Mesopotamia (album)
| Mesopotamia | ||||
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| EP by the B-52's | ||||
| Released | January 27, 1982 | |||
| Recorded | September 1981 | |||
| Studio | Blank Tape Studios, New York City | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 25:43 | |||
| Label |
Warner Bros. (US) Island (UK) |
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| Producer | David Byrne | |||
| the B-52's chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Mesopotamia | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Robert Christgau | A− |
Mesopotamia is an EP by new wave band the B-52's. It was produced by David Byrne of Talking Heads and was originally planned to be 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 a shorter than originally intended LP. The record was distributed as a 12" EP by Warner Bros. in the US and by Island Records on both CD and vinyl in the UK and other non-US markets.
Mesopotamia is considered a departure in style for the B-52's; Byrne and the band added plenty 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-52's and the slightly more polished sound of their second album, Wild Planet.
Mesopotamia was initially conceived by the B-52's in October 1981, following the release of their previous remix album, Party Mix! 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-52's. 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.
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