Customer Reviews

Party Mix / Mesopotamia

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I guess I must be the only person in the world who thinks Mesopotamia was the B-52's finest achievement. Don't get me wrong, I love their other stuff, and to this day listen to them often. They are their own selves. Completely original. But with Mesopotamia, they stretched beyond even their own ziggy boundaries, and reached, for lack of a better word, some kind of "zone."

This is not an easy album. I think I must have listened to it about ten times before I "got" it. But it's worth the patience. Maybe the best thing to do is to start with the beat. Don't be distracted by anything else. Just the beat. The rest will come later.

"Loveland." Throbbing, pounding bass, the minor note, and you are there. How can you stay off your feet? And listen to Kate Pierson. She has never sounded better. Passionate. Savage. Beautiful. Angry. "Loveland?" I suppose. This is where I fell in love with Kate Pierson.

Then "Deep Sleep," which is mostly a hypnotic kind of psychadelic thing, but again with the great back beat, and dreamy sultry vocals. These women, you think, they are like sirens.

The next two songs are the B-52's at the apex of their career. Mesopotamia is again a great rock song, with the trademark brilliant female harmonies, and here comes Fred Schneider, with his hilarious, absurdist lyrics. You'll note he is a great stylist as well, contributing greatly to the beat with his vocals, in the tradition of the greatest rock'n'roll singers. The song would still be wonderful, but this sense of timing puts it on another plane.

And then we come to "Cake." There has never been a song in the history of rock'n'roll like "Cake." What is it about? It is about baking a cake. What's so special about that? Well, these girls sing more passionately about baking a cake than anybody ever sang about anything. Peace, injustice, war, hunger. You want passion? Listen to "Cake." Oh, and then maybe think about irony.

This is where I fell in love with both Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson. And with what skill! The B-52's have always been famous for their harmonies but on this album, and on this song, they are mind-boggling. They must have practiced singing this song--God, I don't know--hundreds of times. More. I try to sing along with them every time and, well, forget it.

And again you have the pounding, danceable beat, with horns and guitars and keyboard. I never get tired of this. It just hasn't happened. There is no other rock band in the world which sounds like this. Like them, at their peak.

The last two songs are excellent, ("Throw that Beat in the Garbage Can,") and you will love them, but they can not match the spectacularity of the first four. (Only six songs on the whole thing! Nooooooo!)

So what happened here? Was it David Byrne, the producer? I don't know. I've never been a big fan of him or his band. He played a part though. Sometimes it is pointless to ask. But they hit greatness here. Somehow.

They hit it.

First of all i want to say that i LOVE this record (i'm talking about "Mesopotamia"; nothing to say about "Party mix!" besides it's excellent). Well, i LOVED the ORIGINAL RECORD, the one i knew when it came out. I had no idea it had been remixed in 1990, and istening to the results...i can't figure out why it was remixed. I had it on vinyl and thought i'd buy it on cd. "That's great, "Party mix!" and "Mesopotamia", the 2 ep's on one cd", that's what fans may think...And then you realize...song timings are different...WHY?WHY WAS IT REMIXED?
"Loveland" and "Cake": 5 minutes long each?? They where 8 and 7 minutes long respectively. The remixer's work it's incredibly horrible; the B-52's said that they wanted to make a danceable record when it came out, and they made it, really well. The remixer, though, has taken away all the spirit: verses, choruses and arrangements are removed, new effects (echoes on voices, louder guitars)are thrown in without a single tiny bit of taste, the volume of the "sytethized" claps is unheardable when not removed too, and vocals that where not used in the original record are here misused...The song structure is rewritten too...Was the band happy with these remixed version? I just can say that fans are gonna be very very disappointed, i know that for sure cause i am still. And NO OPENNING HORNS ON "CAKE"???That had to be the biggest disappointment of 'em all.
Today i've taken my vinyl to a record store near my home where they'll put it on cd for 6 euro. I had no choice.

When pop artists work entirely on instinct, the results can be inexplicably good. It's often hard to take apart the pieces and explain what makes the whole thing so wonderful, because it feels like the music sprang up, fully grown, right out of the band's collective brain. And that's the way most of the B-52's music feels: inspired, soulful and really nuts.

But this double-EP is a good example of how too much thought can destroy a work of instinct. The remixes for "Party Mix!" are just annoying, but easy to dismiss, since you're getting "Mesopotamia" on the same CD. But I was just crest-fallen when I got this disc home and listened to one of the most brilliant pieces of early-80s pop gone sour.

