The B-52's - Nude On The Moon (2002)

Nude on the Moon: The B-52's Anthology is a two-CD compilation album containing 35 songs recorded by The B-52's between the years 1979 and 1998. This compilation includes live recordings of "Quiche Lorraine" and "Whammy Kiss", and a previously unreleased outtake version of "Queen of Las Vegas. The B-52's were one of the great new wave bands, one of the ones who defined the style and cut one of the great records of their time (their eponymous debut), an outfit who maintained a dedicated following even as they fell off the radar of critics and hipsters, a group who overcame a tragic loss (guitarist Ricky Wilson) to make a startling, unpredictable comeback that launched them beyond college radio and to the top of the pop charts. It's a hell of a story, even if the final act was decidedly anticlimatic (after one follow-up to the Cosmic Thing comeback, 1992's Good Stuff, the group essentially disappeared apart from an embarrassing version of the Flintstones theme for the 1993 big-screen adaptation), and they're easily one of the more legendary bands of their time. Unfortunately, legend doesn't always translate to great music, and the fact of the matter is that the B-52's really only had two very good records: the transcendent debut and the comeback. The second record had its share of moments, more than the other albums that followed, and there were some sublime cuts scattered among the other records, but by and large they were a band who got by on their brilliant moments — brilliant moments that were surrounded by competence and mediocrity. It really was the kind of career that could be salvaged and justified by a tremendous double-disc retrospective like Nude on the Moon: The B-52's Anthology, which has a lot of their greatest moments as well as interviews in the comprehensive booklet, great photos, and just the general warm vibe this Georgian band — perhaps the greatest Georgian musical act this side of Jerry Reed or R.E.M. — gives off.

Nude On The Moon
2002
THE B-52'S
Fred Schneider/Cindy Wilson /Kate Pierson/Ricky Wilson/Keith Strickland

Disc one 1."52 Girls"  – 3:34 2."Dance This Mess Around"  – 4:36 3."Rock Lobster"  – 6:49 4."Lava"  – 4:54 5."Hero Worship"  – 4:07 6."Planet Claire"  – 4:35 7."Give Me Back My Man"  – 4:00 8."Private Idaho"  – 3:35 9."Devil in My Car"  – 4:28 10."Party out of Bounds"  – 3:21 11."Strobe Light"  – 3:59 12."Quiche Lorraine" (Live, 1990)  – 3:58 13."Mesopotamia" (1990 Remix)  – 3:51 14."Queen of Las Vegas" (Mesopotamia Outtake Version) – 5:40 15."Legal Tender"  – 3:40 16."Song for a Future Generation"  – 4:00 17."Trism"  – 3:23 18."Whammy Kiss" (Live, 1989)  – 3:59 19. "Private Idaho" (12 Inch) (Bonus track)

Disc two 1."Summer of Love"  – 4:02 2."Ain't It a Shame" (New Edit)  – 4:33 3."Theme for a Nude Beach" (New Edit)  – 4:24 4."Girl from Ipanema Goes to Greenland"  – 4:22 5."Wig"  – 4:22 6."She Brakes for Rainbows"  – 4:41 7."Cosmic Thing"   – 3:50 8."Deadbeat Club"   – 4:45 9."Love Shack"  – 5:21 10."Roam"  – 4:54 11."Channel Z"  – 4:49 12."Junebug"  – 5:04 13."Follow Your Bliss"  – 4:08 14."Good Stuff"  – 5:58 15."Revolution Earth"  – 5:50 16."Is That You Mo-Dean?" (Interdimension Mix, New Edit)  – 4:38 17."Debbie"  – 3:32

nWu BONUS

"Love Shack" (Ultimix)
"Roam" (7 Inch)
"Roam" (Indamix Techno Mix)