Mesopotamia (EP)

Mesopotamia
EP by The B-52s
Released	January 27, 1982 (1982-01-27)
Recorded	September 1981 at Blank Tape Studios, New York City
Genre	New wave
Length	25:43
Label	Warner Bros. (US) Island (UK)
Producer	David Byrne
The B-52s chronology
Party Mix! (1981) Mesopotamia (1982) Whammy! (1983)
Singles from Mesopotamia
"Deep Sleep"/"Nip It in the Bud" Released: January 27, 1982 "Cake"/"Loveland" Released: January 27, 1982 "Mesopotamia" Released: January 27, 1982

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	A−[2]

Mesopotamia is an album by new wave band The B-52s. It was produced by David Byrne of Talking Heads and was the band's third studio album. Due to conflicts with Byrne and record label pressure, recording sessions were aborted prematurely and only six of ten songs to be completed were released as an shorter than originally intended LP. The record was distributed as a 12" LP by Warner Bros. in the US and by Island Records on both CD and vinyl in the UK and other non-US markets.

The original Island Records vinyl release in the UK contained different mixes of all the songs, three of which ("Loveland," "Cake" and "Throw That Beat in the Garbage Can") were drastically different and substantially longer than the American release. This was an error, and the discs were quickly recalled and reissued with the correct versions of "Cake" and "Garbage Can" reinstated. However, the extended "Loveland" remained. The Island CD release was the same as the American LP as per the band's request. However, the 1991 US release of the CD (paired with Party Mix!), included a newly remixed version of Mesopotamia that is different from the original US LP.

Mesopotamia is considered a departure in style for The B-52s; Byrne and the band added a large amount of additional instruments, vocal overdubs, horns, synthesizers, layered percussion and an altogether richer sound. A larger emphasis was placed on production after the raw sound of their debut album The B-52s and the slightly more polished sound of their second album, Wild Planet.

Background

Mesopotamia was initially conceived by The B-52s in October 1981, following the release of their previous remix album, Party Mix!^[3] The band's first two albums were largely made up of songs which they had been performing live for a number of years. Thus, Mesopotamia required a new writing project for the band. They have stated that the fact that they were all living together in a house in upstate New York did not aid the writing process at this time.

Their management were of the opinion that the band should try something new and change their sound, so the band and their manager Gary Kurfirst agreed that David Byrne of Talking Heads would be a good choice for the album's producer, due to his previous musical experience and history of touring together with The B-52s.^[3] Despite constraints with recording The Catherine Wheel soundtrack, Byrne nevertheless agreed to produce Mesopotamia, producing the former during the day and the latter at night, with little sleep in between.^[3]

Production

Originally, Mesopotamia was conceived as a full album. Due to extensive pressure on the band to release new material, the sessions were hurriedly brought to an end and the bulk of the material was released as an EP. This is also speculated to be because David Byrne had different ideas for the mixing of the album than the band had anticipated. Of the four abandoned tracks, three were re-recorded for the following album, Whammy!.

There are four known outtakes:

• "Queen of Las Vegas" – The original version of this song recorded for the intended full Mesopotamia album was released on Nude on the Moon: The B-52's Anthology and features a vocal performance from Pierson and Wilson with Yogi Horton on drums. The song was modified and re-recorded in 1983 for the Whammy! album.
• "Big Bird" – re-recorded for Whammy!, this original version has never been released. However, "Big Bird" was included in the band's live set on the Mesopotamia tour and was largely the same as the version made available on the Whammy! album. It has since emerged that the band had wanted "Big Bird" to be on the EP instead of "Deep Sleep" but the record company disagreed and omitted "Big Bird" in favour of "Deep Sleep." This explains why the band performed "Big Bird" at all the concerts on the 1982 tour but rarely, if ever, performed "Deep Sleep."
• "Adios Desconocida" – A ballad with lead vocal by Schneider in an uncharacteristically soft and romantic tone, this song was never remade by the band.
• "Butterbean" – Re-recorded for Whammy!, this original version has never been released.

