Description
The B-52’s – Mesopotamia – Clear with Orange Splatter Vinyl Record
Mesopotamia finds the B-52’s widening the musical world established by their first two albums. Released in 1982 and produced by David Byrne, the six-song record keeps the group’s eccentric humor and dance-minded approach while exploring a more spacious, layered studio sound. Byrne’s interest in rhythm made him a natural, if distinctive, collaborator for a band already skilled at turning repetition into movement. The result occupies a particular place between the stripped-down attack of their early records and the increasingly electronic direction they would explore on Whammy!.
The members’ individual personalities remain central. Fred Schneider’s declamatory delivery, Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson’s contrasting voices, Ricky Wilson’s guitar, and Keith Strickland’s rhythmic foundation give the music its unmistakable identity. The production introduces additional instrumental colors, including horns and synthesizers, and makes room for a different balance among those familiar elements. Some songs rely less on the constant vocal exchanges associated with the band’s early hits. That change allows atmosphere and groove to become more prominent without losing the peculiar sense of play that makes the B-52’s recognizable.
“Loveland” opens the record, followed by the more dreamlike “Deep Sleep.” The title track brings Schneider’s fascination with an ancient setting into a distinctly modern dance environment, turning the subject into another of the group’s unlikely party invitations. These songs show how easily the band could connect odd imagery with a strong rhythmic idea. Mesopotamia’s appeal comes partly from that lack of separation between art-school curiosity and physical movement: the arrangements can be strange, but the invitation to dance remains easy to understand.
The second side begins with “Cake,” where everyday language becomes a vehicle for the group’s theatrical vocal character. “Throw That Beat in the Garbage Can” makes rhythm itself part of the joke, and “Nip It in the Bud” completes the six-song sequence. The original project was intended to be longer, but this concise configuration became the release through which listeners first encountered the material. Its brevity gives the record a concentrated view of one experiment in the band’s development, with each selection contributing a different angle on the collaboration with Byrne.
This Rhino edition presents that original program on 140-gram ultra-clear vinyl with orange splatter. The contents remain the six songs associated with the familiar Mesopotamia release. For listeners exploring beyond the B-52’s best-known singles, it offers a revealing example of the band changing its studio approach while preserving its own character. The record’s combination of rhythmic focus, unusual voices, and offbeat subject matter makes it a distinctive part of their early catalog, connecting their new-wave beginnings with the wider dance vocabulary that would remain important throughout their career.
Brand new, never played and still sealed in the factory plastic
Track Listing
A1 Loveland
A2 Deep Sleep
A3 Mesopotamia
B1 Cake
B2 Throw That Beat in the Garbage Can
B3 Nip It in the Bud
