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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb, April 10, 2000
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.
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by The B-52's 
