Here's my piece in describing Wild Planet's nine satellites. Fred Schneider's "Surprise!" is the first word of "Party Out Of Bounds." Kate and Cindy then ask for the ice box and punch, and there's the party started, right there. "Private Idaho" is Wild Planet's "Rock Lobster," being Wild Planet's most well-known track. Ricky Wilson's guitar keeps the pace. "You're living in your own private Idaho/On a ground like a wild potato." This is another on the short list for a party mix-tape should "Rock Lobster" not be available for any reason.

For sheer jamming, nothing beats "Devil In My Car" and "Strobe Light." The first is a funny song on a car possessed by the devil. The saying "Drive like hell and you will get there" comes to mind. Anyway, the hapless narrator can't lock the door, or put on my safety belt and is going 90 mph. He thus cries out "Help! The devil's in my car!" The humor's very kitschy, with devilish motifs such as "I don't wanna go to hell" and "I don't need no batteries/I've got the devil in my car."

"Strobe Light" is a seduction number, focusing on making love under the title appliance. No one sings about kissing body parts and responding to the same as Fred and the girls, respectively. When he gets to a very personal part of his date's body, he uses a euphemism that's the same as a certain large fruit. A shrill synthesizer blasts in response.

"Quiche Lorraine" deserves mention here, about a man and his dog, Quiche the poodle. The dog runs away after a German Shepherd, leaving the man broken-hearted and vindictive for being abandoned. In addition to backing vocals, Kate or Cindy provides Quiche's sharp barks. Given the description of Quiche, whose body is dyed dark green, who is two inches tall with a strawberry blonde ball, sunglasses and a bonnet, and designer jeans with appliques on, I wonder, isn't that dog somewhat overdressed? Sounds like an SPCA case to me, but at least the song's funny.

"53 Miles West Of Venus" is another one of their space songs. The lyrics are very simple--you figure it out. Hmm, I wonder if that's the hyperspatial wormhole distance between Wild Planet and Venus.

With the exception of the mid-paced "Dirty Back Road," the pace doesn't let up.

Desert Island fav!
If you were stuck on a desert island you want to make sure you bring this CD. Just about every song here makes you wanna dance. Some great memories with the B's. Truly one of the cornerstone bands of the New Wave era with a style that will never be duplicated. A must have for any 80's or even punk fan. Strobe light is one of my favs. 5 stars! Go get it!

A Slight Sophmore Slump--But Fans Will Enjoy It
Lots of bands suffer from the legendary "sophomore slump." The B-52's were no exception: WILD PLANET seems quite tame in comparison to their legendary, self-titled debut. Even so, the release offers several truly memorable B-52's classics--you'll just have to work a bit harder to get at them.

The big number here is "Private Idaho," and it stands alongside the absolute best of the band, a sharp and crackly piece with sardonic lyrics, a driving tempo, and a wicked sense of humor. "Party Out of Bounds" and "Devil in My Car" aren't quite in the same league, but they're still good enough to spin your head around. But the rest of the selections don't quite manage to cross the line into manic B-52's country.

"Dirty Back Road" and "Runnin' Around" are well done but not actually very memorable--and indeed, as I sit here fresh from the recordings I can barely call either of them to mind. "Give Me Back My Man," "Strobe Light," and "53 Miles West of Venus" seem to be slightly lesser reincarnations of cuts from the debut album, and while the notorious "Quiche Lorraine" starts well it overplays into pure silliness without ever finding the cutting quality for which The B-52's were and are so famous.

Listening to WILD PLANET today, it seems to me that the problem was less with the band than it was with management. The debut album got lots of critical attention and became a cult-smash, but then as now it proved too edgy for the sort of airplay that translated into big bucks with the buying public. I can almost hear the money men saying "Oh, that's fine--but if you'd only just..." and in the process tampering with the very thing that made the B-52's so memorable in the first place: their complete originality. Fans will enjoy this particular recording, but when everything is said and done its neither edgy enough nor pop enough to rank with the band's best.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

A fairly mixed album
I loved the first B-52's album for its wackiness and great beats. This second outing has some great material (Party Out of Bounds, Private Idaho, and possibly Give Me Back My Man) but the rest of the songs are much weaker: You can't listen to Quiche Lorraine too many times before it wears out and other tracks sound out of energy.
After the likes of "Rock Lobster" and "606-0842," a lot of new wavers were curious about what Athens, Georgia's fun-loving B-52s were going to do for an encore. The answer came with this rollicking second album in 1980, which found flat-toned Fred Schneider and twin bouffant-topped, gogoing chanteuses Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson nearly equaling the giddy highs of their debut. From the riotous "Party Out of Bounds" and "Devil in My Car" to the ahead-of-the curve couch potato classic, "Private Idaho" to the ever-kitschy "Strobe Light" and the other-worldly "53 Miles West of Venus," this collection proved the B-52s were no flash in the lava lamp. --Billy Altman