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| Manufacturer: s
Buy New: $8.99
Rating:  136 reviews
Sales Rank: 2892
Genre: pop-music
Media: Music Download
Running Time: 0 Minutes
ASIN: B00161QSCQ
Publication Date: March 25, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Ego-Free Vitality in an Age of Exhaustion and Angst April 11, 2008
tashcrash (South Shore, MA)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
The music of the B-52's, for me, has always been an acoustic narcotic. Cindy Wilson and Kate Pierson have got to be the two most emotive singers I have ever heard (Mahalia Jackson comes in a pretty close second), and they contrast beautifully, the former being the tortured one (think "Hero Worship," "Give Me Back My Man," or "Ain't It A Shame") while the latter is all sunshine and positivity (think "Revolution Earth" or "Housework"). Fred Schneider is Fred Schneider; he can't sing and he can't dance, and he's brilliant at both.
Keith Strickland has the impossible job of compensating for the absence of Ricky Wilson, and it has to be said that he is the main brain behind the reinvention of the band. In his minimalism, Ricky Wilson was a fantastic guitarist. "Funplex" is the first post-Ricky album to capture the riff-happy playfulness of his style, and the album has a buoyancy and lift that "Cosmic Thing" and (especially) "Good Stuff" lack. It seems Strickland has learned from Ricky Wilson to keep it simple, straightforward, and energized.
There is nothing around today that sounds this exuberant. I'm thrilled that the B-52's are back, but it is something of a sad commentary that music nowadays, for the most part, simply isn't fun like this. Just because it's "party music" doesn't mean it isn't or can't be important (think Motown during the early 1960s). Yes, the B-52's are political (not that Amazon is the place to make that argument).
When I heard Steve Osborne was producing, I cringed a bit. He was ideal for New Order, but the B-52's sensibility seemed antithetical to the extremely polished tendencies of Osborne. I was totally wrong; Keith Strickland's choice to work with him was a stroke of genius (if only other vintage acts would make such a move). Osborne and the band really meet each other halfway, a truly inspired collaboration.
To really appreciate the production value of the album, you need to listen to it in full stereo on a more-than-decent system (it sounds muddy in my car and overly compressed on my mp3 player).
It amazes me how some people make their minds up so quickly, and have decided that the album is something of a letdown without really letting it grow on them. Remember, it took "Cosmic Thing" months to catch on. I have found that the more I've listened to it, the better it has gotten. The songs I initially didn't care for ("Dancing Now," "Deviant Ingredient") have become my favorites. Just no pleasing those dimestore critics out there, I guess.
I don't mean to sound greedy, but this can't be their last album...
Shake & shimmy at the Funplex.. April 18, 2008
Nse Ette (Lagos, Nigeria)
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
B-52s are a fun bunch whose sound reminds one of a raucous party. I first came across them when I heard and fell in love with their 1989 hit "Love shack" which prompted me to get the album it came from, "Cosmic thing". That was a brilliant album which featured some production by Nile Rogers (of Chic fame). After that, I heard a pair of songs they did for movies; "The chosen one" from "Pokemon 2000" and "Meet the Flintstones".
"Funplex" is their first album in some 16 years and is much more of what we've come to expect from the band, and despite the heavy use of synthesizers and heavy beats, the album still manages to transport one back to a time when bouffant hairdos and miniskirts ruled. Musicianship is top notch, and the inspiration for the more electronic sound was apparently New Order.
The sound is dancey, with loads of jangly surf guitars, shout-and-reply refrains, and copious use of silly words like "shimmy". Opening cut "Pump" is a prime example. Others along this line are "Hot corner", the jangly "Ultraviolet", title track "Funplex" (jagged guitars against a bubby synth bassline - my favourite), "Too much to think about", the extremely catchy "Dancing now" (with a fuzzy bassline) and the sunny "Keep this party going".
Slowing the tempo down but not by too much are the buzzing "Juliet of the spirits" (lovely harmonies making them sound like a sixties girl group), the plodding eighties sounding "Eyes wide open", the groovy "Love in the year 3000" (another favourite of mine), and "Deviant ingredient" (which finds Fred Schneider yelling silly words like "Bootybots" and "Erotobots" at intervals). There are no real ballads to dampen the fun party mood.
"Funplex" is a real fun album which more than lives up to its name.
Refreshingly the same February 25, 2008
Johnny Lane (Portland, OR USA)
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
It sounds just like sixteen years ago. I love it. It is very consistent with their original sound. If you are a die-hard B-52s fan, you won't be disappointed.
Funplex is FUN! March 10, 2008
S. L. Peters (Beaufort, SC)
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
This is the B-52's I fell in love with in the 1980's. The lyrics made me laugh out loud. They're older but still in tune with our culture and always find a way to poke fun at it as well as theirselves. Oh yeah, and the music is very catchy with a beat that just makes you want to get up and dance. Classic B-52's.
The B's White Album March 26, 2008
T. Jackson (Portland, OR United States)
10 out of 13 found this review helpful
Only the B-52's could come back with a record after 16 years, when they're all in their 50's, that focuses on sex and romance! This is the best new release I've heard in ages. Funplex manages to combine the quirky lyrics and dance beats that made fans fall in love with them over the past 3 decades with some cool, now sounds like driving rock guitars and funky electronic grooves. It is easily both their most unusual(for them) and most accessible album. The first six tracks on the disc will have you shaking your booty and creating your own in-home funk-a-thon. After that, things get a bit experimental. The tracks:
1. Pump: this is a delicious slice of chaotic rock that will have you pumping and jumping. Love the way Kate sings about "mama."
2. Hot Corner: this rocked out jam will have you dancing in your room until you're out of breath.
3. Ultraviolet: a tune with a hyper rock vibe that is fun and funky.
4. Juliet of the Spirits: a fan fave, a shimmering techno love fest in which the girls admonish a friend to come out of her shell and really live life.
5. Funplex: the first single, a funky, funny, mid-tempo dance/rock number that will have you laughing and singing along. "Lady? What lady?"
6. Eyes Wide Open: my favorite song on this album. This is absolutely incredible and tough to describe. Starting out as an ominous, stark techno experiment, it gradually builds into an all-out dance frenzy that will have you shakin' it like crazy. I love Kate's refrain: "I don't want to clash, I don't want to re-hash the past, I just want release."
7. Love in the Year 3000: The verses are odd and experimental, with Fred talking about different kinds of robots. The choruses are catchy with the girls exquisite harmonies. It's an interesting and addictive combo.
8. Deviant Ingredient: The closest thing on the album to a ballad, the song is lush and sensual, a bit on the commercial-sounding side, but the female vocals on the choruses are hard to resist, and the song builds to a somewhat rocking climax. Sort of like a peppy chill out song.
9. Too Much To Think About: This is the only song on the album that I don't like. The different parts of music and vocals just don't work. It felt flat to me.
10. Dancing Now: A really cool ditty that harkens back to the B-52's garage/punk origins, with Fred barking out verses while the girls sing verses behind him. It's a great effect.
11. Keep This Party Going: While not the best song on the CD, this is a fun and warmly felt tune that is the perfect album ender. Leaves the listener with a happy, party friendly glow.
If you like fun, danceable, quirky music, buy this now!
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