I'd heard that the band didn't like the results of Mesopotamia's original production and felt that it sounded more like David Byrne, their producer, than their own work. But Byrne took the band's wonderful qualities and pushed them in a new and unexpected direction. It was a very successful experiment.

For the CD release, the band went back and re-mixed the whole EP, dumbing down the hard, syncopated percussion, adding cheesy echoes and reverbs, and just cutting time out of some tracks all together. The result is an uncomfortable grafting of bad pop clichés onto the stark original. It doesn't sound like the original or like the B-52's better music. Fortunately, for those of us who still have decent vinyl copies of the original, we can rip our own CDs and pray they come to their senses in time to release the original version.

I finally, finally got this on CD. Having both these EPs on vinyl as a kid in the very early 80's (along with the first two albums - masterpieces!)... and still having them to this day (pulling them out now every once in a while to play as I swing around the room on my walker)... needless to say I was thrilled to finally be able to play these two great EPs, minus all the pops and scratches of my old disc that have been played zillions of times.

First - "Party Mix" sounds GREAT on CD... and is worth it for the price alone. If you're already familiar with The B-52's brilliant early work (and you probably are if you are thinking of getting this) you know it's 6 of their early songs (3 each from the first 2 albums) that have been wildly remixed into a zany sonic stew... totally hysterical and delightful... and a great example of what "remix" meant before house and techno. Totally great and super fun.

However... for fans of the B-52's 1981 "Mesopotamia" EP - be warned...

I tried to be optomistic, really I did... but I am about 70% dissapointed with (what I read here on the liner notes) is a 1990 "re-mix" of the original version of this EP just for this CD (original release was produced by David Byrne and came out in 1981). I have no problem with remastering stuff so it sounds good on CD... but what was this Tom Durack thinking? They sounded FINE in the original versions... very complex, polyrhythmic, almost jazzy songs. Sure when this first came out... many B-52's fans were a little confused... but the release quickly gained a following and a special place in the memories of their audience. They seem to have been re-done here to obviously have a bit more "modern", minimal and I guess easy-to-grasp sound. I think these "re-done" Mesopotamia songs sound lame for the most part (some more than others)... especially when I compare them to the original versions... which were very special and unique and full of wild energy. Why re-do them 10 years later in 1990? Why? Really... why? The originals were fine! Why add reverbed vocals and synths and echo-ing hand claps (ugh!) and noisy guitar at the end of each track (I'm talking about 'Mesopotamia' here... not 'Party Mix')? The re-done stuff here is noticable most of the time and gets pretty annoying in places. Where are the original 1981 release "Mesoptamia" songs for CD? Gone forever? Yea... I'd like to "turn my watch back..." to 1981... to the original version of this great release... which in no way needed messing with. Sob!

Re-cap: "Party Mix" on CD - TOTALLY GREAT!!! But, these "newer" 1990 versions of the 1981 "Mesopotamia" EP... well, if you're a big B-52's fan... be ready for perhaps a not-so-pleasant surprise.

Leaving aside Party Mix which was fairly inspired at the time but a bit superflous now, Mesopotamia has a bit of a back history. This is my understanding of it, feel free to correct me if i got it wrong, I would like to know for sure myself

The original album was released in America on Warner records and in Europe on Island records. Apparently there was a mix-up in sending the master tapes trans-atlantic and Island ended up with three songs (loveland, cake and throw that beat) in extended form. Maybe unfinished mixes or maybe different takes, no-one seems to be sure.

When it was re-released the Island records version uses the original Warner release (albeit with a misprinted cover saying the album contains an extra song, lava, which it doesn't).
This, the Warner records re-release, contains the same Warner Version, but remixed. the changes aren't huge but are noticeable. The songs were not cut or shortened, they just do not use the extended Island records versions that some people who bought it originally are used to.

Hope this clears up some of the confusion in the reviews.

I agree with Paul McGrath: Mesopotamia is The B-52's at their peak. Mesopotamia on vinyl propels me uncontrollably out of my chair to dance. Kate Pierson's unchecked exhuberance is enough to bring tears to your eyes. Gawd they're having a blast, and it's perfectly off-centered and beat-underlayed in production by David Byrne. This was a meeting of artists in their prime, an unrepeatable moment.

