I\u2019ve always loved The B-52\u2019s ever since I was a kid, and being lucky enough to see them live a couple of times, I can honestly say that they do their best work on stage in front of their adoring fans.\u00a0 That\u2019s not to say they don\u2019t make good albums, but most of them are a little patchy and a lot of the songs seem to only come to life when they hit the stage.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
So at last, after thirty-five years, we fans finally have an official document that firmly demonstrates what a great live band these crazy cats really are.\u00a0 The band chose to record and film a show in their hometown of Athens on their US tour earlier this year, and did so in fact on the 34th<\/sup> anniversary of their very first live show on Valentine\u2019s Day in 1977.\u00a0 Frustratingly, though, the DVD will not be released until sometime next year, which is an odd decision being that the CD\/DVD combos are definitely the way to go these days.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Anyway, apart from that small gripe, I have nothing negative to say about this album at all because it just proves what I\u2019ve always known and loved about these guys: they rock.\u00a0 Backed by a super-tight rhythm section (Sterling Campbell on drums and Tracy Wormworth on bass) and keyboardist\/guitarist Paul Gordon, this fabulous foursome rip through a selection of old and new songs like it\u2019s the last show they\u2019ll ever play.\u00a0 Guitarist Keith Strickland leads the way with his instantly catchy riffs and Fred Schneider holds court with his unique vocal style is part call and response and part raving lunatic (in a fun way, though).\u00a0 <\/p>\n But to be completely honest, the stars of the band and the reason why they sound so damn good live are, of course, those gorgeous, colorful, and talented women.\u00a0 Cindy Wilson (clearly influenced by Janis) gives this group their edge and spontaneity, which always enhances their sound.\u00a0 Then there\u2019s Kate Pierson, who without a doubt possesses one of the great voices in pop music today; her range and versatility give these songs their sheen and luster.\u00a0 Together, though, their harmonies are right up their with the best of them – I mean, without them, a song like \u201cRoam\u201d would be nothing more than a fine pop song, but it\u2019s so much more than that and boy, does it sound glorious here.\u00a0 <\/p>\n It\u2019s not the only highlight among these sizzling 17 tracks, though. Cindy takes the lead for the quirky \u201cGive Me Back My Man,\u201d which is always a joy to hear.\u00a0 \u201c52 Girls\u201d gets a retro \u201860s-style workout, and \u201cParty Out Of Bounds\u201d (led by Fred) has never sounded better than it does here.\u00a0 Newer songs (from the recent Funplex<\/i> album) like \u201cPump,\u201d \u201cFunplex,\u201d and \u201cUltraviolet\u201d hold their own along side the old favorites like the freaky \u201cMesopotamia\u201d and obligatory \u201cLove Shack.\u201d\u00a0 <\/p>\n Of those newer songs, though, the most unique and rewarding is the spaced-out \u201cLove In The Year 3000,\u201d which is one of their songs that has grown since its inception in the studio.\u00a0 Aside from the frantic rendition of \u201cRock Lobster,\u201d my favorite song here and biggest surprise is the rocking and all too rarely played \u201cWig\u201d from the band\u2019s most disappointing album Bouncing Off The Satellites<\/i>.\u00a0 Including it here is great, though, because surrounded by their finest moments it comes to life and is as vibrant and funny as ever.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Everything about this album is fantastic, from the recording and mix to the packaging and track list.\u00a0 Like I said before, The B-52\u2019s are a great live band, and With The Wild Crowd <\/i>is solid proof of that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":30823,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[5939],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-42497","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-the-b-52s","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/42497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/42497\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42497"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=42497"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=42497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}