Nude On The Moon: The Anthology

B-52's | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 15, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 1979
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Wea/Rhino
• ASIN: B00005UPFB
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #42,323 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #76 in Music > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo-Fi > Jangle Pop

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. 52 Girls

2. Dance This Mess Around

3. Rock Lobster

4. Lava

5. Hero Worship

6. Planet Claire

7. Give Me Back My Man

8. Private Idaho

9. Devil In My Car

10. Party Out Of Bounds

See all 18 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Summer Of Love

2. Ain't It A Shame (new edit)

3. Theme For A Nude Beach (new edit)

4. Girl From Ipanema Goes To Greenland

5. Wig

6. She Brakes For Rainbows

7. Cosmic Thing

8. Deadbeat Club

9. Love Shack

10. Roam

See all 17 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It all started with a wig..., January 16, 2002

By 

Mars Velvet (Green Tree, Blue Earth...Deep Space) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nude On The Moon: The Anthology (Audio CD)

I was suspicious that yet another collection of B-52's material was coming out so soon after the "TimeCapsule:Best of B-52's" release just over a year ago.
"Nude on the Moon" is a more expanded edition of B-52's songs.

If you own all their albums...there is little on here you do not already have. This band deserves a boxset...3 or 4 discs of classics, rare tracks, mixes and live numbers. But for now this 2-disc collection is what is out! So I bought it...

The booklet alone deserves 5 stars...a wealth of info, insight and photos!! The selection is great too...picking out some real gems left off "TimeCapsule". Those including "Lava", "Quiche Lorraine-live", "Queen of Las Vegas-out take version", "Whammy Kiss-live", and a Moby remix of "Is That You Mo-Dean"!

Surprisingly 6 gems from "Bouncing off Satelites" (my favorite album) made it in this set including the dizzy
"Girl from Ipanema Goes To Greenland", the
sparkly "Summer of Love" and the
achysweet "She Brakes for Rainbows".

And of course the hits that propelled the band onto college radio like "Rock Lobster" ,"Planet Clare" "Private Idaho", "Song for a Future Generation", etc. Plus the hits that proppelled the band out of college radio onto the pop charts with songs like "Channel Z", "Love Shack", "Roam", "Good Stuff" and such.

Beautiful design, nice booklet, great selection but could have been larger a box for me. Don't have any albums by the band but already know you like them...
give "Nude on the Moon" a spin...turn on the strobe light...put on your wig... and shake your cosmic thing!

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The "Boxed Set" for the Price and Packaging of a 2 CD Set, June 11, 2004

By 

L.A. Scene (Indian Trail, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nude On The Moon: The Anthology (Audio CD)

"Nude on the Moon - The B-52s Anthology" is simply put - a 2 CD set that really has all of the makings of a mini boxed set. Yes, this is a greatest hits collection, but it contains so much more that really makes this much more than a greatest hits album. It covers a near 20 year period that the band covered from 1979 through 1998. After purchasing this collection, you will learn quite a lot about the B-52s. The title on "Nude on the Moon" is a play on the song "Nude on the Beach" and the Moon reference comes from several songs (most noteably, I think Girl From Ipanema Goes to Greenland says 'moon in her mirror')

First the band themselves. If you aren't familiar with the B-52s, they probably are one of the most original bands of the rock era. They were originally a quintet - until the death of founding member Ricky Wilson of AIDS complications in 1985. They remain a quartet consisting of 3 lead singers - Cindy Wilson (Ricky's sister), Kate Pierson, and Fred Schneider. Keith Strickland is the fourth member and contributes on vocals at times. Cindy and Kate have two voices that harmonize just as well as any two will harmonize. Then there is the unique vocals of Mr. Fred Schneider. Schneider brings one of the most quirky voices in the music industry that goes with the unorthodox style of the B-52s music. In the vocals of the B-52s, you'll hear plenty of shouts and shreks, producing a very 'alternative' rock sound with a touch of psychedelica and a touch of punk. The lyrics of the B-52s aren't the most complex. You'll hear them sing about lobsters, wigs, lava, dancing, a place in Brazil called Ipanema, and even a history lesson on Mesopotamia. The band will often reference themselves in songs - most noteably in "Song From a Future Generation" and "Wigs". In these songs you will hear personal references about each of the band members that will help you get a good feel for who they are all about. As for their attire, the B-52's will dress in a cross between 50s and 70s retro. All of these things contribute to this band's uniqueness.

Combine the unique with everything that this collection brings home and you have a real winner. This truly is a "Boxed Set" for the price and packaging of a 2 CD Disc Set. There is a wonderful 56 page booklet that will truly give you everything you ever wanted to know about the band. For starters, there are personal intros written by the four band members - Fred, Kate, Cindy, and Keith. What is nice about the intros is you will really get a feel for the band members at a personal level and can relate it back to the music. Then there are 20+ pages that cover the history of the band - and that's loaded with pictures. This history will give you everything you wanted to know about the B-52's and help you understand where much of the music is coming from. There is a terrific discography that lists all of the songs contained on the collection as well as mapping them back to the albums. You'll also see credits in the discography for production and songwriting - and oh yes, plenty of pictures included.

The collection features some live cuts of the hits - "Whammy" and "Quiche Lorraine". There are some new edits (mixes) of existing songs "Ain't it a Shame", "Is that You Mo-Dean", and "Theme From a Nude Beach". They also include a 1990 remix of an older song "Mesopotamia". There also is an unreleased song included called "Queen of Las Vegas". When your collection starts including live cuts, remixes, and unreleased material - it suddenly takes on a life of its own and makes the collection truly special.

I feel the body of work is well represented for the B-52's fan. I might have liked a third CD with some more live cuts. I also felt that I would have liked to see stuff such as the B-52's Flintstones song they did for the "Flintstones" movie. Plus if it's called "Nude on the Moon" why not include their most famous 'moon' song - "There's a Moon in the Sky"? From a personal standpoint, I was only familiar with the "Cosmic Thing" CD that had the most successful pop hits ("Love Shack", "Roam"). I managed to really expand my horizons and learn quite a bit about the band between the music and the booklet included. This is a fine piece of work and one to consider adding to your collection.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good stuff..., December 20, 2004

By 

Stephen Cabral (New England) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nude On The Moon: The Anthology (Audio CD)

Rhino should get an award for improving the quality of life for its customers. This collection is a blast. In addition to all their "good stuff", it includes a couple of re-mixes and live versions of "Whammy Kiss" & "Quiche Lorraine". The booklet alone gets five stars. There are tons of cool photos of this photogenic band and lots of memorabilia to look at. 50 pages of info including an essay by each band member and a very informative, well written history of the band written by Rolling Stone writer Michael Azerrad.

Think back to 1979. Toto was the biggest band happening. The B-52's sounded like no one else then or since. Unlike most other artists I can't pick out any influences. Everything is totally original. When I first heard Rock Lobster I loved it, but I figured it to be just a novelty song. Then they became the greatest party band in college dorm history.

It was interesting listening to these 35 songs chronologically because it's like living through their ups and downs. From their rise out of college radio to how they dealt with Ricky Wilson's death to their amazing comeback with Cosmic Thing which went quadruple platinum.

Their best albums were the ones that they co-wrote as a band due to their great chemistry and there weakest moments were when they tried to be serious like when they worked with David Byrne. It's amazing to me that what was once new & exciting music is now 26 years old. Where has the time gone?