Bouncing Off The Satellites
| Bouncing off the Satellites | ||||
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Cover art by Kenny Scharf
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| Studio album by The B-52's | ||||
| Released | September 8, 1986 | |||
| Recorded | July 1985 at Sigma Sound Studios | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 45:55 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | Tony Mansfield | |||
| The B-52's chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Bouncing off the Satellites | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 7/10 |
| The Village Voice | B+ |
Bouncing off the Satellites is the fourth studio album by new wave band The B-52's, released on September 8, 1986. It was recorded in July 1985 and was produced by Tony Mansfield. Guitarist Ricky Wilson died of AIDS after the album was completed, but several months prior to the album's release. With the band too distraught to tour, the album received minimal promotion and failed to yield any hits despite some stations initially giving a considerable amount of airplay to "Summer of Love," which managed to hit number 3 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. Despite the airplay the song received, the band's record company did not promote the album due to the band's lack of TV or promotional appearances; as a result, the only reached number 85 on the Billboard 200 chart.
The album was seen as darker and more melancholy than the band's previous work, having more ballads. It was, by most accounts, a critical and commercial failure.
Recording sessions for Bouncing off the Satellites began in July 1985.
A backwards message was deliberately inserted into the album by The B-52's. The message occurs in the song "Detour Thru Your Mind", in the last 30 seconds of the track: Fred Schneider says (slowly and distinctly), "I buried my parakeet in the backyard. Oh no, you're playing the record backwards. Watch out, you might ruin your needle."
During the recording, guitarist Ricky Wilson had been suffering from AIDS. None of the other band members other than Strickland were aware of his illness. Strickland later stated that Wilson "was very protective of Cindy and his family." In an interview, Kate Pierson stated that Wilson had kept his illness secret from his bandmates because he "did not want anyone to worry about him or fuss about him." On October 12, 1985, Wilson finally succumbed to the illness, at the age of 32. Devastated, the band went into seclusion and did not tour to promote the album. Nevertheless, Bouncing Off the Satellites eventually reached 85 on the Billboard 200. Cindy went into a deep depression after her brother's death, while Keith retreated to , and Kate and Fred stayed in New York City. The band felt that it would be impossible to continue without Ricky.
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Wikipedia