Mesopotamia was a major departure in style for The B-52s. The band's two previous albums had been more or less true to the live sound that made them favorites of the '70s New York scene, with basic organ, guitar, a keyboard bass and a strong backbeat. Mesopotamia, with Byrne at the helm, showcased a new sound. This included multi-layered guitars, a horn section, atmospheric synths, complex percussion and various instruments including a bass guitar, marimba, piano and accordion.

Mesopotamia was also vocally unique for the band because many of the tracks do not feature the vocal interplay for which the band is known. With two Cindy Wilson solo performances, one solo from Kate Pierson, one Fred Schneider solo, and two Wilson/Pierson duets, the sound was more vocally varied than previous recordings. This did, however, showcase the individual talents of the members. The hiring in of numerous session musicians was also a first for The B-52s, although this would be repeated on subsequent albums.

Tour

In 1982, The B-52s returned to touring. Having been on the road for much of 1978, 1979 and 1980, the band had taken a break in 1981 and were struggling to create new material. With Mesopotamia, they had new material to showcase live. The dynamic of the live show changed slightly from previous tours. In 1981, the band released the remix album Party Mix!, and on the so-called "MesoAmerica" 1982 tour they used the opportunity to perform updated versions of some of the songs in their live set that they had been performing since 1977. Another change in 1982 was the keyboard setup. Kate Pierson no longer stood behind a bass synth perched atop a Farfisa Compact Organ. To achieve the new sound of Party Mix! and Mesopotamia, she used a more sophisticated synthesizer, recreating the organ sounds of their debut, the synth sounds of Mesopotamia and simultaneously providing the undulating synth bass lines behind the band's signature new wave sound.

During the "Meso-America" tour to support Mesopotamia, live versions of the songs were performed by: Cindy Wilson on guitar, bongos and vocals; Fred Schneider on vocals; Kate Pierson on keyboards, bass guitar and vocals; Ricky Wilson on guitars; and Keith Strickland on drums. Saxophones on tour were played by Ralph Carney and trumpet and duck calls by David Buck.

Reception

The EP was a moderate success, and spawned three single releases: double A-sides "Deep Sleep"/"Nip it in the Bud," "Cake"/"Loveland" and "Mesopotamia"/"Throw That Beat In The Garbage Can." This was the last B-52s album where every track from the album could be obtained on the a- and b-side of a single (as had happened with The B-52s and Wild Planet).

Track listing

Notes

• The album was distributed as a vinyl record by Warner Bros. in the US and by Island Records on both CD and vinyl in the UK and other non-US markets. Of the 6 tracks on the Island Records vinyl, there were three which mistakenly contained the wrong versions of the tracks. These longer and markedly different versions and their presence on some of the records has never been explained. The times given here are for the Warner Bros. and Island Records versions respectively. The unfinished versions did not feature on all Island vinyl releases, and conversely not all the unfinished versions were featured on the same disc.
• Some copies of the Island Records CD have an incorrect track listing on the back cover. Track 5 is listed as "Lava" (the name of a track on the band's debut album), and tracks 5 and 6 are listed as 6 and 7, respectively. This is due to the last minute decision by Island to release the album as a separate CD from Party Mix; the Warner Bros CD version features both albums. In addition, the Warner Bros CD features 1991 remixes of the tracks from Mesopotamia.

Personnel

Band

• Ricky Wilson – guitars, bass, keyboards, organ
• Keith Strickland – drums, guitar, keyboards, marimba, organ, piano, bass
• Kate Pierson – vocals, keyboards, organ, bass, bird calls, synthesizers
• Fred Schneider – vocals, cowbell
• Cindy Wilson – vocals, guitar

Additional musicians

• David Byrne – fretless bass, guitar, percussion, synthesizers
• Steve Scales – percussion
• Yogi Horton – drums
• Charles Rocket – accordion
• Ralph Carney – saxophones
• David Buck – trumpet
• Roberto Arron – saxophone

Chart performance

Notes

References

• Sexton, Mats (2002). The B-52s Universe: The Essential Guide to the World's Greatest Party Band. Minneapolis: Plan-B Books. ISBN 978-0-9652745-9-3.