I don't know *what* Tom Durack was thinking when he desiccated this dripping-wet masterpiece in a 1990 remix that saps it almost completely of its original fulgent energy. Dammit man, I don't need to hear every word of the lyrics!

I'll use this as a vinyl-preserver, playing it when I'm doing dishes or in the car. But life's too short -- when I wanna jump, I'm going with the version I need to turn over in the middle.

I will start by stating that this review will concern the Mesopotamia section of this release. I remain unacquainted with Party Mix.

For starters Mesopotamia receives a lot of criticism which I feel is largely undue. The title track is arguebly the B52s' greatest achievement. The danceable beat is still evident but it is joined by what I regard as a desire to produce more complex sounding material. The vocal arrangement on this track is particularly memorable. And it has the kind of funk-like vibe that only David Byrne circa 1981 could produce. In other words very much like the sound of Talking Heads and in my opinion a curious hybrid of My life in the Bush of Ghosts, the Catherine Wheel and Wild Planet.

Not all the material on this record is quite so strong. I have the feeling that Mr Byrne was not entirely happy in the capacity of producer of this set. Some of the mixes aren't quite there and the indecision shown by the simultaneous release of different mixes of some tracks on both sides of the Atlantic suggests that someone within the record company at least shared my concerns (with reference to Loveland and Cake). Did Charles Blackwell want an Lp instead of an Ep? Was he concerned about keeping the name of the B52's in the music headlines?

The appearance of an early version of Queen of Las Vegas on Nude on the Moon really aides in attempting to understand what all parties were trying to achieve with this set. Byrne wanted to work with the B52s and again I suggest that the B52s wanted to broaden the scope of their sound. This mix which is so wildly different to the version on Whammy demonstrated the B52s as the missing link between the Talking Heads and Sly and Robbie era Grace Jones. It really is that good and it appears perverse that the track was not included on this release.

As for the remainder of the tracks on Mesopotamia it needs to be reiterated that much of the material is strong but the 'final' mixes are weak. In both versions I find Loveland to out stay its welcome. The 'outside of the USA' mix of Cake however is in my opinion vastly superior to the version which can be found on the original American release. Deep Sleep is a curious 'mood' piece reminiscent of My Life in the Bush of Ghosts and is unlike anything else in the B52s' catalogue. Throw that Beat in the Garbage Can does not work and Nip it in the Bud is essentially 'straight-ahead' Eighties rock. I enjoy the track on its own terms but its vibe jars with the rest of the release.

To sum-up this is a curious release which I believe probably suffered from too much pressure from Warners and Island respectively. Everything needed more time BUT there is a lot to enjoy and lyrically I believe the band was never more surreal than on the tracks one can find here. Give it a whirl and I defy any true B52s fan not to fall in love with the title track at the very least.

If you like New Wave, old school dance music, etc. this is some of the best right here. Before the B-52's became full-fledged radio darlings, this music was some of the hippest of it's time.

MESOPOTAMIA is as clever and funny as it is groovy. It also has a nice "jungle" style going for it. Kate Pierson (I'm pretty sure it's her) belts out "Loveland" with a sexy voice that makes it's presence known all over the album. "Deep Sleep" is a hypnotic glide through dreamland. Fred Schneider finally makes his strange voice heard on the lively "Mesopotamia," the best song on the album. "Cake" is an infectious song that has the girls obsessing over - what else? - cake. "Throw that Beat . . ." is the epitome of hip and "Nip It in the Bud" is the wildest song of the bunch. All are produced by David Byrne, all are great.

Plus you get great remixes of more early sexy&groovy B-52's classics - not a false note on this one!

The originals of these songs were great, but they've been remixed in a tacky late 80s style so that they now sound completely dated. Mesopotamia was too well-produced to suffer the indignity of being remixed to the consistency of gruel. Seek out the original pressings.

I have to pretty much agree with Mr. McGrath's review and comments on Mesopotamia. The songs are among the finest the B-52s ever recorded. They groove, they rock, they're funny ... all the things I love about the band. But they really were stretching out their boundaries and exploring new territory on this little EP, which is included in Party Mix. The CD is totally worth it just to get Mesopotamia. I got this EP on vinyl when it came out in 1982 and didn't care for it too much at the time. But I went to the B-52s concert in El Paso, TX that year and they were just great, they did all the songs on Meso and totally rocked and had fun and generated fun for everybody else. Thanks, B-52s, for making such enjoyable music! Don't pay attention to the All Music Guide on this album, just get it and enjoy!