia; however, none of them were completed due to pressure and time constraints from Warner Bros. and their manager Gary Kurfirst. The album's remaining six songs ("Legal Tender", "Whammy Kiss", "Song for a Future Generation", "Trism", "Don't Worry", and "Work That Skirt") were recorded in December 1982, again at Compass Point Studios. Unlike their previous albums, all instruments on Whammy! were played exclusively by Keith Strickland and Ricky Wilson; both played the guitar and keyboards, while Strickland played the drums and Wilson played the bass.
Producer Steven Stanley supported Wilson and Strickland's concept of mixing the album into one continuous track in a manner similar to the band's previous album Party Mix!; however, both Kurfirst and Warner Bros. vetoed this decision in favor of the more traditional track order.
On initial pressings of the album, the seventh track was "Don't Worry", a cover version of the Yoko Ono song "Don't Worry, Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow)". However, the song was removed during later pressings due to legal issues. On subsequent pressings, the song was replaced with "Legal Tender"'s B-side, "Moon 83", a remake of their earlier track "There's a Moon in the Sky (Called the Moon)".
Editions:
1983
Original Release
Warner Bros.
| 23819-1
| Vinyl, LP
| Side A: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| A1. | Legal Tender | (3:40) | |
| A2. | Whammy Kiss | (5:20) | |
| A3. | Song for a Future Generation | (4:00) | |
| A4. | Butterbean | (4:14) | |
| Side B: | |||
| B1. | Trism | (3:23) | |
| B2. | Queen of Las Vegas | (4:40) | |
| B3. | Don't Worry | (3:50) | |
| B4. | Big Bird | (4:14) | |
| B5. | Work That Skirt | (3:40) | |